James Patterson urges fans to reach out to DeSantis on Florida book bans

Bestselling author James Patterson is calling on fans to speak out to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) against a school district’s “borderline absurd decision” to ban one of his book series from its libraries.

“The ‘Maximum Ride’ series was recently banned by the Martin County Florida School District,” the 75-year-old scribe wrote to his more than 140,000 Twitter followers on Monday.

“Honestly, who would want ‘Maximum Ride’ banned from schools? On what possible grounds?” Patterson asked of the series, which is made up of science fiction novels geared toward young adults.

Some books in the “Maximum Ride” series were among more than 60 titles removed from the shelves of the Florida county’s public school libraries, according to a list released last week by Martin County.

Last year, DeSantis signed legislation requiring school libraries in the Sunshine State to seek community input on the materials they make available to students.

“What do the majority of parents in Martin County think of this arbitrary and borderline absurd decision?” Patterson said of the move to pull his books. He urged readers who “find this kind of mindless book banning troubling or confusing” to “send a polite note” to DeSantis.

Patterson isn’t the only high-profile author to condemn the book bans.

“Storyteller” author Jodi Picoult, whose books were also among some of those barred by Martin County, said in an op-ed on Monday, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with a parent deciding a certain book is not right for her child. There is a colossal problem with a parent deciding that, therefore, no child should be allowed to read that book.”

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