11-year-old sixth-grade student from Maine reads from a ‘pornographic’ LGBT book he found in the school library during the school board meeting — and reveals the librarian asked if he wanted a graphic version
- An 11-year-old boy read a passage describing a sex scene to a school board
- He told those present that he got the book from the school library
- The book, Nick and Charlie, is for ’13 and up’ and is about a teenage relationship
An 11-year-old boy made a statement at a school board meeting in Maine by reading from an explicit book he said he took from his high school library.
The fragment he read told of a sexual interaction between a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man.
His father, Adam Zajac, also addressed the board at the Windham Raymond School District meeting on February 14, telling attendees that his son had also been asked by the librarian if he wanted a graphic novel version of the book.
Children’s access to certain books has become a divisive point in America, with some parents encouraging children’s exposure to increasingly modern sexual concepts, and others complaining that they are being sexualized prematurely.
An 11-year-old boy read a sexually explicit excerpt from Nick and Charlie at a school board meeting in Maine. He told those in attendance that he got the book from his high school library
His father, Adam Zajac, said at the meeting that his son had also been asked by the librarian if he wanted a graphic novel version of the book.
The book featured at the Maine meeting was Nick and Charlie by 28-year-old British best-selling author Alice Oseman, which tells the story of a high school relationship.
Her popular book, Heartstopper, which was recently turned into a Netflix series, tells the story of the same couple who began their relationship when they were 15 and 16 years old.
The boy read from the book: ‘We kiss for a long time, as if it’s been two years and we’re trying to watch a movie on Nick’s lounge sofa. Impossible.
“I can’t think of anything else as he runs his hands so gently through my hair, down my back, up my hips.
“Suddenly he takes off my shirt and laughs when I can’t undo his shirt buttons, I ask if he will and he says yes before I finish my sentence, he undoes my belt, I’m in his bedside table grabbing at a condom, we kiss again, we roll over, you can clearly see where this is going.’
The book is recommended by the publisher for students ages 13 and older.
After the boy had finished the passage, his father came to the lectern.
‘I am the father of that child. That’s my son, 11 years old and went to his library and found it at the entrance door of our library. This is the smut he’s looking for, okay?’ said the boy’s father.
“I don’t care if it’s homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual or whatever the terms of all these things are, it doesn’t have to be in our school. It doesn’t have to be in my 11-year-old’s library,” he added.
“A lot of parents just don’t know what’s going on at school,” Zajac told The Maine Wire. “What I don’t understand is how we have books in the high school library that adults would be fired for having on the job, or potentially be prosecuted for sharing with children given their pornographic content.”
This passage in the book is the scene that was set during the meeting on February 14
Nick and Charlie from best-selling 28-year-old British author Alice Oseman tells the story of a high school relationship
Another book discussed at the meeting was called Gender Queer, and was pulled from the district high school library, Zajac claimed. It is rated for 18 years and older.
Amazon’s online store lists Nick and Charlie as suitable for readers ages 14 and older and for students in grades between 9 and 12.
But the publisher Harper Collins suggested on its website that the book is suitable for children “from 13”.
Oseman has published a number of teen books and graphic novels that explore LGBTQ+ themes.
