Mackler banned in Maryland.

From the Baltimore Sun:

An award-winning book about an overweight girl who doesn't fit in at school or with her family apparently doesn't fit in at Carroll County school libraries: The district's superintendent ordered the novel stripped from the shelves.

...

"I didn't think it was the type of thing middle school or high school students should be reading. If a student would use that language in school or wrote it in a paper, he would be disciplined or probably suspended," Ecker said. "I don't think those types of books should be available in a public school."

Students who began the petition drive said their freedoms and rights are being infringed upon.

"We're going to be adults soon, and we're mature enough to read that book," said Crystal Gardner, an 11th-grader at Winters Mill High School who spearheaded the drive with two schoolmates. "I feel like we're not getting a say [about what to read], and we should have a say. If they're going to ban a book about an overweight girl, what's next?"

God.  The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things is pretty tame by my standards--yes, it deals with some heavy issues and there's (gasp!) profanity, but it's mostly about Virginia's self esteem.  I wonder if Superintendent Charles I. Ecker has read Whale Talk yet?  Also, the original complaint was made about a copy of the book at the middle school, but he ordered the book removed from the high school, too.  Yeah, that makes sense.  Oh, and he made the decision after "skimming passages" of the book.  So he's really into making informed decisions.  Grrrr.