Reply To: Should this book stay on the list?

I haven’t read the entire novel in years, though I’ve read parts of it with my American lit students. It is currently on the approved list for 11th grade American lit students in my district, though it is “challenged” by parents in my bordering recent district.  The rape is graphic and horrifying as is the racism little Maya experiences.  Does it reflect Arkansas – perhaps not as well as other books about the Civil Rights movement. It is a book that many of my students struggle with, though those that finish it say it is good. I would love to know what others who have read it think.