Lawn Boy (Evison novel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Lawn Boy (disambiguation).
Lawn Boy
Lawn Boy (Evison novel).jpg
AuthorJonathan Evison
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre
PublisherAlgonquin Books
Publication date
April 3, 2018
Pages320
ISBN978-1-61620-262-0

Lawn Boy is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel written by Jonathan Evison and published in 2018 by Algonquin Books. It tells the story of Mike Muñoz, a young adult Mexican American who has faced hardship ever since his childhood and is now going through a phase of self-discovery.

Reception[]

Lawn Boy's narrative was praised by Kirkus Reviews, who said "[t]he first-person narration turns Mike into a living, breathing person, and the reader can't help but get pulled into his worldview." The writer also commented on Jonathan Evison's use of humor in the book, saying he "brings genuine humor to Mike's trials and tribulations," but noted a negative tone the protagonist has to many issues in his life.[1]

Carol Memmott, reviewing for The Washington Post, says "Evison takes a battering ram to stereotypes about race and class" in Lawn Boy. Memmott also comments on how the novel deals with racism in the United States, citing a section of the book to exemplify how Muñoz is "constantly reminded of what it means to be brown in America." She concludes the review by saying that "Evison has written an effervescent novel of hope that can enlighten everyone."[2]

The book received a starred review by the Library Journal, which stated "Evison combines humor, honesty, and anger with an insightful commentary on class that's also an effective coming-of-age novel."[3] Writing for the School Library Journal, Mark Flowers called it a "readable and deeply thought-provoking" novel, and noted some of the themes explored in the book, such as "race, sexual identity, and the crushing weight of American capitalism." Flowers also commented on how "Evison's often [inefective] enthusiasm for his preponderance of ideas weighs down the demands of the plot."[4]

Lawn Boy was one of American Library Association's Alex Awards recipients of 2019, "for the ten best adult books that appeal to teen audiences".[5]

Challenge[]

On September 9, 2021, during a board meeting of the Leander Independent School District in Texas, the mother of a student raised concerns about the content present in Lawn Boy, saying "the book was full of obscenity and sexual content".[6] Three people filed reports with the local police after the meeting. A spokesperson for the school district said the book was not present in any curriculum, but was available in some classroom libraries for checkout.[7]

Later in the month, on a meeting of the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, two other speakers, spurred by the Texas challenge, denounced Evison's book, alongside Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer: A Memoir, "for sexually explicit language, scenes and imagery including what one speaker called 'homoerotic' content". A third speaker also "seemed to critique the books for their LGBTQ story lines and themes."[8] In response, officials said the books would be removed from libraries and two committees would be created to assess if the books are appropriate for high school students. According to The Washington Post, several members of the Fairfax board "have received messages promising physical violence or even death over their perceived support of the books."[8]

Some of the passages in the book were considered to be depictions of pedophilia by the parents who spoke at the meetings in both Texas and Virginia.[7] Evison, responding to the allegations, explained that the scene in the book "involves an adult man recalling a sexual encounter he had with another fourth-grader when he was in fourth grade."[8] According to the author of the book, after news began spreading about the challenge at the Texas school district, he started to receive death threats.[8][9]

In November 2021, Fairfax County Public Schools decided to return the two books to its high school libraries following a committee review.[10]

In December 2021 Wake County Public Libraries responded to a patron complaint about Lawn Boy and Gender Queer. They let Lawn Boy remain on shelves but they pulled Gender Queer.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ "LAWN BOY". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Memmott, Carol (April 10, 2018). "Review | This lawn boy asks, 'Where's my part of the American Dream?'". Washington Post. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  3. ^ Perkins, Christine. "Lawn Boy". Library Journal. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  4. ^ Flowers, Mark. "Lawn Boy". School Library Journal. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  5. ^ "Additional ALA Awards 2019". The Horn Book. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Ellis, Danika (September 16, 2021). "Instead of School Board, Leander Police Investigate Book Challenge". Book Riot. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Torre, Melanie (September 13, 2021). "Leander Police investigating parent complaints about library book". KEYE-TV. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d Natanson, Hannah (September 28, 2021). "Fairfax school system pulls two books from libraries after complaints over sexual content". Washington Post. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Cho, Aimee (September 24, 2021). "Fairfax County Mother Complains of Sexual Books in Public School Library". NBC News4 Washington. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  10. ^ Asbury, Nicole (November 23, 2021). "Fairfax schools will return two books to shelves after complaints over sexual content". Washington Post. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  11. ^ https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/politics/2021/12/15/wake-county-libraries-pull-lgbtq-book-from-shelves-after-complaint
Retrieved from ""