Barely a month after a controversial Utah law took effect, the state’s school board has released its first list of books that will be banned from all public schools.
The law requires the removal of any book that at least three of the state’s 41 school boards contend has pornographic or indecent material.
Thirteen titles reached that threshold by Aug. 2, the state board said. Davis School District voted to ban all 13, and Alpine School District voted to ban seven. The two districts, in the Salt Lake City area, have led the push to remove books deemed objectionable.
Under the terms of the law, all public school libraries have to get rid of the books, and they cannot be sold or given away.
The 13 books
• The five books of the young-adult series “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” by Sarah J. Maas. The books follow the adventures of a teenager who is abducted into a land of fairies. They are “A Court of Thorns and Roses” (2015), “A Court of Mist and Fury” (2016), “A Court of Wings and Ruin” (2017), “A Court of Frost and Starlight” (2018) and “A Court of Silver Flames” (2021).
• “Empire of Storms,” also by Sarah J. Maas. One of eight books in the “Throne of Glass” young-adult fantasy series, it tells of a teenage assassin’s battle with the leader of a demon-like race.
• “Tilt” by Ellen Hopkins. The intertwined coming-of-age stories of three teens.
• “Fallout” by Ellen Hopkins. The third story in the “Crank” series, about a drug addict and those affected by her struggles.
• “Milk and Honey,” by Rupi Kaur. A collection of poetry and prose about the healing of pain and heartache.
• “What Girls are Made Of,” by Elana K. Arnold. A teenage girl navigates the aftermath of a bad relationship.
• “Blankets,” by Craig Thompson. An autobiographical graphic novel about a boy from an evangelical Christian family growing into adulthood.
• “Forever …,” by Judy Blume. Two 17-year-olds fall in love.
• “Oryx and Crake,” by Margaret Atwood. Speculative fiction set in a post-apocalyptic world.