The title of the book is “Forever,” a steamy tale of teen love sparked by an innocent touch and consummated on a living room floor.
But the Judy Blume novel isn’t living up to its title at Frost Junior High School in Schaumburg.
Officials from Schaumburg Elementary District 54 yanked a worn copy of “Forever” from the school’s library after a parent complained the book was providing students with too much carnal knowledge.
“This book would give the kids ideas and is definitely not heading them in the right direction. And the right direction is not sex in junior high,” said Barbara Cross of Schaumburg, who discovered her daughter reading the library book.
While Cross was successful in her crusade to have the book pulled, the American Civil Liberties Union has reservations about the decision-making process.
Sometimes, material may be too sophisticated for a specific age group, but it’s important who’s making that determination, said Jane Whicher, staff counsel with the ACLU of Illinois.
“We absolutely condemn any form of censorship, especially one that is based on viewpoint,” Whicher said. “The point is that with regard to the determination of what’s age-appropriate, those decisions should belong in the hands of educators, not politicians.”
After the school board voted unanimously last week to pull “Forever”, board member Patrick Riley defended the decision as “not censorship, but common sense.”
Riley said the book’s contents should have been obvious from the opening line.
“The first paragraph should have been a flag . . . somebody should have pulled this thing off the shelf,” Riley said.
School board members were united in their disappointment with an administrative review committee, which previously had concluded that “Forever” was appropriate for students ages 12 to 14.
But Fred Schroeder, assistant superintendent for curriculum development, said that an extensive review process always has been in place to ensure that only suitable materials find their way into school libraries.
“Over the years, we’ve had remarkably few concerns and problems,” said Schroeder, citing that the district employs 27 resource center directors who meet the needs of 16,000 students. “We will spend some time talking about the book review process, but we are not going to put the heat on anyone. We don’t see this as an indication of any problems.”
Schroeder said “Forever” has been on the library shelf since 1978.
Board member Paul Froehlich attributed an earlier decision by some administrators to let the book remain on the shelf as a reflection of their role as professional educators.
“I think they’re intimidated by the specter of censorship,” Froehlich said. “I need to take into account our community standards and do what the voters who put me here would want me to.”
The issue was further complicated because the district’s family-living program encourages abstinence before marriage as the best prevention for AIDS and pregnancy.
The young lovers in “Forever” engage in unprotected sex, and the passage that describes their decision to use a condom ends with the teens concluding that this form of birth control is too much of a hassle.
“I don’t care if they were in love; unprotected sex happened again and again in this book,” Riley said.
While the ACLU is aware of the case, Whicher said the organization has not decided whether it will take any formal action to protest the board’s decision.
Meanwhile, Cross said she stands by her actions.
“It’s not censorship . . . it’s age-appropriate,” she said. “It was practically a step-by-step manual. I think it might give kids ideas I don’t think they’re ready for yet.”
