Specifically, Smith objects to passages about getting an erection while being hugged by a teacher, about the father telling a crude joke about having sex with his wife, and about the boy masturbating.

The story is about a teenage boy who is constantly bullied while growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. The boy decides to attend an all-white school in search of a better education. It’s written from the perspective of the teenage boy.

Padraic McCracken, teen services librarian at the Lewis and Clark Library, has read the book multiple times. McCracken said feeling like an outcast is a fairly universal experience for adolescents and, therefore, most young people can relate to the story. The parts that may be objectionable are brief, he says.

“Any kid who’s ever felt like an outsider, being the new kid, being different and all that comes with that will be able to relate,” he said. “And, honestly, they help make the book more engaging to young readers because they are honest. … Thank God there is someone like Sherman Alexie to talk honestly about that.”

McCracken said he understands why some parents may not want these types of topics to be discussed at school, and that’s why the district has an opt-out policy in place. But this book could be what makes a young person a reader, he said.