Officials say 19 books in Volusia County Public Schools are under review after informal challenges claimed they contain sexual content. Groups of nine will review each book and have public meetings next month to talk about the literature.

Heidi Kellogg has a seventh grader at DeLand Middle School and a 10th grader at DeLand High School. She participated in a school level review committee at her child’s high school back in the fall.

Now, she’s helping review one of 19 books that have been informally challenged due to claims of sexual content at the district level, and says she wants to play a part in identifying what’s allowed.

“My kids love to read," she said. "They’ve loved to read their whole life and I don’t think anyone else should tell them what they can read."

Each group includes a chairperson from a school advisory committee or designee, media specialist, principal, curriculum supervisor, two instructional staff members, and three parent or citizens. Kellogg says that just because a book makes someone uncomfortable, it shouldn’t necessarily be pulled from the shelves.

“There are a lot of books that are very well respected that aren’t being challenged that have a lot of those things in them,” she said.

As a parent, Kellogg says she wants her children to read books that push them outside of the boundaries that have been constructed for them.

“Somebody told me once that they thought that kids that read a lot were the most empathetic people in the world because they walk in other peoples shoes,” she said.

She said if you have never worried about having a roof over your head or food on the table, you can read about it and empathize with someone who has, which can make you a kinder person.

Kellogg said in her home if her children don’t understand something they read about, they talk about it.

The book Kellogg is taking part in reviewing is “TTYL” by Lauren Myracle. The author has four books up for review in Volusia County. The groups will be meeting March 1-10 to discuss their findings.

To find out more about the committee and the books they are evaluating, visit the Book Reconsideration Committee website.