Into the River by Ted Dawe has been banned in New Zealand after complaints from Christian groups.
The book, which won the New Zealand Post Children’s Book award in 2013, is aimed at teenage boys and was banned for the inclusion of sex and drugs in the story. “The book was never about sex and drugs, it was always about bullying people and how that damages people for the rest of their lives,” Dawe explained to The New Zealand Herald. “That is really the underlying theme, everything else is just the trappings that go along with that.”
The book is now being pulled from libraries, book shops and schools throughout the country.
“Member bookshops need to withdraw any copies they have on their shelves from sale,” explains the NZ Booksellers Association on the group’s website. “This is a temporary ban brought about by a decision from the President of the Film & Literature Review Board, following a further complaint from Family First NZ. It has been indicated that the board many meet later this month.”
Book stores that don’t know about the ban but still carry the book will be fined $10,000. Those that do know about the book but still carry it will be fined $25,000. The book has already been removed from Random House’s site.