'Sandpiper' Challenged

The school librarian at the center of the book challenge of Ellen Wittliner’s Sandpiper (S & S, 2005) at Brookwood High School in Tuscaloosa, AL, says she’s willing to move the controversial novel to an area reserved for mature readers, but she doesn’t believe in removing it from her library shelves.

“It is a book for more mature readers, but some [freshman and sophomore] students may need to read it,” says Media Specialist Sandy Miesse.

Fifteen-year-old sophomore Lysa Harding randomly checked out Sandpiper on August 31 for a classroom book report, but she and her grandmother, Pam Pennington, jointly decided not to return the book after concluding that it was too sexually explicit. The school is asking Harding to pay $25 to replace the book or face late fees.

Miesse says she chose the book based on the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Best Books for Young Adults list. School administrators have defended the book, saying that it has received favorable reviews.

Pennington filed a formal book challenge in mid-September and a review committee has 30 days to decide if it should remain in the library.