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Too deadly for school?An award-winning young adult book has come under fire for its ‘sexual imagery'. A Lilydale High parent says that, with over 100 swear words, Phillip Gwynne's Deadly Unna? (Penguin) is an inappropriate choice for Victoria's classrooms.Published 19 March, 2008 
Deadly, Unna? by Phillip Gwynne
An award-winning young adult book has come under fire for its ‘sexual imagery'. A Lilydale High parent says that, with over 100 swear words, Phillip Gwynne's Deadly Unna? (Penguin) is an inappropriate choice for Victoria's classrooms. Victorian shadow education minister Martin Dixon agreed that the book was inappropriate, less than a fortnight after attacking another school's study of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Random House) However, a Victorian Education Department spokeswoman defended Deadly Unna?. ‘It's important that students are exposed to contemporary literature that portrays a broad range of themes, ideas and experiences,' she said. This article from Thorpe Bowker's Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker
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1 comment(s) on this page. Add your own comment below.
Will the day ever come that those who find offence in ideas will cease to attempt to deny those same ideas to others? How is it that from their stance of righteousness they condemn words for the harm they say that they'll do others while never for a moment believing that they themselves have been harmed?
What is offensive is not a book of pictures of naked people, or text containing swear words or which depicts sexual or violent acts - what is offensive - and harmful - is censorship, in any guise.
Children, in daily play, are exposed to more lewd language, smutty inuendo and poor language from their peers than any book could ever offer.
The self-proclaimed guardians of children's minds would do better to tackle the real obsenity in this world such as war, homelessness, poverty and starvation, that is the result of misguided adults seeking to promote and further their own views and interests regardless of the expense to others.
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Please be civil.