The state of Utah is banning the book blitz in 2026. Late on Monday, July 8, the state added its 36th book to the list of books that must be removed from every public school in the state: different seasons By Stephen King. comes amid restrictions A lawsuit challenging these state-sanctioned restrictions Filed in February, and it comes after 16 other books were banned in 2026 alone.
A total of 17 books were banned in Utah in 2026, This is now the busiest year of book banning in the statePassing the first year of the state’s book removal law, 2024, where 14 titles were banned.
Utah passed one of the strictest bills related to textbooks in public schools in 2024. house bill 29 (HB 29) Allows parents to challenge books they deem to have “sensitive content” and it bans books outright from all public schools in the state if those books are deemed to contain “objective sensitive content” or “obscene” in at least three public school districts or two public school districts and five charter schools, according to state code. The bill took effect on July 1, 2024, and began with 13 titles.
The bill is retroactive, meaning that titles that met the state guidelines before the bill’s start date were included on the list. According to HB 29, whenever a public or charter school removes a book deemed to have “sensitive material”, they must notify the State Board of Education. If that book meets the removal threshold, all schools will be notified and expected to dispose of it.
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Of the 36 books now banned in any Utah public school, 26 are written by women. The list is as follows:
Blanket by Craig Thompson (2003)
A Court of Frost and Starlight Sara J. By Mass (2018)
Court of Mist and Fury Sara J. By the Mass (2016)
a court of silver flames Sara J. By month (2021)
court of thorns and roses Sara J. By the Mass (2015)
A court of feathers and ruin Sara J. By Mass (2017)
kingdom of storms Sara J. By the Mass (2016)
Controversy by Ellen Hopkins (2010)
forever by Judy Blume (1975)
milk and honey By Rupi Kaur (2014)
oryx and crake by Margaret Atwood (2003)
inclination by Ellen Hopkins (2012)
what are girls made of Elana K. By Arnold (2017)
living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (2008)
young lady Elana K. By Arnold (2018)
like a love story By Abdi Nazemian (2019)
move by Ellen Hopkins (2009)
water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen (2006)
Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher (2007)
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (1995)
nineteen minutes by Jodi Picoult (2007)
the perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
bag of Bones by Stephen King (1998)
breathless by Jennifer Niven (2020)
carnival in bray By Jessie Ann Foley (2014)
The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood and illustrated by Renée Nault (2019)
red Hood Elana K. By Arnold (2020)
looking for alaska by John Green (2005)
life is fun by E.R. Frank (2002)
the haters by Jesse Andrews (2016)
bluest eye by Toni Morrison (1970)
people kill people by Ellen Hopkins (2018)
a stolen life by Jesse Dugard (2011)
A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin (1998)
lucky by Alice Sebold (1999)
different seasons by Stephen King (1982)
The average publication date of titles banned by the state of Utah is now 2008-it’s almost 20 years ago. Many of the book titles removed were probably on the shelves when the people who banned them were students themselves. That they weren’t a problem simply reflects the panic built around “inappropriate” books.
What is important to understand about the law is that despite claims that it is about “local control,” state schools are forced to follow decisions made in other districts. There are 42 public school districts in Utah, but only nine districts ban the books. Of those, Davis has been included in 35 sanctions and Washington, 31. Jordan School District accounted for 15—one reason this list has grown is because the district is now “catching up” with its records—while Toole accounted for 12. In other words, Two School districts across the state have most of the restrictions in place.
The Davis School District was recently in the news for a possible information breach, banning the book after attorney Brook Stephens – one of the leaders behind the partisan book review websites RatedBook and National Book Rating Index–Provided access to school library system.
We’ll continue to see more books added to this list as the school year ends in Utah. The state is working backwards from the date of implementation of the law – so it’s likely that as we see more books banned here, they will continue to be older and older titles. These titles are not the only books to be banned in the state. Individual school districts are allowed to ban any book they deem inappropriate – which, of course, helps add more titles to the state list since only three districts need to remove a book before everywhere else.
Utah isn’t the only state with such a book list. South Carolina also maintains an approved list of books that must be removed from each public school district. Their list consists of 21 titles, making them the state with the most censorship in terms of state-sanctioned book bans. There is also a lawsuit pending in that state, brought by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians and the ACLU on behalf of three public school students under the age of 18. South Carolina has not added any books to its banned list through May 2025.
None of these laws apply to private or homeschool institutions. This is done intentionally.
Apparently, the lawsuit filed against HB 29-which Its first court hearing took place In mid-May there is no interruption to the most important work in the state education system: removing books that have been sitting on the shelves for decades. If anything, it has intensified the ban on books since January this year.
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