“The Nowhere Girls,” a novel for teens that explores rape culture, will no longer be available in West Ada School District libraries, after trustees voted Monday to remove the book. 

The decision ended a multiplex process that’s triggered when a book in circulation is challenged. The school board unanimously reversed a decision by the district’s reconsideration committee, which previously found that the book aligned with West Ada’s book selection criteria.

While trustees lauded the indictment of rape culture in “The Nowhere Girls,” they said the book includes too much sexual content to warrant access for teenagers without parental oversight. Other trustees said the book is poorly written and wrongfully teaches that seeking revenge is a proper response to sexual assault. 

“As powerful as the storyline is, there are too many sections that aren’t age-appropriate for a 13-year-old student,” said Vice Chairwoman René Ozuna. 

Lengthy process determines fate of challenged books

Written by young adult genre author Amy Reed, “The Nowhere Girls” is a fictional story about three “misfits” who avenge the rape of a fellow classmate and “trigger a change in the misogynist culture at their high school,” according to publisher Simon and Schuster. 

In February, West Ada patron Rene’ McSherry asked the school district to reconsider offering “The Nowhere Girls” in district libraries. McSherry wrote that the book is “vulgar and obscene,” according to a request for reconsideration form submitted to the district.

“I would not recommend this book to anyone especially MINORS who we are trying to help achieve academic excellence and to become virtuous citizens in society,” McSherry wrote. 

The reconsideration form is one of a series of steps in West Ada’s process for reviewing a challenged book or other resource.

The procedure in Idaho’s largest school district starts with a meeting where administrators explain to the complainant the district’s criteria and qualifications for selecting material. If the meeting doesn’t resolve the issue, it’s followed by a committee review.  

The reconsideration committee, appointed by the district superintendent, is made up of a handful of district parents and a matching number of administrators. The panel is responsible for weighing the book against the district’s philosophy and criteria for selecting learning material. 

The district’s philosophy supports “intellectual freedom” and student accessibility to “wide-ranging learning resources.” The criteria says  books should be judged on their ties to curriculum and intended audience as well as their “overall strengths” rather than “a single sentence, phrase or word.

In the case of “The Nowhere Girls,” a reconsideration committee OK’d the book, but McSherry appealed the decision, leaving it up to the school board to make a final decision. 

Trustees discuss decision to remove book

Trustee Angie Redford said she planned to read some passages from the book during Monday’s meeting, but decided it wouldn’t be appropriate. 

“I understand that the topic of consent is vitally important, but some of the content is sexually explicit and I feel is not appropriate for children,” Redford said. “I know that some will claim and cry that I’m for censorship or I’m fascist, because that’s the official language of the United States right now, hyperbole from all sides.”

Board Chairwoman Lori Frasure said parents should decide whether their children can read books that discuss sex. 

“If I vote to keep the book in the school, I am taking that away,” Frasure said. “This might be appropriate for some kids, and that is a parent’s choice to decide.”

“The Nowhere Girls” had never been checked out by a student since the district purchased it in 2019, according to West Ada Chief of Staff Niki Scheppers. It was available in two schools, she said.

Before the board’s vote to remove “Nowhere Girls,” two people spoke in favor of keeping it in circulation. Centennial High Librarian Gena Marker said high school students “feel pressure to do things against their will” and the book’s characters “empower themselves in the face of adversity.” 

“A book that negatively depicts rape culture and empowers students to stand up for themselves is one that all high school students should have access to,” Marker said. 

Marker also started to describe activism by the complainant, McSherry, but Frasure cut Marker off, saying public comment couldn’t be used to “attack an individual.” 

After Monday’s meeting, Idaho EdNews obtained Marker’s full written comments, which said that McSherry last month entered Centennial High without permission to look through shelves in the school library. 

Scheppers confirmed that two weeks ago school administrators escorted McSherry off the Centennial campus and “reminded her to check in when she wants to visit campus.”