one of the top 100 most challenged books from 1990 to 2000, by the American Library Association, and has been banned from some libraries. In 2003, it was in the top 10 most challenged books reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom. Despite the controversy surrounding this novel, We All Fall Down received positive reviews from School Library Journal, The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly. Challenges In 1998, a parent in Simcoe County (ON) complained to their children’s school board about We All Fall Down, because she believed the violence in the novel was inappropriate for children to read in school. The school board moved the novel from the primary schools to the high schools in that district, though the parent remained unsatisfied. In November 2000, parents in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania complained about We all Fall Down because of the violence in several scenes, as well as the description of suicide in the book. Officials in the school district created a new book selection policy in response to the parents' objections. In March 2000, We All Fall Down was removed from the Carver Middle School in Leesburg, Florida, because parents of a sixth-grader who was studying the book were unhappy with the language used in the novel. The father of the student, said, “It’s not a book for school. It’s everything negative about society, like rape, vulgarity, alcohol abuse, murder and how to cover it up.” The principal of the middle school agreed, and the book was removed from the school library. The principal also held a faculty meeting to advise staff to look carefully at the books they are assigning to children. The principal even contacted other middle schools in the district to warn them of the challenged novel. On March 17, 2000, an Arlington, Texas Independent School District Superintendent ordered the library circulation of We All Fall Down to be restricted, requiring students to bring written permission from their parents in order to borrow it. The superintendent did this in response to a complaint from a parent regarding violence in the book. The book was not removed completely, because a panel of school librarians made a decision to retain it in middle and high schools. Awards In 1994, We All Fall Down won the California Young Reader Medal. References 1991 American novels American thriller novels American young adult novels Novels by Robert Cormier Doubleday (publisher) books