June 17, 2022
Two books by Iranian-born authors have been caught up in the current rage across the country to ban sexually explicit books from school libraries.
One book is the very famous “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, which has been challenged in a small Pennsylvania school district by some parents. The Franklin Regional School District, near Pittsburgh, has “paused” the book’s usage in the ninth grade while it is reviewed. A few parents at a school board meeting cited its scenes of violence and torture and a scene in which a woman recounts an experience in which she was told she deserved to be raped.
The other book being challenged is “Like a Love Story” by Abdi Nazemian, 46, a Hollywood scriptwriter who was born in Iran.
His book is one of eight that a parent in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, wants removed from school library shelves. Spotsylvania is the site of one of the major battles of the civil war in 1864.
But within two weeks, a committee made up of Spotsylvania County school staff, parents and community members determined that all eight books were appropriate for high school readers and can remain in high school libraries.
The parent is appealing the committee’s decision.
“Like a Love Story” is an historical, young adult romance novel published in 2019. The story follows Reza, an Iranian boy, as he grapples with his homosexuality amid the AIDS crisis in the 1980s in New York City.
The book has three main characters: Reza, Judy, and Art. At the beginning of the story, Reza moves to New York City from Toronto with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. Living amidst the AIDS crisis, Reza fears coming out as homosexual.
Reza quickly befriends Judy, an aspiring fashion designer, and her best friend, Art, the high school’s only public homosexual. Despite Reza’s immediate attraction toward Art, he begins dating Judy. Eventually, Art and Reza address their attraction, forcing Reza to come out to his family before they can become a couple.
Nazemian graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received an MBA. Since then, Nazemian has worked as a screenwriter, including the television shows Ordinary Joe, Almost Family and The Village, and the films The Artist’s Wife, Menendez: Blood Brothers, Beautiful Girl, Celeste in the City and The Quiet. Nazemian has also served as a producer on numerous films.
His debut young adult novel, “The Authentics,” was released in 2017. His third novel, “Like A Love Story,” was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the hundred best young adult novels of all time. His fourth novel, “The Chandler Legacies,” which is inspired by his time at boarding school, was published this year.
