Fla. Mom Holds Racy Gossip Girl Books Hostage

A Florida mom is waging a one-woman war on the Gossip Girl books. Determined to keep her teenage daughter—and everyone else—from reading the racy fare, she's had them checked out of her local library since 2008, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Tina Harden says the books' references to sex and drugs are "inappropriate for minors," and she's not returning them: "If I turn them in, they will be put back into circulation and they'll be available for more young girls to read." Her fine so far: $85.

Harden says she's not seeking to ban the books outright, but she wants them to bear warning labels and be unavailable to minors. The library has agreed to put the books in the adult section but won't try to keep them away from kids. "If we denied access to this particular title, it would be censoring," a library official said.
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