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Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns & Roses, Craig Thompson's Blankets, and more part of state-wide Utah schools book ban

Craig Thompson's Blankets and more are part of first ever state-wide blanket ban.

The Utah State Board of Education has issued the first-ever statewide ban of certain books in schools. As reported by ABC News and others, the Utah State Board of Education have identified 13 books which will be banned from all of the state's schools. Among the books are Sarah J. Maas' popular A Court of Thorn and Roses five-book series, Judy Blume's coming-of-age Forever, Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, and Craig Thompson's graphic novel Blankets.

This is said to be the first time a book has been banned on a statewide level in the United States, and is possible through a recently-passed Utah law called H.B. 29, which requires all Utah schools to remove a book if three of the state's school districts (or two school districts and five charter schools) identify it as "objective sensitive material." According to a 2022 government report, there were 945 schools educating 606,998 students in the state of Utah.

The complete list of books banned state-wide in Utah schools is as follows:

  • A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Silver Flames 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

Officials with the Utah State Board of Education said this list of books will be updated as more books meet the criteria laid out in the newly-enforcable law. 


Here are four ways to take action against book bans.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse's Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)

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