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California high school considers a ban on a Stephen King book

A California school district committee is debating banning 'Different Seasons,' a story collection by Stephen King.

Stephen King's short story collection 'Different Seasons' has been put back in the Rocklin school library while a committee debates whether the book should be banned because it includes a rape scene.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

A high school in California is considering banning Stephen King’s book “Different Seasons” because of a sexual scene.

Rocklin High School is considering banning the story collection because of a passage in one of the stories, titled “Apt Pupil,” in which one of the main characters, Todd, rapes a woman. The school took the book off library shelves after a parent objected to the scene. A school committee discussed the complaint and ended by deciding to remove the book from circulation.

Rocklin senior Amanda Wong was on the committee and said she was the only one who supported keeping the book in the library and was also the only one who has read the entire short story collection.

“I thought it was completely wrong of them to do that,” Wong told CBS. “I was really upset… Although I understand this parent’s concerns – I wouldn’t want my little brother reading this – I don’t believe it’s the school’s right to take the entire book out of [the] library just over that.”

Wong took her complaint to the school board in Rocklin, and the book was put back in the library while the issue is debated. A district committee will meet about the issue starting tomorrow.

King’s agent told CBS that the author fully supports Wong’s stand.

“We hope she and those who share her views are not disappointed,” the agent told CBS.

Stories in “Different Seasons” were the basis for the movies “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Stand By Me,” respectively.

Three other books by King, “Carrie,” “Cujo” and “The Dead Zone,” made the list compiled by the American Library Association of the 100 books most frequently challenged in the U.S. from 1990 to 2000, though none of them made the cut for the list of most challenged books between 2000 and 2009.

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