# Banned books in Utah schools

**20** titles reported as banned, removed, or formally challenged by at least one Utah public-school district. This is a state-aggregated view — the specific district and policy vary per title. Sourced from PEN America's Index of School Book Bans and the American Library Association (ALA) most-challenged list.

**State:** Utah  ·  **Reported titles:** 20
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/banned-books/utah
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.
**Primary source — PEN America:** https://pen.org/banned-book-list/
**Primary source — ALA most-challenged:** https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks
**Utah Department of Education:** https://www.schools.utah.gov/

## Books reported as banned or challenged in Utah schools

- [Beloved](https://readinglist.school/book/beloved) by Toni Morrison _(870L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1987)_
- [Brave New World](https://readinglist.school/book/brave-new-world) by Aldous Huxley _(870L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1932)_
- [Clap When You Land](https://readinglist.school/book/clap-when-you-land) by Elizabeth Acevedo _(Grades 3–10 · pub 2020)_
- [Eleanor & Park](https://readinglist.school/book/eleanor-park) by Rainbow Rowell _(Grades 4–9 · pub 2013)_
- [I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings](https://readinglist.school/book/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings) by Maya Angelou _(1070L · Grades 10–12 · pub 1969)_
- [I'll Give You the Sun](https://readinglist.school/book/ill-give-you-the-sun) by Jandy Nelson _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2014)_
- [Last Night at the Telegraph Club](https://readinglist.school/book/last-night-at-the-telegraph-club) by Malinda Lo _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2021)_
- [Looking for Alaska](https://readinglist.school/book/looking-for-alaska) by John Green _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2005)_
- [Of Mice and Men](https://readinglist.school/book/of-mice-and-men) by John Steinbeck _(630L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1937)_
- [Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda](https://readinglist.school/book/simon-vs-the-homo-sapiens-agenda) by Becky Albertalli _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2015)_
- [Speak](https://readinglist.school/book/speak) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(690L · Grades 8–10 · pub 1999)_
- [The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian](https://readinglist.school/book/the-absolutely-true-diary-of-a-part-time-indian) by Sherman Alexie _(600L · Grades 7–10 · pub 2007)_
- [The Bluest Eye](https://readinglist.school/book/the-bluest-eye) by Toni Morrison _(920L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1970)_
- [The Carnival at Bray](https://readinglist.school/book/the-carnival-at-bray) by Jessie Ann Foley _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2014)_
- [The Handmaid's Tale](https://readinglist.school/book/the-handmaids-tale) by Margaret Atwood _(750L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1985)_
- [The Hate U Give](https://readinglist.school/book/the-hate-u-give) by Angie Thomas _(590L · Grades 9–12 · pub 2017)_
- [The Kite Runner](https://readinglist.school/book/the-kite-runner) by Khaled Hosseini _(840L · Grades 10–12 · pub 2003)_
- [The Perks of Being a Wallflower](https://readinglist.school/book/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower) by Stephen Chbosky _(720L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1999)_
- [The Poet X](https://readinglist.school/book/the-poet-x) by Elizabeth Acevedo _(800L · Grades 8–12 · pub 2018)_
- [What Girls Are Made Of](https://readinglist.school/book/what-girls-are-made-of) by Elana K. Arnold _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2017)_

## How book challenges work in Utah

Utah has 20 titles on file as banned, restricted, or formally challenged by at least one Utah public-school district in the public sources ReadingList aggregates from (PEN America's Index of School Book Bans and the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom most-challenged list). These tracked numbers represent FORMAL challenges that reached district board minutes, ALA OIF reporting, or PEN America's quarterly index — quieter classroom-level removals that never reached those national trackers are not captured here, so the actual scope of restriction in Utah is plausibly larger than this list reflects.

Book challenges in Utah typically follow a layered process: a parent, board member, or community member files a written request for reconsideration of an assigned title with a specific school or district; the district convenes a review committee (usually comprising teachers, librarians, administrators, and sometimes parent representatives); the committee reads the book, evaluates it against the district's selection criteria and against Utah ELA standards, holds at least one public comment session, and votes to retain, restrict (e.g., grade-level limits or parental consent), or remove the title from the approved curriculum. Decisions are typically appealable to the state board of education within a defined window.

Common challenge bases across the 20 Utah titles tracked here mirror the national pattern: sexual content (most common), LGBTQ+ themes, race and racism, profanity or violence, religion and political content, and depictions of substance abuse. Tracked titles include: Beloved; Brave New World; Clap When You Land. Each title's detail page lists the specific Utah district that initiated the challenge, the date, and (when published) the formal challenge basis recorded in district minutes. For deeper context on national patterns, the linked PEN America and ALA pages publish quarterly and annual reports.

For parents, teachers, librarians, and students in Utah navigating this landscape: the practical paths forward depend on role. Parents who object to a specific assigned title can typically request an alternative assignment from the teacher directly without initiating a formal challenge — most Utah districts have informal opt-out paths well before the formal reconsideration process kicks in. Librarians and teachers facing pressure to remove a title can document the formal selection criteria the book met, gather student-reader testimonials (with FERPA-compliant consent), and align with the National Coalition Against Censorship for advisory support. Students directly affected by a book removal can speak at the school board meeting where the decision is reviewed — public comment is open to all Utah district residents. Utah's Department of Education publishes the formal procedural framework — the source link is in the sources block above.

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_Aggregated from PEN America + ALA public reporting. A statewide ban is rare; most removals are at the district or individual-school level, and many challenged titles remain available elsewhere in the state. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/banned-books/utah._