Wake rejects book challenge. Why ‘The Kite Runner’ will continue to be read.
A Wake County school committee has rejected a parent’s request to remove the book “The Kite Runner” from the high school English curriculum.
“The Kite Runner” is an award-winning but frequently challenged historical novel by Khaled Hosseini set in war-torn Afghanistan. Wake County’s Central Instructional Materials Committee voted 9-1 on Wednesday against a parent from Panther Creek High School in Cary who said “The Kite Runner” should not be required reading for sophomores because it contains rape and vulgar language.
“With proper communication as well as guidance and support from educators, ‘The Kite Runner’ can be an impactful text for students,” said Rachel Huber-Jones, a committee member and senior administrator for secondary social studies. “While it may not be for all students, removing it for all students seems heavy-handed and removes opportunities to learn for untold numbers of students.”
Taura Waller, the parent who filed the book challenge, said she will appeal the committee’s decision to the school board but did not provide further comment Wednesday.
Why is ‘The Kite Runner’ challenged?
The book follows the journey of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, and is set against the tumultuous background of Afghanistan’s history, from the fall of the monarchy through the rise of the Taliban regime, according to Britannica.
A scene involving the rape of a boy who is Amir’s friend has often been cited in book challenges.
“The Kite Runner” was the 11th most challenged book in the 2010s, according to the American Library Association, and the eighth most banned book in schools in the 2023-24 school year, according to PEN America..
“The Kite Runner” is among the books recently banned in U.S. Department of Defense schools. The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Department of Defense over the book’s removal.
Last year, the ACLU sued the Elizabeth School District in Colorado for removing 19 “sensitive” books, including “The Kite Runner” from school libraries. A federal judge ordered the books to be returned to library shelves.
Book challenges are on the rise nationally. A bill passed by the state House would create a standardized process where people, including non-parents, could file challenges to have books removed from North Carolina school libraries if they include “descriptions or visual depictions of sexual activity or (are) pervasively vulgar.”
Hosseini, the book’s author, has talked about how students have written to him over the past 20 years to thank him. Hosseini has said the students have told him reading the book has helped them to stand up to bullying.
“Banning books like ‘The Kite Runner’ doesn’t protect students at all,” Hosseini said in a March interview with Minnesota Public Radio News. “In fact, I’ve said this before — I think it betrays them.
“It robs our children and our students of something vital that we owe them as their parents and their instructors, which is the chance to broaden their human community, to foster empathy, to teach them to challenge their own preconceived ideas and to maybe take a step toward becoming a fuller and wiser version of their authentic selves.”
Reading about rape shouldn’t be ‘part of their curriculum’
In Wake County, parents can submit a challenge to have books removed from individual school libraries.
Parents can also challenge “core instructional resources,” which are materials chosen by the district to be part of the educational program. Those challenges would affect all schools using the material.
“The Kite Runner” is one of the books Wake County uses in English 2, a course focusing on world literature typically taken by high school sophomores. Waller’s son read it as part of his English 2 Honors class.
The school offered a different reading assignment after Waller complained about her son having read the rape scene. She turned down the offer and instead filed a book challenge that could lead to “The Kite Runner” being removed from all Wake high schools.
“I would consider this book appropriate for ages 19 years and older (college age),” Waller wrote in the book challenge. “The different themes in this book are for mature audiences only (gang rape, molestation, psychological trauma, suicide, sodomy, physical abuse).
“I am not only writing this request as a parent, but as a Certified Pediatric Nurse. From my clinical experience, these themes can affect a child’s mental health and be very difficult to comprehend.”
The rape scene could trigger students who’ve previously been raped or molested, Waller said.
“Children should not have to read about rape as part of their curriculum,” Waller wrote. “This could affect their mental health. As an adult, I don’t even read or watch things with rape in it to protect my mental health.”
Instead of requiring “The Kite Runner,” Waller said Wake should assign students to read “All Quiet on The Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque. Written in 1928, the novel chronicles World War I through the eyes of a young German soldier.
Committee rejects book challenge
During Wednesday’s committee meeting, members acknowledged concerns about the rape scene. The committee consists of parents, teachers, administrators and principals.
“I hate that it (rape) happens,” said Seydric Williams, a committee member and Northwest Area superintendent. “But once again, I’d rather a grown, responsible ... adult unpacking this with the students to say, ‘If you’re ever in this situation, you know somebody in this situation, we have anonymous tip lines to call.’”
Committee members said the book presents positive messages such as friendship, redemption and forgiveness.
“I don’t think you could have this book without the tragedy,” said Jeremy Parrish, a committee member and senior administrator for high school language arts. “Again, at the end of the day, I see it as a very redemptive and hopeful.”
But Parrish told the committee they are making changes moving forward with teaching “The Kite Runner.”
Based on teacher feedback, Parrish said the book will be taught later in English 2 to give teachers more time to get to know their students before discussing the content. He said they’ll also make sure to let parents know that they can request alternative assignments to the book.
The committee voted to continue using “The Kite Runner” without any new restrictions.
Jill Cook, a committee member and parent at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, was the only person who voted in favor of the book challenge. Cook said that “The Kite Runner” should be in high school libraries so any student can read it but shouldn’t be a required class reading assignment.
“I believe the parent’s objection has merit, as I do have concerns about the age appropriateness of the material, given that there are so many things that have the potential to negatively impact students’ mental health,” Cook said. “We need to consider that students have widely varying levels of maturity and sensitivity, and they bring a diverse range of experiences to the classroom.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
