Lawn Boy book controversy: sexually inappropriate/racist garbage or something else?

And why are so many people praising a white author writing sexually deviant poverty fantasies about a Chicano landscaper stereotype?

You would think, after all the handwringing, pearl clutching and screeching last year over the book American Dirt, that white folks writing fiction about Brown and Black folks would no longer be welcome. But you’d be wrong, at least on the surface. Enter Lawn Boy, written by Johnathan Evison.

For the record, I was against the crusade against American Dirt. Normally, I couldn’t care less who writes about what and I think it’s stupid that some people think you have to be black to write about black characters etc.

That said, when the material is demeaning or disparaging, I tend to pay attention. I do wonder why a white guy chose such a specific character for his book. It’s not like writing about Chicano characters is a popular theme for, well anyone! In fact, about the only time we get written about by others is when it’s a negative portrayal. Well, this book really isn’t that much different in terms of negativity.

What exactly am I talking about? Lawn Boy (even the name rubs me the wrong way - anytime a white person uses “boy” to describe or reference a black or brown person, it should raise a red flag. But that’s just for starters. From the book’s description:

“For Mike Muñoz, a young Chicano living in Washington State, life has been a whole lot of waiting for something to happen. Not too many years out of high school and still doing menial work—and just fired from his latest gig as a lawn boy on a landscaping crew—he knows that he’s got to be the one to shake things up if he’s ever going to change his life. But how?”

Further, the New York Times Book Review called the book’s main character a “10th-generation peasant with a Mexican last name, raised by a single mom on an Indian reservation.”

So, right off the bat you have a character who is dirt poor, no father, living on a rez, he’s uneducated, a landscaper (how original!), and the author calls him “boy” and the NYT calls him a “peasant!”

That’s just fucking great. I already hate this book and its author, but that’s not what upset people.

Recently, this book became the center of attention (and controversy) after an outraged parent in Texas addressed her children’s school board and read passages from the book. It turns out, that not only is Lawn Boy a racist caricature of Chicanos but it also contains some pretty sexually explicit material regarding kids, which has parents freaking out.

So, where to begin and how did I end up going down this goddamn rabbit hole? I blame TikTok. I use TikTok for another business that I run and randomly came across this video. The woman in it, who lives in Austin Texas, was complaining to the school board about the book her high school-aged son was assigned to read. The book? Lawn Boy by Johnathan Evison.

In the video, the mom is upset and she illustrates her point with several poster boards. She proceeds to read aloud from the book, and this all piqued my curiosity as because what we’re really talking about here is “obscene” material and the banning of “obscene” books. So I listened with great interest as I am typically pro free speech and anti censorship. I am also a parent.

Here’s the video:

In the video you will hear her read several passages from the book and what she reads is pretty shocking considering the audience in question. It does, in fact, describe in great detail, sexual activity between two 10-year-olds.

Because of the controversy and the pitchfork-and-torch type of energy generated around it (several parents called the cops, lol), I decided to do some digging. Could this be true? Are they distributing pedophilia books in Texas schools?!

What I discovered was pretty interesting.

First of all, if you go to Amazon, the book is littered with praise. It’s the “editor’s pick” and has 218 reviews with almost 5 stars. It also has 20-plus endorsements from major newspapers and literary reviewers. That’s pretty serious praise. Soooo…what the fuck is going on here?

Even more bizarre to me is the fact that a former colleague of mine is on the back cover of the book with an endorsement of praise for the work and author. If he does in fact endorse this book, and its material, I’m not sure what to think about that.

I can’t fathom all of this praise for a book with pedophile overtones…what the fuck am I missing?

So, I had to read it for myself. You can read it as well, if you choose - Amazon has a free preview on and it even goes up to page 20…so you can read for yourself the passage that the mom in the video read (page 19).

Did I read all of the book? No. Did I read much of the book and the context in question? Yes - several times. And I can tell you without a doubt that Evison’s book is sexually explicit and in the context of writing about the sexual experimentation of 10 year old children. There’s no other way to dress it up, though many have tried.

But why then would a creepy book that contains sexually explicit passages about 10-year-olds receive so much praise? Are all these people sick in the head? Or did they just not read the book?

It seems that most positive reviews that I’ve seen praise the book as a “coming of age” tale. Last time I checked, stories that contain descriptions of sexual acts between children were not praised nor tagged as “coming of age.” But since we live in the fucking Twilight Zone now, is this really a surprise?

Let me see if I can put this into context from a writer’s perspective.

The main character of the book conversationally talks about the time he was 10, in a church group, and how he sexually experimented with another boy. It’s graphic as you can hear in the video above. He uses the experience to not only taunt a homophobic (and racist) character and then another time to challenge/threaten with blackmail the man he experimented with when they were boys, who doesn’t remember it.

It’s written in very conversational dialogue, and as many reviewers have pointed out, the tone of the book puts you at ease to where these conversations come out like an old friend telling you a fucked up story over beers.

Still, is this appropriate material for kids to read in school - even high school..? In my opinion, no. It’s not.

I suppose that’s really a question for parents and their school districts, however I can tell you, as a parent myself, that I would not approve of this book for kids, even high school kids. No matter how much you rationalize it as “coming of age,” or how much praise you heap on it, it’s still inappropriate for kids and should not be part of a public school curriculum, period.

Either the school fucked up OR someone thought this was appropriate. The school in question has said the book is not currently part of the curriculum.

Should the book be banned? No. Burned? No. Should the author be tarred and feathered and put in jail? No. Should he maybe see a shrink? Yes. Dude has issues and it comes out in his work.

I do think it’s telling that author is now trying to hide his face because he is receiving negative backlash from parents and he says, death threats. He’s also receiving a lot negative press. I’m not sure if he’s aware but his face is widely distributed all over the internet so to try and hide it now is laughable.

In a recent interview, the author said the book is “coming of age” and innocent sexual experimentation between kids.”

I don’t know about you but considering the material, that doesn’t pass the smell test for assigning this book to kids. Adults? That’s your own business, though I still question how anyone thinks descriptions of sexual activity between children is appropriate in ANY context.

Personally, he could have written it MUCH less graphically and it would have conveyed the same message but he specifically chose to be sexually explicit and people noticed. And now he looks like a creep.

I tried to remember books that I read in high school - they were few unfortunately. I did read some Stephen King, but that was by choice; no one ever assigned those books as schoolwork. I can’t fathom reading anything sexually explicit back in those days that would have been assigned by the school - it seems ludicrous. But these are very different times we live in.

Parting thought: So, what the fuck..? Why is it that white liberals have these particular weirdo fantasies and characters like this in their creative works? I.e. sexual deviancy and poverty? If anything, it gives you glimpse into what they really think (and want) and that should be cause for concern, at least in my opinion. Whether you agree with the parents or not, any parent should be aware and involved in their kid’s education and in what material they are consuming, even outside of school. Otherwise you risk your kids being brainwashed and or exposed to just about any crazy idea…and there are a lot of crazy fucking ideas these days.

- S/C