The challenged books in Anderson County

These are the 17 books reportedly in the Anderson County public libraries, that some people have asked to be removed. The libraries are Briceville, Clinton, Norris, and Rocky Top (Lake City). They are public libraries, not school libraries.

Anderson County Commissioner Anthony Allen of Oak Ridge presented the county mayor and county commissioners with packets on the 14 books – aimed at adults, young adults and teens – that were given to him by local "researchers," who reportedly found them in one or more of the four libraries.

Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said in reply to Rachel Comunal, Anderson County assistant law director, that he had heard they all aren't in these libraries.

Anthony's packet includes images and information on the books found on the website, booklooks.org. "We are concerned parents who have been frustrated by the lack of resource material for content-based information regarding books accessible to children and young adults," the group wrote. "We make no money and seek no recognition in our efforts. We believe sunlight is the best disinfectant and parents should have the information ... We are not affiliated with any other groups, but we do support several groups by letting them use our materials and by taking suggestions for what we should review."

Residents asked for these three books to be removed from the libraries. A library committee and the Anderson County Library Board read and reviewed the books and chose not to do so.

The descriptions of the 14 adult to teen or youth books were written by Comunal in her letter asking Clark for a legal opinion whether the books violated Tennessee's criminal obscenity laws. The descriptions have been lightly edited for length.

The 3 Children's Books

• "Families Like Mine" by Marie Therese Miller. Amazon.com says of the book:  "Explore diverse families and the many ways that they care for one another."

• "It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity" by Theresa Thorn and Noah Grigni. It is described on the Amazon website as "A picture book that introduces the concept of gender identity."

• "Grandad's Camper" by Harry Woodgate. "Before they were Grandad and Gramps, two young men, waving a rainbow flag from their pink VW bus, were a romantic couple, traveling the world ... Grandad, white, and now balding, recounts their adventures to his young grandchild who hangs on every word. The grandchild, with long curls, is Black, as was Gramps, who has passed away. That child is inspired to help Grandad dust off the old camper/bus in the garage, give it a new blue stripe, change a tire, and start out for new adventures."- Amazon.

The 14 books: Adult, young adult and juvenile

• "It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender, and Sexual Health" by Robie H. Harris. " A book that instructs children ages 10 and older about puberty, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual intercourse, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), pregnancy, abortion, and sexual abuse. This book has several images of cartoon adults engaging in sexual activity with members of the same sex, different sex and by themselves."

• "Let’s Talk About It" by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan. A graphic novel. "This book is depicting obscene sexual illustrations, commentary, nudity, profanity, and gender ideologies. ... There are several cartoon images of nude males and females, as well as a “woman” with a penis and breasts and a “male” with a vagina."

• "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe. "An adult graphic novel that depicts a young female growing up and discovering that she identifies as a male attracted to other women. This is a graphic novel that reads like a personal memoir of her journey to self-discovery."

• "Assassination Classroom" by Yusei Matsui. "A fictional graphic novel about students attempting to assassinate their alien teacher who is teaching them to be assassins. There is a picture on one page showing all of the students with guns attempting to shoot their alien teacher. On one page there is an image of a woman engaged in sexual intercourse with a man that she then assassinates."

• "S.E.X The All-You-Need-To-Know Sexuality Guide To Get You Through Your Teens And Tweenies" by Heather Corinna. "Discusses sexual intercourse in very explicit detail using offensive language. This book essentially teaches 'teens and tweenies' how to have sex, straight or gay, with explicit instruction."

• "Sex Is A Funny Word" by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth. "Discusses sex, shows nudity and sexual activity with cartoon images similar to 'Let’s Talk About It.'"

• "This Book is Gay" by Juno Dawson. Discusses "lesbian and gay sex along with explicit cartoon images and detailed discussions with how lesbian and gay sex is done. It also discusses in great detail gender ideologies how to know if one identifies with one of the various ideologies."

• "What Girls Are Made Of" by Elana K. Arnold. "A fictional book that explores young womanhood. This book contains explicit nudity and descriptions of sexual activity, as well as profanity that some would find offensive.

• "Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins. "Fictional book that contains explicit sexual activities including child rape and abuse, as well as drug abuse, violence, and prostitution of both adults and children. It tells the converging narratives of five troubled teenage protagonists. It is noted for its gritty realism in addressing issues of sexual activity and drug use for a young adult readership."

• "Traffic." It's a sequel to "Tricks."

• "Push" by Sapphire. "Fictional book based on real life events of a troubled young black girl who is heavily sexually abused by her father and how her life’s circumstances change when her new mentor teaches her to read. This book contains, in explicit detail, the rape she endured from her father and how abusive her mother was during those times. As well as, detail the birth of her child she had with her father. This book contains explicit language.

• "Milk and Honey" by Rupi Kaur. Abstract fiction and non-fiction poetry and prose. The collection's themes feature aspects of survival, feminism and relationships. This book contains illustrations of non-sexual nudity, sexual activities and sexual assault.

• "A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sara J. Maas. Fictional novel similar to "Game of Thrones." This book contains depictions of sexually explicit activity between characters.

• "Shine" by Lauren Myracle. Fictional novel in which a teenage girl discovers hidden secrets about drugs, alcohol, and sexuality in her small town while seeking to uncover who assaulted her homosexual best friend. This book contains depictions of different sexualities, pedophilia, sexual assault, nudity, drug and alcohol abuse and violence.

Donna Smith is The Oak Ridger’s news editor and covers Oak Ridge area news. Email dsmith@oakridger.com. Twitter: @ridgernewsed.

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This article originally appeared on Oakridger: The challenged books in Anderson County