Ask and ye shall receive...
More information about the Beaver County/Chocolate War situation. It looks like that Letter to the Editor spurred the newspaper to actually cover the story:
Some parents applaud the decision and say they hope the district decides to permanently remove the book from required reading lists, saying the use of obscenities and sexual content - particularly references to masturbation - make it inappropriate for 14- and 15-year-old students. Others, however, say the book is a realistic look at some of the hardest issues teens face and worry that removing the novel from the curriculum would set a dangerous standard of censorship.
Because 14- and 15-year-olds know NOTHING about masturbation.
Later in the article, Robert Cormier is quoted:
In a June 2000 interview with the Associated Press, Cormier said the language and controversial scenes simply reflect how kids talk and gave the book credibility with young readers. In an interview for Random House about his 1997 novel "Tenderness," Cormier said he thought his novels' realism is what really disturbs parents.
"I think they're controversial because ... they're realistic and a lot of people are made uncomfortable with realism. There is a tendency for all of us to want happy endings and to have the good guy win at the end and have the lovers stroll off into the sunset," Cormier said in the interview.
I wish he was still alive. He was the coolest.