Dad wants book banned

Photo: CTV

A BC father wants his son's school district to ban the book

A B.C. father wants his son’s school district to ban the book "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" because he says its subject matter is too vulgar -- a request that has prompted school administrators to reassess the book.

Dean Audet, whose Grade 10 son attends South Kamloops Secondary School and has been assigned to read the book, says “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” deals with graphic pornographic conversations and situations, as well as teenagers taking drugs.

"The English class is using pornography as a teaching tool," Audet told CTV Vancouver on Wednesday. “There's a lot of wonderful literature that we have in this world to teach with.”

Audet says that if "liberal parents” want to expose their children “to things like this," that’s their choice.

The critically acclaimed book -- written by American author Stephen Chbosky and published in 1999 -- is a coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy who struggles to fit in. The book was made into a film in 2012.

Audet isn’t the first person who has tried to ban the book, as parents in several U.S. states have attempted to have it removed from public schools and libraries.

The Kamloops-Thompson School District has given Audet’s son alternative material to read, but defends its decision to use the book in classrooms.

"The book is controversial, the book is about adolescents, the book is about sexuality," Terry Sullivan, the school district’s superintendent, told CTV Vancouver. "But I don't think because it’s controversial that it should necessarily be taken off the list."

The school district, however, has decided to put together a review committee of teachers, parents and administrators to reassess whether “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” is appropriate for classroom use.