The list of books now banned in all Utah schools includes the works of Margaret Atwood, the successful American youth author Judy Blume – and a total of six novels by the best-selling shooting star and Tiotok phenomenon Sarah J Maas who writes in the genre known as “romance”, a fusion of fantasy and romance.
This is the first time such a book ban – “book ban” – has been issued by a state administration in the United States. The previous decisions to ban certain books, which have sparked much debate, have been made by individual schools or local school districts.
The new rules in Utah rest on a new state law that went into effect on July 1. It says the state’s schools must put the goal of protecting children from pornography above other considerations when it comes to literature. In the past, the assessment of books has been the responsibility of schools and librarians and covered a range of criteria, including literary and artistic value.
All books that contain descriptions of sex or masturbation are in conflict with the new rule, writes the New York Times.
According to the rules sent out to the schools, the books that are now sorted may not be sold or given away.
Kasey Meehan of American PEN tells The Guardian that the result will be dumpsters full of books that readers could otherwise keep and that the state leadership avoids “calling for book burnings but the effect is the same: a signal that some books are too dangerous.”