CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. –The Chippewa Falls School Board voted 5-2 to ban the book “Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe” by Preston Norton from the curriculum — but to keep it in the library for students whose parents say it’s OK. A parent had objected to the book, which prompted an advisory committee review. These, the Board announced, were the themes its members discerned after readiug the book:
> The book has significant literary value, particularly on the issue of teen depression and suicide.
> The book contains extreme descriptions of sexual activity and a plethora of swear words. Somebody counted: 768.
Norton. Author of several books exploring teen-ager dilemmas and issues.
The plot
Blurb from publisher Little Brown: “Cliff Hubbard is a huge loser. Literally. His nickname at Happy Valley High School is Neanderthal because he’s so enormous—6=foot-6 and 250 pounds to be exact. He is a nobody at school, and life in his trailer-park home has gone from bad to worse ever since his older brother’s suicide. And there’s no one Cliff hates more than the nauseatingly cool quarterback Aaron Zimmerman, who after a near-death experience claims God gave him a list of things to do to make Happy Valley High suck less. And God said there’s only one person who can help: Neanderthal. To his own surprise, Cliff says he’s in. As he and Aaron make their way through the List, which involves a vindictive English teacher, a mysterious computer hacker, a decidedly unchristian cult of Jesus Teens, the local drug dealers, and the meanest bully at Happy Valley hig School, Cliff feels like he’s part of something for the first time since losing his brother. But fixing a broken school isn’t as simple as it seems, and just when Cliff thinks they’ve completed the List, he realizes their mission hits closer to home than he ever imagined. “
Verbatim
Third person but in Norton;s own words: “Preston Norton is bisexual, slightly genderqueer, married. His partner, Erin, is trying to put him on a diet, and he’s revolting (both contexts apply). He has taught seventh grade and ninth grade English, mentored drug addicts, and mowed lawns (in no particular order). He is obsessed with ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and Quentin Tarantino.”
Reviews
Publishers Weekly: “Funny and sweetly oddball.”
Booklist: “A razor sharp, moving, and outrageously funny read.”
The book is designated by its publisher for 14- to 18-year-olds. The book entered its second printing in 2019.