The book was also banned in Richland, Washington, where all ten copies were checked out as well as on hold. Officials were worried about the appropriateness of this book for freshman students. There was concern over Junior masturbating, because no teenage boys masturbate, right? Another concern was that the book encouraged racism. This is not the only book that deals with race, and if anything, this book helps some of us white folks understand what it is to be Native American and what struggles they have had to go through after being kicked off of their own land and being forced to conform to a new society. I’m sorry, officials, but does reading about the poverty and alcoholism of your Spokane neighbors make you uncomfortable? If you ask me, what’s racist is banning an important book about a Native American teenager.