Bookshops in several states are refusing to sell a controversial new novel that has been compared to Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita.

American writer Alissa Nutting's novel Tampa, about a female teacher who preys on teenage boys, will be out in Australia on July 24. But some bookstores are refusing to stock it.

Former middle school teacher Debra Lafave. Credit:AP

''Sometimes I take what I define as the moral high ground,'' said Helen Baxter, owner of Blues Point Bookshop in Sydney's McMahons Point.

''I just felt I'm in an environment where I couldn't personally promote this.