Killing Mr. Griffin, Birthing Readers

Reasons librarians champion books that censors hate, plus this week’s book ban news

In library work as in good books, there’s always a twist.

Hi Friends:

I know you can find a summary of a novel in many places, but that isn’t my overall purpose here. I want to talk about why a librarian (me, for example) has books in the library that some people—especially now—find objectionable. Why, in fact, a librarian (me, for example) would buy multiple copies of that book, and then talk to classes full of teens about that book so that they would know it was there and check it out. 

What’s the end game?

Let’s look at a book I find pretty mild despite its title: Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan. It came to my attention a few weeks ago through an article on MSN:

The Mason City Community School District, according to local paper, The Gazette, reportedly used an unnamed AI software to scan school library books ahead of the 2023-2024 academic year. Board members reportedly compiled a list of “commonly challenged books” and used the AI system to scan the list for supposed sexual content. Those flagged books were then removed from 7-12th grade school library collections and “stored in the Administrative Center.” 

Killing Mr. Griffin was on that list.¹

A quick summary including spoilers

Killing Mr. Griffin was originally published in 1978 and updated in 2010. It’s a crime novel in which we know who the killers are. 

Some high school kids want to punish their teacher because he’s too strict, and, yes, he does a pretty shitty thing: Tells a boy who has plagiarized that he should beg to be let back into the class. Then he fails the boy anyway.

Unfortunately, that boy is a psychopath. He gets some other students to go along with a plan to kidnap Mr. Griffin and drop him in a remote location in the nearby mountains. They plan to return at midnight and release Griffin, but they don’t know that the teacher has a heart condition. Unable to take his medication for angina, he dies. 

From here, there’s lots of trouble. Bury the body, hide the car, etc. One of the teens, Susan, had changed her mind about participating in the stunt. After the psychopath kills the grandmother of one of the co-conspirators (the grandmother has found Griffin’s ring), Susan threatens to go to the police. For this, the psychopath ties her up and starts a fire in the house. Fortunately, she is saved—by none other than Mr. Griffin’s wife, who gives her a note Griffin wrote about her being a promising student.

Why I talked up this novel to classes visiting the library

• I worked at Title I high schools. Students came from low-income families. (At least 40 percent of the students must qualify for a free or reduced lunch to receive Title I funding.) Many were reading below grade level, some far below grade level. Some of the students who came in regularly for book talks were in reading remediation classes. Lois Duncan’s books hit a sweet spot—not too long, not too hard to read, but very interesting to teens, who would stretch their reading skills a bit by engaging with them. I was always looking for that ‘home run’ book to get started with (we’d go to more difficult books later). Duncan’s books often hit it out of the park. 

• Killing Mr. Griffin won several awards. It was the American Library Association’s (ALA) Best Book for Young Adults in 1978 and was nominated for the 1981 California Young Reader Medal in the Young Adult category.² It’s been around a looong time, quite possibly longer than you’ve been alive—and there’s no evidence that it’s causing any damage to anyone. 

• In the novel, the idea that pranks can have tragic consequences is clear. The warning about peer pressure is also clear. The ‘sadder, but wiser’ element is there for the characters who reach for their better selves (and for the reader). 

• Ultimately, it’s a genre novel much like those that adults read, racing through their favorite authors’ repertoire. A teen reading Duncan’s books, including Killing Mr. Griffin, is comparable to an adult reading Agatha Christie. They don’t become murderers or rotten people. 

The next step

What we do want the students to become is readers. 

Lois Duncan wrote many mystery novels for teens. In my library, the most popular was I Know What You Did Last Summer followed by Stranger with My Face. When teens find a novel they like, they often want to read something else by the same author. So—the librarian who recommends Mr. Griffin is working to create a consistent reader. 

Moving up the reading ladder

Once the student has gone through several of Duncan’s books, I would recommend a more difficult read. The student might be required to read nonfiction for a class and be interested in true crime now that they’ve had experience with crime novels. As it happens Duncan also wrote the nonfiction Who Killed My Daughter? so, I might recommend that, which I’ve also read. 

Helping the student who is dealing with loss and/or tragedy

Finally—and thankfully, this is a small minority of students—a teen who knows someone who has been murdered will share this fact after connecting with crime books. I would recommend books on dealing with loss and grief. If the student loved Duncan’s work, I would hand them the book Dear Author: Letters of Hope: Top Young Adult Authors Respond to Kids’ Toughest Issues. Lois Duncan is one of those authors. A girl writes to her that her own stepfather killed her two little brothers and then committed suicide. Here is an excerpt from her letter:

“I tell you this because I just finished reading Who Killed my Daughter? … I’ve always been afraid to ask this question but I feel I can ask you. Why? … I also want you to know that your book probably saved my life.”

 Duncan’s answer is very moving. Again, an excerpt:

The tragedy you have experienced is way beyond anything anyone should ever have to go through, much less somebody your age. I am so terribly sorry. You must be a very strong person to have endured such a dreadful event and managed to keep on going. That strength will serve you well as you get older and can share your strength with others facing their own tragedies. When you help such people that will be your gift to your brothers—a way to give their short lives meaning. There’s a term for that—it’s called “keeping the faith.”

I can’t answer your question “Why?” I don’t think anyone can. I have asked myself why a thousand  times in regard to my own daughter's murder, and come up with no answer.

[more on the why, on Duncan’s daughter’s murder, on being glad the letter writer removed herself from danger]

I don’t know what to say to you that will be of comfort. There are times we just have to swallow what life serves to us and move on to whatever comes next. It sounds as if you are doing a remarkable job of that. You have my utmost respect. I believe that you are one of those special people who will end up making this world a better place for all of us.

Branch out from the Duncan example

So this is one of the things a librarian does—there are many rungs on the literacy ladder. The steps up the ladder aren’t usually so direct and often involve the recommendation of a variety of authors. In my high school library, I ordered books from first grade reading level to difficult adult novels and nonfiction. There were thousands of teens with diverse needs and tastes. 

I don't want to give you the impression that this is all a teacher librarian does. A lot of the job is teaching research skills, particularly how to use authoritative resources and to cite those resources. But readers’ advisory is important, too. 

That’s today’s novel. We’ll try a more controversial one next week.

More on the banned book A Court of Thorns and Roses

Last week I wrote about the banning of A Court of Thorns and Roses. I thought this article from the NYT about the appeal of romantasy was interesting if you wonder why teens are so into this genre.

A 481-Year Age Difference? For Some Readers, That’s Hot.

What I’m Reading

Circle of Hope by Eliza Griswold (Almost finished—so far, very good! More on it next week.)

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen, a YA sapphic romance that I reviewed on School Library Lady. A fun book for teens and school libraries. 

Personal Note

I was going to include a second topic, but was advised by a reader that shorter is better. I’ll try for John Green or interview answers next week. So that’s it, except for the library/book ban news below. Thanks for reading!

Part 2 Library and Book Ban/Challenge News

Here’s exactly why 13 books were banned from all Utah public schools, The Tribune found from The Salt Lake Tribune (this may be paywalled). This article lists all thirteen titles and gives the reasons each was banned. This could be any combination of the following.

According to a copy of the questionnaire obtained by The Tribune, the three reasons are:

• Option 1: It contains a description or depiction of “human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.”

• Option 2: It contains a description or depiction of “acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse, or sodomy.”

• Option 3: It contains a description or depiction of “fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals or [the] pubic region.”

A few more articles on the Iowa book ban law that I discussed in previous posts. 

Iowa Book Ban Law Allowed To Go Into Effect from Book Riot

A ruling in the Federal Court of Appeals on Friday, August 9, now allows Iowa’s SF 496 is allowed to go into effect. The bill requires all materials in public schools be age appropriate and that there be no “descriptions or depictions of sex acts,” defined by Iowa Code 702.17. The state has given virtually no guidance beyond what’s written, and it is a law championed and celebrated by several chapters of Hate Group Moms for Liberty throughout the state. 

Upon its passage, a lawsuit was filed against the bill by several publishers, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Lambda Legal, and four authors. On Friday, a Federal Appeals Court overturned a preliminary injunction on the law, which was put into place in December. The three Eighth Circuit judges in Friday’s ruling stated that the injunction came thanks to a “flawed analysis of the law.” They continued, noting that book removals do not constitute a free speech violation.

Appeals Court Delivers a Mixed Decision in Iowa Book Banning Case from Publishers Weekly

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on August 9 vacated a December 2023 injunction blocking parts of Iowa's controversial book banning law, SF 496. But the move could only be a temporary setback for freedom to read advocates, with court watchers noting that the decision also rejected the state's core legal argument: that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge SF 496 because the placement and removal of books from public school libraries and classrooms is government speech.

In a brief but thorough opinion, the appeals court held that the plaintiffs in the case—which include the Big Five publishers led by Penguin Random House as well as four bestselling authors—do have standing to sue, and swiftly dispatched with the state’s government speech argument. The government speech doctrine holds that the First Amendment does not impose “a requirement of viewpoint-neutrality” on speech undertaken by the government. But the appeals court soundly rejected the state’s attempt to extend government speech to the selection of books in schools and libraries.

Cobb schools remove 13 more books across the district from the Cobb County [Georgia] Courier

The pulled books are:

• “It Starts With Us” and “The Infinite Moment of Us” by Colleen Hoover

• “Crank,” “Tricks,” and “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins

• “City of Thieves” by David Benioff

• “Laid: Young People’s Experience with Sex in an Easy-Access Culture” by Shannon T. Boodram

• “Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany Jackson

• “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson

• “Milk and Honey” by Rupi Kaur

• “Juliet Takes a Breath” by Gabby Rivera

• “The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling

• “Push” by Sapphire

The district previously removed another Colleen Hoover book, “It Ends With Us.” The other six include:

• “Flamer” by Mike Curato

• “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews

• “Blankets” by Craig Thompson

• “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chobsky

• “Lucky” by Alice Sebold

• “13 Reasons Why” by Josh [sic] Asher [Jay Asher]

Elizabeth School District [Elbert County, Colorado] Bans Nineteen Books With "Temporary Suspension" from Westwood

These are the books "temporarily" pulled from the library shelves, according to the ESD:

• The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

• Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher

• Pride: Championing LGBTQ Rights, by Rebecca Felix

• You Should See Me in a Crown, by Leah Johnson

• It’s Your World — If You Don’t Like It, Change It, by Mikki Halpin

• The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

• Beloved, by Toni Morrison

• The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

• Looking for Alaska, by John Green

• Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult

• Speak, by Laurie Anderson

• Identical, by Ellen Hopkins

• Fallout, by Ellen Hopkins

• Glass, by Ellen Hopkins

• Burned, by Ellen Hopkins

• Crank, by Ellen Hopkins

• Smoke, by Ellen Hopkins

• George, by Alex Gino

Back-to-school plans impacted by culture wars nationwide from ABC News

Details on book bans and the ‘banning of book bans’ by state.

In response to increasing attempts at book bans, Moorestown library becomes first 'book sanctuary' in South Jersey from the Janesville Gazette

Serpico noted that Moorestown patrons who object to a book can make their concerns known by filing a reconsideration form to have the material removed or moved to a different section. The library will then decide on the request, she said.

The requester must be a cardholder — a change in previous policy that allowed outsiders to make objections, Serpico said. The library has about 7,000 active patrons, she said.

"It's the community's library," Serpico said. "People still have the right to express concern."

The women on both sides of book bans from Politico

How To Explain Book Bans to Those Who Want To Understand from Book Riot

1. I do not blame the librarians for using AI for this task. They have full-time jobs and cannot read every book in the library to make this determination.

2. The winner that year was A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry, a beautiful book about sibling loss. If you know a teen who has lost a sibling, it’s a good recommendation.