An Indiana library system that removed John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars from its young adult section will move it back, the Indianapolis Star reports.
The Hamilton East Public Library system had previously indicated that Green’s popular novel would be one of dozens of books that would be moved from the young adult section to the adult section.
The move wasn’t unusual for Green’s 2012 novel, a popular target of would-be book banners, along with his 2005 book Looking for Alaska. But it drew the ire of Green, who lives in Indianapolis.
“The Fault in Our Stars has been removed from the YA section in the suburbs of Indianapolis and is now considered a ‘book for adults,’” Green posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, last week. “This is ludicrous. It is about teenagers and I wrote it for teenagers. Teenagers are not harmed by reading TFIOS.”
This week, Laura Alerding, the president of the library board, said in an email to the Star, “I believe there was an error in implementing the Collection Development Policy and that this book should be moved back to the Teen section immediately.”
Green replied on X, “Cool. What about my other books and hundreds of other YA titles? Award-winning classics of YA lit by everyone from Nic Stone to Judy Blume continue to be wrong shelved by a ridiculous policy that embarrasses Central Indiana. Change the policy not just for TFIOS, but for all.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
