The state of Utah has been on a book banning blitz in 2026. On Friday, June 5, the state added its 35th book to the list of books that must be removed from every public school in the state: Lucky by Alice Sebold. The ban comes amidst a lawsuit challenging these state-sanctioned bans filed in February, and it comes after banning 15 other books in 2026 alone.
With a total of 16 books banned in Utah in 2026, this is now the busiest year for banning books in the state, surpassing 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 books in public schools in 2024. House Bill 29 (HB 29) allows parents to challenge books they deem “sensitive material” and it also outright bans books from all public schools in the state if those books have been deemed “objective sensitive material” or “pornographic” per state code in at least three public school districts or two public school districts and five charter schools statewide. The bill went into effect July 1, 2024, and it started with 13 titles on it.
The bill is retroactive, meaning that titles which met the state’s guidelines prior to the bill’s start date were included on the list. Per HB 29, any time a public or charter school removes a book deemed “sensitive material,” they must notify the State Board of Education. If that book meets the threshold of removals, all schools will be notified and expected to dispose of it.
Of the now 35 books prohibited in any Utah public school, 26 are written by women. The list is as follows:
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Blankets by Craig Thompson (2003)
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas (2018)
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (2016)
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas (2021)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (2015)
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (2017)
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (2016)
Fallout by Ellen Hopkins (2010)
Forever by Judy Blume (1975)
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (2014)
Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood (2003)
Tilt by Ellen Hopkins (2012)
What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold (2017)
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (2008)
Damsel by Elana K. Arnold (2018)
Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian (2019)
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins (2009)
Water for Elephants by Sara 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)
The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley (2014)
The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood and illustrated by Renee Nault (2019)
Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold (2020)
Looking for Alaska by John Green (2005)
Life Is Funny by E.R. Frank (2002)
The Haters by Jesse Andrews (2016)
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970)
People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins (2018)
A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (2011)
A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin (1998)
Lucky by Alice Sebold (1999)
The average publication date of the titles banned by the state of Utah is now 2008–that’s nearly 20 years ago. Many of the books removed are titles were likely sitting on shelves when the people who are banning them were themselves students. That they weren’t a problem them only speaks to the manufactured panic around “inappropriate” books.
What is important to understand about the law is that despite claims this is about “local control,” schools in the state are forced to follow the decisions made in other districts. There are 42 public school districts in Utah, but only nine districts have accounted for the book bans. Among those, Davis has been included in 34 of the bans and Washington, 30. Jordan School District is responsible for 14–one reason this list is growing is that this district is now “catching up” with their records–while Toole has accounted for 11. In other words, two school districts in the whole state account for the vast majority of bans.
We’re going to continue to see more books added to this list in Utah even as the school year comes to an end. The state is working its way backwards from the date of the law’s implementation–so chances are as we see more books being banned here, they’ll continue to be older and older titles. These titles are not the only books being banned in the state. Individual school districts are allowed to ban any books they deem inappropriate–which, of course, helps add more titles to the state list as only three districts need to remove a book before the book must be removed everywhere.
Utah is not the only state with such a book list. South Carolina also retains a sanctioned list of books that must be removed in every public school district. Their list contains 21 titles, making them the most censorious state when it comes to state-sanctioned book bans. There is a pending lawsuit in that state as well, brought by the ACLU on behalf of the South Carolina Association of School Librarians and three public school students under the age of 18. South Carolina has not added any books to their banned list since May 2025.
None of these laws apply to private or homeschool institutions. That’s intentional.
Clearly, the lawsuit filed against HB 29–which had its first court hearing in mid-May–isn’t deterring the most important work in the state education system: removing books that have been on shelves for decades. If anything, it has accelerated the book bans since January this year.
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