When it was published, Adam Rapp's 33 Snowfish (2003) was lauded by experts and critics as an important, challenging novel that could impact the worldview of its teenage readers because of its complex and mature themes. In the 2020s, those mature themes made the novel a target of conservative activists who want the book to be removed from school libraries on account of its mature themes.
Rapp's novel follows a 10-year-old orphan named Custis, who lives with his foster parent, Bob Motley (who insists that Custis calls him his "owner"). Custis had a very difficult early life, and his time with Bob was even harder. Bob sexually abuses Custis in a particularly awful, dilapidated house in Illinois. He endured the sexual abuse for quite some time. However, when he discovers that Bob will soon force him to star in a snuff film (as the person being murdered), Custis escapes. But Bob doesn't let him get away that easily and sends his gang of misfits after Custis, who works hard to escape from Bob's clutches.
Aside from the interest groups fighting against 33 Snowfish's inclusion in school libraries, Rapp's novel received exceptionally positive reviews from critics at the time of its release. Publisher's Weekly questioned if readers would be able to "stomach" the novel's "language" but felt that the novel was worth the journey to read it.
