WENTZVILLE, Mo. — A controversial book that has been challenged for its mature language will be removed from Wentzville School District libraries and will no longer be an AP reading choice.

The Wentzville School Board voted 4 to 3 in favor of not keeping Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” at Thursday’s meeting. Before going before the council, a district review committee had voted in favor of maintaining the book.

Since the book was a reading option for AP English students, there was an original motion to keep it as a choice only for those in the class with parental approval, but the motion failed.

“The Bluest Eye” is about a young black girl named Pecola who grew up right after the Great Depression and is considered “ugly” because of her mannerisms and dark skin, according to a book description. Due to the way she is treated, she wishes she had blue eyes. The book also covers topics such as racism, incest, rape and paedophilia.

In the review board’s briefing notes, it is stated that “the paragraphs referenced are only a few of the passages in this book which enable us to see into this world and are not written for sexual gratification.”

“This novel has value for a supportive WSD curriculum and student growth as readers and learners. This novel helps the reader enter and understand 1941 (before World War II, the Civil Rights Movement ), small town black culture in a way that no textbook can. There is also value for the reader to read and be exposed to the prose and writing style of Toni Morrison, which is unique to him.

At Thursday’s meeting, a board member who voted not to keep the book said ‘The Bluest Eye’ had no academic or social value for students and could be ‘extremely harmful’.

Another board member, who also voted not to keep the book, said that not only did this book provide illustration, but also “game-by-game action”.

To read the full report by the review committee, click here. To watch the school council meeting, click here.

The school district also pulled George M. Johnson’s ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’, Alison Bechdel’s ‘Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic’ and ‘Heavy: An American Memoir Kiese Laymon’ from shelves without them going through a review committee.