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ST. CHARLES COUNTY — An award-winning but controversial book will be removed from library shelves in the Wentzville School District following a vote by the district’s board.

“Sold,” a 2006 novel about a teenage Nepali girl sold into sexual slavery, was available to students at Wentzville Middle, Holt High and North Point High, according to a district spokesperson.

The vote to remove “Sold” was against the recommendation of the district’s challenged materials committee, a nine-member body made up of teachers, parents, a board of education member and a school administrator, who voted to retain the book without restrictions after reviewing it.

“This is absolutely wild,” said Jenny McBride, Wentzville’s English curriculum coordinator. “This is a book in the library. This isn’t a book that’s taught in classrooms as part of the curriculum or required reading in any way.”

But the board aligned with the committee and decided to keep three other challenged books: “Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, “November 9” by Colleen Hoover and “The Carnival at Bray” by Jessie Ann Foley.

Three of the four titles were challenged by parent Candice Doerr, according to district records.

Doerr declined to speak with a reporter. In a Saturday post on Facebook, Doerr said “the disgusting smut (Wentzville School District) freely provides to minor students is abhorrent.”

“The protection of young, innocent minds should be a priority over protecting ‘award winning,’ sexually explicit books,” she wrote.

Doerr’s challenge of “Sold” quoted nine scenes of child or sex abuse told from the point of view of the book’s 13-year-old protagonist.

Pen America listed “Sold” as the most banned book in America for the 2023-2024 school year, with 85 school districts reportedly pulling it from shelves.

Committee members exposed readers to cultural differences and the effects of sexual slavery, with a theme of resilience. They noted the book did not use curse words or “colloquial terms for body parts that make the book seem raunchy.”

The board voted 3-4 on a motion to approve the committee’s recommendation to retain “Sold.”

Jen Olson, Renee Henke and Katie Lyczak were the only board members to vote against keeping all four books.

“I believe there is a large amount throughout this book of non-consensual, pedophilia, sexual content that is not age appropriate for minor children,” Olson said of “Sold.”

Joe Kohlburn, chair of the Missouri Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, said attempting to remove or ban books “accomplishes nothing other than undermining institutions that are there to serve everyone.”

“We do not serve students by pretending traumatic events aren’t real, we do not serve students by denying them the right to learn more about the reality of the world around them,” Kohlburn said.

Wentzville students will still be allowed to bring “Sold” to district schools, Brynne Cramer, chief communications officer, said. The book just won’t be available in the district’s own collections.

Patricia McCormick, the author of “Sold,” based her novel on interviews she conducted with girls in India and Nepal who had been sold into slavery.

In a 2023 New York Times , McCormick said the book, a National Book Award finalist, has caused some youth to come forward and report their own experiences with sexual abuse.

The appropriateness of books and other educational content has been a hot topic in St. Charles County in recent years. Last summer, the Francis Howell Board of Education considered a policy that would have required the board to approve all library materials before they’re purchased, but eventually decided to include all library purchases as informational items on monthly meeting agendas for public review.

The St. Charles County Parents Association created an of books held by the five school districts in St. Charles County and rates them on appropriateness. The group’s website details a step-by-step process on how to challenge a book, with a “last ditch effort” of filing police reports if districts chose to “retain illegal material.”

“Sold” is the second title removed by Wentzville since the district received national headlines for its initial decision to remove Toni Morrison's novel “The Bluest Eye” from schools.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the district in 2022 on behalf of two students who argued the book’s removal violated their civil rights. The board decided to bring the book back 10 days after the lawsuit was filed in federal court.

Wentzville’s school board has considered at least 12 challenged books since 2022. The challenges were brought by six people, with one woman, Amber Crawford, filing five challenges.

The board, for the most part, has agreed to keep the titles.

Only three of the 12 challenged books, including “Sold,” were rejected by the board.

The board voted in 2022 to remove “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Paperback” by Alison Bechdel and “Flamer” by Mike Curato.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct which board members voted against keeping the four books challenged at the Wentzville school board meeting on March 20.