Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, who has been approached by Newsweek for comment.News of the book's removal from the school has surprised both students and staff.
Newsweek has contacted Bayfield Middle School for comment.Alek Burgess, an eighth-grade student, is reported as saying: "I really feel like, by them banning this book, it's just spreading the message that it's not OK to be gay, especially in school."The child requested his teacher Dana Gerrits include the book in the school's free-choice classroom library, which is thought to include a wide range of reading material.Gerrits reportedly told the school children could choose what they wanted to read, as the literature was not used in.