The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported today on the removal of a gay-themed book from a Webster, N.Y. high-school summer reading list and the author’s subsequent accusation that the Webster Central School District officials are “un-American” and “wrong.”

“Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez, was removed from the list of about 200 books earlier this month by Webster Central School District officials,” according to the article. Despite landing the International Reading Association’s 2003 Young Adults’ Choice award and the American Library Association’s Best Book for Young Adults, the book was pulled from the summer reading list earlier this month. This was reportedly done because of the book’s sexual content, not its gay content.

In response to the book being yanked, author Sanchez said, “We live in a country where freedom of speech and thought are cherished values. Every attempt to censor a book is an attack on our constitutional freedoms.”

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Read the full Rochester Democrat & Chronicle story here