Parents only in charge of what their kids read

It seems that Mr. Knapp did not glean the objective of my letter, but I thank him anyway. His book recommendation of "Lawn Boy" was quite good, and he might want to read it.

You see, the book is not a children's book, but a young adult/new adult book. The protagonist is 22 years old, biracial, and trying to escape the generational cycle of poverty while not leaving his moral compass behind. It touches on racism, classism, gentrification, ableism, and sexism. The protagonist is a hard-working landscaping employee assisting his single mom in caring for his developmentally disabled older brother. 

Yep, it has a lot of coarse language. Yep, it explores sexual identity. Yep, it's very much a coming-of-age novel. It is not sexually explicit, though, and it is not targeted at young children. It's meant for older teenagers and young adults. That would be clear to anyone who actually read the book. 

Furthermore, the "queer agenda" Mr.Knapp seems so upset about is this: every consenting human deserves to love who they want, look how they want, and be identified as they want. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, kindness, and acceptance. Everyone deserves to be protected from discrimination. That's the whole agenda. 

As for books, Mr. Knapp? Parents are in charge of what their kids read, not what other people's kids read. Censorship is not an American ideal.

In the *edited* words of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, "Mind your own darn business."

REBECCA PALMER

Sandpoint