Parents complaining about school summer reading lists are rare in Southern New Hampshire towns.

One exception is Pelham.

On Wednesday, Pelham school district administrators yanked the novel "A Prayer for Owen Meany," by New Hampshire-born author John Irving, from the recommended summer reading list for incoming freshmen at Pelham High School.

The decision followed a parent's complaint about objectionable language and sexuality in the story of New Hampshire boys growing up in the 1950s. School administrators reviewed the book and withdrew the district's stamp of approval, School Superintendent Frank Bass said.

Bass said administrators walk a fine line when recommending books.

"Anytime you put something out for students to read in the privacy of their home, you run the risk of a student or parent being offended or the student having to grapple with issues that are highly problematic," he said.

The complaint about Irving's book was the first brought to his attention in his two years in Pelham, he said.

Bass would not say who complained or what the circumstances were.

"I don't want to get into how far the student got into the book," he said.

Also, Bass said, it didn't matter that it was only one complaint. It could have been one or 100. Ultimately, he and his administrators reviewed the book and consulted with the high-school principal before deciding to remove the book from the list.

At Pelham Public Library, "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is checked out regularly and people tend to come back overwhelmed by the story, children's librarian Debbie Laffond said.

"Whoa, they are amazed that someone could go through that and survive," she said.

If a parent asked her whether to recommend the book for a high-school freshman, Laffond said she would tell them it is a strong story, and it would depend on the child and what they want the child to be exposed to.

"It's a very personal decision," Laffond said.

Londonderry Superintendent Nate Greenberg, who has read "A Prayer for Owen Meany," said he has not heard any complaints about summer reading selections in his 10 years with the district.

In fact, Greenberg said, there only have been two complaints about classroom readings, he said. One was Brock Cole's "The Goats," and he said he doesn't recall the other.

"In both instances, we kept the books but changed the grade level for one," he said.

Reading selections can generate rancorous debate. That happened in Litchfield last month after the School Board removed several short stories from a unit in a high-school English class.

Nationwide, school reading selections and summer lists are subject to complaints from parents, according to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the acting director for the office for intellectual freedom with the American Library Association.

She said "Huckleberry Finn," "Beloved," and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" often are the targets of parents' objections.

"We think it is unfortunate that students are denied access to books when a particular parent objects to language or sexual situations in the book ... when the book is commonly read in the high schools," Caldwell-Stone said.

The Pelham action does not deny access to a book, but it does send out a negative message, she said.

"It sets an unfortunate precedent," Caldwell-Stone said.

Ann West, head of the English Department at Pinkerton Academy, said she doesn't know of any complaints about recommended summer reading at the 3,000-student school in Derry.

In 50 years of teaching there, West said she only knows of a handful of complaints about books read by classes during the school year. In those instances, the teachers gave the students another book to read.

"It isn't much of a problem," West said.

School reading lists typically fall into two categories, required readings, often for Advanced Placement classes or in preparation for honors classes, and general offerings.

Salem High School requires students who will be taking regular English 9 to read two books over the summer.

The list includes "Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis, "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros.

The district offers a variety of titles in case a student or parent finds one or more of the books objectionable.

Mark Blount, assistant superintendent at Londonderry High School, said required summer reading for Advanced Placement students is prescribed by college boards.

The school has policies in place for deciding what books are offered to students during the school year or summer, as well as for reconsidering a book's inclusion after a complaint, Blount said.

A survey of recommended reading lists, for summer or other times, at Southern New Hampshire schools includes many classics and some contemporary selections.

All incoming freshmen and sophomores at the new Windham High School are required to read John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men."

Michael York, director of the New Hampshire State Library, said he has noticed that over time people have become more sensitized to books with sexist or racist language, or topics dealing with suicide.

"When I was growing up, nobody complained about 'Huckleberry Finn,'" said York, 62.

But, he said, it's not necessarily a bad thing that people are concerned about the content in books. What is wrong is when people try to impose their reservations about a book on other readers, he said.

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