TONIGHT: THE DECISION ON THIS BOOK WILL BE ANNOUNCED. "It features sadistic sexual, physical, and emotional torture of a child on nearly every page."

And, it will stay available to kids as young as 14 years old in Rockwood. 

That's the recommendation from the book challenge committee that reviewed, "Living Dead Girl." It is on the agenda for tonight's school board meeting.

The description in the headline above, about torture, is from the Common Sense Media review of the book:

If you look at the Rockwood committee report, you won't see that review. 

You'll only see professional reviews that Rockwood uses when it decides to purchase books. Rockwood librarians don't read books before they put them on library shelves (there are thousands of books).

Common Sense Media recommends the book for ages 17 and up. 

Rockwood has it available to kids 14 and up. 

Library records show "Living Dead Girl" was in Lafayette and Marquette high school libraries. As of August, 2023 the Destiny library database shows it only at Marquette. A parent submitted a formal challenge of the book during the 2021-2022 school year. A district committee reviewed it, and like every other book that's been challenged in Rockwood, the committee decided to keep it in the school libraries.

Rockwood doesn't post the parent challenge forms online; only the committee's decision. The only thing the public sees online is what the committee reports about the meeting. The district has mentioned protecting the anonymity of the complainant. It is not clear why the district doesn't redact the name and post the complaint so other parents can see more about what the concerns were with the book.

PARENT quote from the committee's own report: 'To ban Mark Twain would be ridiculous, but, this book is about pubic hair being removed because a rapist liked to rape a child."

OTHER BOOK DECISIONS TONIGHT

Decisions to keep two other books will be announced at tonight's school board meeting:

"It Feels Good To Be Yourself," a book that tells elementary and early childhood children that they may not be a boy or a girl. Read what Rockwood never told parents about that book here.

"Lawnboy."

ONGOING ISSUE

We have reported extensively on the battle over books in Rockwood and the lack of any true ratings system that addresses content. 

Most books concerning parents are in the "Young Adult" category, which generally includes books for ages 12-18. So, Rockwood treats a book for 12 year olds the way it treats a book for 18 year olds--the same category description. 

See for yourself: The policies, the processes, that cause books about rape and torture to be treated as innocently as a cookbook in Rockwood's libraries.

Questions or comments? Email us at Whatisgoingoninrockwood@gmail.com