Booksology The bill is retroactive, meaning the list includes titles that met state guidelines prior to the bill’s commencement date. Pursuant to HB 29, a public or charter school must notify the State Board of Education whenever it removes books that are considered “confidential material.” If the book meets the criteria for removal, all schools will be notified and expected to be disposed of.
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Of the 36 books currently banned in Utah public schools, 26 are written by women. Here is the list:
blanket Written by Craig Thompson (2003)
Courtyard of frost and starlight Written by Sarah J. Maas (2018)
Court of Fog and Fury Written by Sarah J. Maas (2016)
court of silver flame Written by Sarah J. Maas (2021)
Courtyard of thorns and roses Written by Sarah J. Maas (2015)
Wings and Ruined Courtyard Written by Sarah J. Maas (2017)
empire of storms Written by Sarah J. Maas (2016)
fall out Written by Ellen Hopkins (2010)
forever Written by Judy Blume (1975)
milk and honey Written by Rupi Kaur (2014)
Oryx and Quina Written by Margaret Atwood (2003)
tilt Written by Ellen Hopkins (2012)
what are girls made of Written by Elana K. Arnold (2017)
living dead girl Written by Elizabeth Scott (2008)
maiden Written by Elana K. Arnold (2018)
like a love story Written by Abdi Nazemian (2019)
trick Written by Ellen Hopkins (2009)
give water to elephant Written by Sarah Gruen (2006)
13 reasons Written by Jay Asher (2007)
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Written by Gregory Maguire (1995)
19 minutes Written by Jody Pickult (2007)
the perks of being a wallflower Written by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
bag of bones Written by Stephen King (1998)
I’m suffocated Written by Jennifer Niven (2020)
Carnival of Bray Written by Jessie Ann Foley (2014)
The Handmaid’s Tale: Graphic Novel Written by Margaret Atwood, illustrated by Renee Nolt (2019)
red hood Written by Elana K. Arnold (2020)
looking for alaska Written by John Green (2005)
life is interesting Written by ER Frank (2002)
The Haters Written by Jesse Andrews (2016)
bluest eyes Written by Toni Morrison (1970)
people kill people Written by Ellen Hopkins (2018)
stolen life Written by Jaycee Dugard (2011)
clash of kings Written by George R.R. Martin (1998)
lucky Written by Alice Sebold (1999)
different seasons Written by Stephen King (1982)
The average publication date of titles banned by Utah is currently 2008– That’s almost 20 years ago. Many of the books that have been removed are titles that are believed to have been on the bookshelves of the people who were banned themselves when they were students. That they weren’t a problem speaks only of the manufactured panic over “inappropriate” books.
What’s important to understand about this law is that even though it claims to be about “local control,” schools in the state are forced to follow decisions made in other school districts. Utah has 42 public school districts, but only nine have book bans. Of those, Davis is included in 35 bans and Washington is included in 31. The Jordan School District is responsible for 15 cases. One reason this list is growing is because the district is now “catching up” on its records, with Tooele accounting for 12 cases. In other words, two School districts across the state account for the majority of bans..
The Davis School District was recently in the news for a potential data breach after book ban advocate Brooke Stevens, one of the leaders of the biased book review websites RatedBooks and the National Book Rating Index, was granted access to the school library system.
Utah will continue to add more books to this list as the school year draws to a close. States are working backwards from the law’s implementation date, and as we see more books banned in the future, those books may continue to become older and older titles. These titles are not the only books banned in the state. Individual school districts can ban books they deem inappropriate. Of course, this will help add more titles to the state list. Because books only need to be removed in three school districts before they are removed everywhere.
Utah isn’t the only state with a book list like this. South Carolina also maintains an approved list of books that must be removed in all public school districts. The list includes 21 titles, making it the most censorious state when it comes to banning state-sanctioned books. There is also a pending lawsuit in the state, filed by the ACLU on behalf of the South Carolina School Library Association and three public school students under the age of 18. South Carolina hasn’t added a book to its banned list since May 2025.
None of these laws apply to private or homeschool institutions. That’s intentional.
It’s clear that the lawsuit filed against HB 29, which had its first court hearing in mid-May, is not derailing the state’s most important effort in the education system: removing books that have been on shelves for decades. In fact, the banning of books has been accelerating since January of this year.
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