Donovan knew something was up when his mum stood between him and the TV one night after school. She was holding his new English text in her hands asking,

“What is this?”

Donovan explains that his Language Arts (English) teacher Mr Howe gave it to them. It’s called The Adventurers and he is looking forward to reading it. His mum has other ideas. Donovan’s interest is piqued wondering what she can possibly have against the book? She is suddenly on the phone to other mothers about the book and a particular sentence she has read. What the heck?

With his copy of The Adventurers firmly in his mum’s hand as she heads to the principal’s office the next morning, Donovan just knows he’s got to get hold of another copy to see what his mum is so worked up about.

He was right from the beginning – trouble is coming. Very quickly there is a line drawn between those who believe this book is inappropriate for 5th graders (Year 7 in NZ), and those who believe it’s perfectly fine for these 10-11 year olds. There are parents, teachers, students and members of the public on both sides, with Donovan decidedly on the opposite side to his Mum.

Gideon has a favourite pastime of taking words (especially off the class black board) and seeing what words he can make out of those words. Once caught by his teacher when he was supposed to working on something else, he now does it in his head. His other favourite pastime is collecting turtles. Big, small, glass, crystal, wood, you name it. He even has a real one he calls Sampson.

One day there is a new kid in class. He soon learns his name is Roberto, and for no reason he can explain, Gideon is very curious about the boy who now sits in the seat in front of him. Slowly he begins to get to know him, even breaking rules to spend time with him after school. Gideon likes him even more when Roberto thinks Sampson is just as cool as he does. Time with Roberto is easy, fun and interesting and they soon become inseparable.

With chapters from The Adventurers slotted between these separate stories, at first it’s like you’re reading three books at once. Very quickly they blend into stories about friends who are boys, becoming close due to shared experiences in simple day-to-day life or in novel format as two boy heroes fight villains together.

In the third thread – everything is fine until a parent sees more than a friendship or adventure between the pages of a school text and decides her son is not ready to learn about relationships other than heterosexual. Much discussion is made right up to community level about a sentence that mentions that two friends love one another.

Should this book be banned from the classroom? Do their children already know about LGBTQ+ relationships? Where will this debate end?

Knowing which side of the argument I was on from the beginning didn’t put me off the build-up to a tension filled auditorium as people have their say. I wanted to be there to cheer and boo, just like the characters.

This is a fantastic book for schools for all the reasons why some characters want the text removed. It brought out discussion and empathy, understanding and love, in homes, classrooms and within a community.

Another David Levithan treasure, this time for Tween / Middle Grade readers.

Author – David Levithan

Age – 10+

Find an Excerpt here

(2022, Text Publishing, Love, Friendship, School, Family, Conflict, Adventure, Growing up, Turtles, Collection, LGBTQ+, Gay, Boys in love, Banned Book, Divided Community, Parental Choice, Relationships, Word Play, Classroom, Community Debate, School Board, Decision)