Blood, Guts and Cussing

A book containing harsh language and violence was approved for use in Temecula high schools.

A shipment of more than 100 copies of “The Things They Carried,” a collection of stories by Tim O’Brian about the Vietnam War, is scheduled to arrive at the schools late March, said Tammie Mayer, the district’s textbook technician.

The school board voted the book into the district’s curriculum Jan. 18 and Mayer placed the order earlier this month.

Due to the book’s nature, the book will be recommended reading for only juniors and seniors, according to a district report. The book is not mandatory

“It uses interesting language,” said Barbara Burkett, a PTSA member. She supported the decision of the book, despite the rough content.

“Is it a book I’d want a 12-year-old to read? No,” Burkett said. The book is nonetheless an excellent piece of literature, she said. “I was riveted and so was everyone I recommended it to.”

The book’s grittiness adds to its value, said Tyson Newman, an English teacher at Chaparral High School. “It’s a realistic portrayal of what soldiers talk about during war time,” he said.

The book also introduces some philosophical elements. He recalled a story in the book told from one person’s perspective, then again from another, showing two differing versions of the same event.

“It brings up questions about what’s real and what’s perception,” Newman said.

The board tightened its review procedure for books after parents criticized the 2009 approval of “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, a novel that describes a girl dealing with sexual assault.

A committee of teachers from the district’s three high schools and a committee of parents read the book. Both committees recommended the book unanimously.

“It’s a thorough, fair process,” said Timothy Ritter, the district’s superintendent.

After Trustee Vince O’Neil’s son read the book, he wrote a poem, a first for him. “This was the first time he wrote something so personal,” O’Neil said.

The reviewers wrote glowingly of the book in their reviews. “It is powerful, visceral and emotional,” wrote Rachel Merino-Ott, a teacher from Great Oak High School who reviewed the book. “The moving writing brings to life, in many ways, the experience of the Vietnam War.”