ATHENS, Ga. -- A local school is getting backlash after a bookstore alleges they were told by the school to pull a book because it "featured gay characters."
Avid Bookstore was hosting a book fair at Athens Academy for the pre-lower school 3-year-old to 9-year-old age group, when a parent allegedly complained about a book they deemed inappropriate.
The book at the center of this controversy is The Best Man by Richard Peck.
After the book was removed, Avid states that they were allegedly told to completely remove the book so that "no child could accidentally discover it."
"Later, the director of the lower school requested that all of our books be reviewed by the administration for more “objectionable” (which we interpreted as “queer”) content and all those books be removed as well," said Avid Bookstore in a statement posted on Facebook.
The book fair was pulled from the school a day before it was set to end.
Both the school and the bookstore tell 11Alive that every time they have a book fair, there is a pre-approved list stating what books will be presented.
Athens Academy says that The Best Man was not part of the pre-approved list to begin with, but Avid disputes that claim.
According to the school, the book in question is recommended by its publisher for ages 9 and up.
The Best Man "has been part of our Middle School (grades 5-8) library collection since it was published, along with other similar titles," according to Athens Academy.
The school has sent a letter to the community about this issue and says they plan to hold a meeting with parents, alumni, and faculty about this topic as soon as they return from spring break.
"Athens Academy does not support censorship or discrimination in any form, and we regret any misinterpretation of these circumstances and our commitment to respecting the varying viewpoints of our community," said John Thorsen, Head of School.
Avid has since created a display in their Five Points location of The Best Man and other LGBTQ similar books.
They have also pledged to donate 10 percent of all book sales to the Athens LGBTQ Youth Group.
