John Green’s ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is un-banned in Riverside

John Green’s popular young adult novel “The Fault in Our Stars” will return to middle-school library shelves in Riverside, more than two months after a school district committee voted to remove the book and reject any donated copies the schools might receive.

In a 3-2 vote Monday night, the Riverside school board decided to lift the ban on Green’s book, the Press-Enterprise reports. Board member Patricia Lock-Dawson explained her vote to return the novel to middle-school libraries: “What it comes down to is the question of what is constitutional is unequivocal.”

On Monday the National Coalition Against Censorship sent a letter to the school board, urging the book be restored to middle school libraries. The letter, which was signed by members of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, among others, noted: “Just because a book is in the library does not mean that a student has to read it .... The removal of the book from the library, however, suggests that no students should read it.”

Supporters of the ban argued that the novel, about two teenagers with cancer who meet in a support group, is too intense for middle-school students. The book also contains a sexual encounter.

A film adaptation of the book, released with a PG-13 rating, topped the box office this summer.

Green, who has advocated against censorship in the past, has been focused lately on “Paper Towns,” posting behind-the-scenes photos from the set of the next film being made from one of his books.