Mother says her disapproval of book was 'treated lightly'

July 10, 2008

Mother says her disapproval of book was 'treated lightly'

Arebia Ramsey says she's livid over the novel her son had selected in April from the school library for a sixth-grade book report.

"It's horrifying," she said of The Rain God by Arturo Islas. "It's so offensive to me that my 12-year-old read that."

Ramsey objected to numerous curse words and sexual images found throughout the fictional story about the members of a family from an area near the Texas-Mexico border. So she decided to protest to get the hardback book off the shelf at Okeeheelee Middle School in Greenacres.

But Ramsey says she was stunned when the school administration refused to dump The Rain God, copies of which are also available for borrowing from nine Palm Beach County high schools and one other middle school.

"They treated it so lightly," said Ramsey, an assistant director of a child-care center west of Lake Worth. She followed up by filing a challenge with the School District. That challenge is pending.

Principal David Samore could not be reached for comment despite a call to his home phone.

Meanwhile, Ramsey is holding on to the book "to keep another child from getting it." The school won't release her son William Wilson's report card until she returns the book or pays about $22 for it.

Ironically, William received an A for the book report. He did not cite the profanities or sexual content.

A big fan of the Harry Potter series, William said he was surprised by the words in The Rain God and he asked his mother for an explanation.

"It forced my hand to discuss these issues with him," Ramsey said.

— Marc Freeman