Removal of 13 books from all public school libraries in Utah prompts strong reactions

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Board of Education on Friday ordered the removal of 13 books from every public school library in the state in accordance with HB29.

The law allows for removal of challenged books from schools statewide if officials in three school districts (or two districts and three charter schools) decide the material violates state law and should be removed from their schools.

The 13 titles being removed include:

"A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas
"A Court of Mist And Fury" by Sarah J. Maas
"A Court of Frost and Starlight" by Sarah J. Maas
"A Court of Silver Flames" by Sarah J. Maas
"A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas
"Empire of Storms" by Sarah J. Maas
"What Girls Are Made Of" by Elana K. Arnold
"Milk and Honey" by Rupi Kaur
"Forever" by Judy Blume
"Tilt" by Ellen Hopkins
"Fallout" by Ellen Hopkins
"Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood
"Blankets" by Craig Thompson

Friday's news prompted strong reactions from Utah and beyond, with many decrying the decision.

PEN America — a nonprofit with a goal of promoting and defending free expression rights in the U.S. and around the world — on Monday said the removal of the titles marks "a dark day for the freedom to read in Utah."

"The state's No-Read List will impose a dystopian censorship regime across public schools and, in many cases, will directly contravene local preferences. Allowing just a handful of districts to make decisions for the whole state is antidemocratic, and we are concerned that implementation of the law will result in less diverse library shelves for all Utahns," Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, said in a statement.

The organization also raised concerns over guidance from the state that requires local educational agencies to establish a policy to dispose of the titles if they are currently on shelves but specifies that the banned books "may not be sold or distributed."

"The implementation guidelines are vague and will undoubtedly result in dumpsters full of books that could otherwise be enjoyed by readers," Meehan said. "While the final guidance stops short of calling for book burning, the effect is the same: a signal that some books are too dangerous and that the state has the authority to prohibit them. We disagree. We stand with individuals and organizations across Utah in our opposition to the government-mandated No-Read List and call on leaders to stop playing political football with the freedom to read."

After the list of the 13 books was released Friday, Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero issued a statement saying the removal of the books "undermines the authority of locally elected officials and school boards, which are composed mainly of parents who understand their communities."

The Utah House Minority Leader @RepAngelaRomero released the following statement after the Utah State School Board ordered the removal of 13 book titles from every public school in the state, in accordance with a new law passed earlier this year. #utpol #utleg pic.twitter.com/yuNQbi5ynE
— Utah House Democrats (@utahhousedems) August 3, 2024

"Parents should have the autonomy to decide what their children can read, rather than leaving those decisions to a select few," Romero, a Democrat from Salt Lake City, said in her statement.

Utah State Board of Education member Sarah Reale took to the social media platform X to voice her opinions on the removal, saying she is "Grateful it (the list of books) isn't as long as expected."

In accordance with state law, USBE has put together a list of titles that have met the statewide threshold of removal (link below). Grateful it isn't as long as expected. But, I have to laugh...Court of Thorns and Roses? Guarantee those books are in 1 in 5 households in Utah. 😂
— Sarah Reale (@votereale) August 2, 2024

"But, I have to laugh ... 'Court of Thorns and Roses?' Guarantee those books are in 1 in 5 households in Utah," Reale wrote, adding in another post that she doesn't think kids should be reading "A Court of Thorns and Roses" but that "the resources, time, and energy to remove them from libraries is not going to help their book banning cause."

Let Utah Read — a coalition of Utahns, educators, parents, librarians and organizations working to preserve the right to read in Utah — on Friday circulated a petition calling to stop the removal of books from Utah's school libraries, arguing that a majority of the books removed or banned in other districts are written by women authors who write about coming of age experiences for young adults, particularly girls.

The Utah Library Association also took to X to share an action alert from Let Utah Read that asked people who oppose HB29 or the removal of the 13 books to email Utah legislators and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox in an effort to "stop book banning and fix the law."

Action Alert: https://t.co/jF4SxN1rsQ @AuthorsABB @PENamerica @EveryLibrary @ncacensorship @LUWriters @YamileSMendez @nielsenwriter @aj_irving @BobbiePyron @haleshannon @allycondie @julialyonauth @PaisleyRekdal @acluutah @betterutah @letdavisread @myuea @UELMA_Utah https://t.co/HqhflCqjIZ pic.twitter.com/3hzkS5sVqU
— Utah Library Association (@UtahLibraries) August 4, 2024