Book that inspired "Wicked" banned by some Florida school districts

Driving the news: Schools in Polk and Manatee counties removed the book from shelves. Critics called it "sick and twisted," the Tallahassee Democrat reported. 

• The novel isn't as PG as the works that follow it, with depictions of crime and sex. Some review sites don't recommend it for those 14 or under, per the Democrat.
• "The book may mislead some that think that the book is similar to the Broadway musical 'Wicked' which revealed the Wicked Witch of the West as someone entirely misunderstood," one resident said.

Yes, but: Alachua County Public Schools, which had also removed the book for a time, recommended that it remain on shelves after a review.

• Stephana Ferrell of the Florida Freedom to Read organization noted that if the movie had been rated R, a high school audience could still have seen it.
• "So why are we holding them back from reading the entire book?" she told the Democrat.