Teen book to stay on shelf in Geneva library

Heartbroken 17-year-old boy meets girl in club. Hoping to make nearby ex-girlfriend jealous, he asks girl if she will pretend to be his girlfriend for five minutes. For unromantic reasons of her own she assents via a kiss.

And the romantic comedy teen novel "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" is under way, taking readers through the couple's adventures in the music club scene of late-night Manhattan. It's been made into a movie coming out next week starring Michael Cera, of the "Juno" movie and "Arrested Development" television fame, as Nick.

But the 2007 American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults has been off the shelves in the Geneva Public Library since the beginning of August, as a staff committee considered a patron's challenge about whether the book is appropriate reading for teenagers.

Thursday night, library administrator Matt Teske reported that he agrees with the recommendation to put it back on the shelves of the "teen fiction" section of the library. Patrons of any age can check it out.

Sex, swearing

The complainant wrote on the challenge form that she disliked the language and sexual content of the book. Where it asked, "Did you read the entire book," she wrote "No, didn't need to. Every page was explicit - bad language and all." Its theme was "sexual shock value," none of the material was valuable, and all of it of little or no value, according to her answers.

A read of the book reveals Nick and Norah are straightedge kids; they don't do drugs, drink alcohol or smoke. Both are polite, smart and concerned about the welfare of other people.

But they have potty mouths, using the "F" word on most every page, as well as slang terms. Neither are virgins.

And Nick plays in a queercore band, a subgenre of punk rock music that explores sexual identity and diversity issues, especially those of the lesbian and gay community. His two bandmates are gay, and they pick up other gay musicians that night.

Oh, and Norah's friend, Caroline, gets pass-out drunk. Nick's ex-girlfriend teaches Norah how to kiss. And somebody almost has oral sex during the night, in a vending-machine room of a Marriott Hotel.

Policies explained

The patron did not appeal the committee's decision to the library board, so the library board did not have to vote on the matter. She did not attend the meeting, and had not returned a phone call for comment Thursday night.

"I'd say more than half the time the book stays put," said library board member Don Cummings of patron challenges. The library has moved some books from the teen area into the adult area, including some graphic novels. The teens can still check them out, if they can find them.

Both Cummings and Teske said it's not the library's job to judge whether children should be reading or watching certain things; maturity levels vary from child to child, they said.

"Which is really challenging with that age group (age 13 to 17)," Teske said.

Library policy states that "the best judge of what is appropriate for a child to read is the parent, not the library," Teske wrote in a letter to the patron.

"As a parent I can see a problem. As a library board member I'm in favor of the parents raising the kid," said Cummings.

The library is investigating what to do ab out NC-17 and R-rated DVDs, because presently children under 17 can borrow such DVDs from the library, while a movie theater would refuse entry and a store might prohibit purchase.

And next month the committee is expected to rule on a challenge to the DVD of the movie "Gia," a 1998 film starring Angelina Jolie about the death of a fashion model due to AIDS.

"It's a bad movie," board President Ester Barclay said.

"I think it's trash," Cummings said, but added he wouldn't prevent anyone from seeing it.

Should it stay or should it go?

The form Geneva Public Library patrons can use to challenge materials doesn't actually have the word "challenge" anywhere in it. It is called the "Resident's response to library materials" form.

It has eight questions.

1. Specifically, what do you like/dislike about the material? (Cite pages)

2. What do you feel might be the result of reading this material?

3. For what age group would you recommend this material?

4. Have you read the entire work?

5. What do you believe is the main theme of this material?

6. What parts of the material do you consider valuable? What portions do you consider of little or no value?

7. Should the library select more materials of this type; select fewer materials of this type; or select no materials of this type?

8. Is this response your opinion, or on behalf of a group or organization?

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375846144&view=excerpt">Excerpts rom 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist' </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>