Lawsuit Raises Literary Value of Age-Appropriate Books
Utah is one of two states (with South Carolina) that has imposed a statewide “no read” book list, prohibiting these titles in all public school classrooms and libraries across the state. This week, Utah has added three more bestselling novels for young adults to that censored book list to adhere to a highly restrictive law that forbids “indecent materials” in schools.
This latest censorship comes as a lawsuit against the state on behalf of authors and students argues the state’s book bans violate their First Amendment rights. The ACLU of Utah filed the suit on Tuesday with plaintiffs including the estate of Kurt Vonnegut, Elana K. Arnold, Ellen Hopkins, and Amy Reed, raising the state’s disregard of the literary value of age-appropriate books as a free speech violation.
With the three latest titles – acclaimed bestsellers Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Utah has banned 22 books from all public schools. South Carolina has also banned 22 books statewide.
McKenna Samson, program manager for PEN America’s Freedom to Read Program, said: “State laws that silence authors and prevent students from learning about important ideas violate basic freedoms under the First Amendment— the right to read, learn, and share ideas. We can’t allow censorship to take root under laws with vague prohibitions against topics deemed unacceptable by an extremist movement. The right to read is fundamental. These laws are wrong and should be struck down by the courts.”
Maguire’s 1995 dark fantasy novel, reimagining The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of Elphaba, the wicked witch, inspired the hit Broadway play Wicked and two blockbuster movies. Picoult’s 2007 novel about a school shooting and Chbosky’s 1995 novel about an introverted teenager were both New York Times bestsellers, as Wicked also has been.
The elevation of the three banned titles to the “no read” list was triggered this week under Utah state law, HB-29 which established a “threshold” for removing books across the state if books are banned in at least three school districts or two districts and five charter schools. The books were removed due to the law’s prohibition on “objective sensitive materials” defined as “pornographic or indecent material.” The threshold was hit when only eight of 41 school districts (and 100 charter schools) banned the three books.
The lawsuit by the ACLU of Utah is one of several brought by publishers, authors, and advocacy organizations against school districts in different states, including suits by PEN America in Florida and Tennessee.
The Utah ACLU quoted Vonnegut’s daughter Nanette, an artist and writer, in its press release regarding the lawsuit. “In 1975, my father Kurt Vonnegut’s book Slaughterhouse-Five was among 11 books removed from library shelves in a New York school district, leading to a landmark victory in the U.S. Supreme Court case Board of Education, Island Trees School District v. Pico,” she said. “He regarded libraries and librarians as our most vital public institutions because ‘words are the most powerful tools we have.’” Now, more than half a century later, Utah’s lawmakers’ determination to ban books like Slaughterhouse-Five denies innumerable young people in Utah the freedom to read, think, and grow; it is antithetical to what my father fought for during World War II and focused much of his literary legacy on addressing.”
Since the book ban crisis began in 2021, PEN America has documented nearly 23,000 book bans in public schools nationwide, an unprecedented number. The dangerous mix of extremist activist groups and vague legislation that has led to this wave of censorship are detailed in PEN America’s latest report.
The titles that have been banned in public schools span a range of genres and topics, but generally explore issues such as race, gender, sexuality and coming-of-age experiences.
The Utah “no read list” also highlights the impact of book bans on female authors, often writing about female experiences, as 17 of the 22 books banned statewide are written by women.
The full list of banned titles in Utah is as follows:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Frost and Starlight, by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Mist and Fury, 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 (Crank, Book 3), by Ellen Hopkins
- Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood
- Blankets, by Craig Thompson
- Living Dead Girl, by Elizabeth Scott
- Damsel, by Elana K. Arnold
- Like A Love Story, by Abdi Nazemian
- Tricks, by Ellen Hopkins
- Water for Elephants, by Sarah Gruen
- Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
- Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire
- Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Learn more about PEN America’s work against book bans here.
