Young adult novel pulled amid online criticisms

NEW YORK – The author of a debut young adult novel has pulled his book amid criticism of how it portrayed the Kosovo War of the late 1990s.

Kosoko Jackson tweeted Thursday that he had asked his publisher to withdraw “A Place for Wolves,” scheduled for release in March. Jackson’s book was set during a time when Serbian and Yugoslav forces were murdering Muslim Albanians in Kosovo. On Goodreads and elsewhere online, “A Place for Wolves” was sharply criticized for centring the narrative on two Americans and having a Muslim terrorist as a villain, even though Muslims were being killed. Jackson apologized Thursday for doing a “disservice” to those who suffered.

In late January, Amélie Wen Zhao delayed her fantasy novel “Blood Heir” after complaints on social media it was racially insensitive.