John Green’s debut novel “Looking for Alaska” is the latest addition to Utah’s growing list of titles banned from all public schools in the state.
The 2005 young adult fiction book follows 16-year-old Miles Halter, who leaves home to attend boarding school in search of the “Great Perhaps,” the famous last words of French poet François Rabelais.
There, he makes new friends, including Alaska Young. The group bonds over pranks and breaking school rules. But when Alaska unexpectedly dies, Miles and the others must confront some of life’s biggest philosophical mysteries.
“Looking for Alaska” was among the Top 52 books banned from U.S. schools in 2025, according to PEN America, a nonprofit that advocates for free expression.
Green late last year called it “strange” that his book was among the top banned titles, more than two decades after it was published.
“I don’t think that people would be so interested in banning books if books weren’t powerful,” Green told PEN American in Q&A about his novel. Stories “help us to feel seen and more than that, they help us to see others.”
Read Carmen Nesbitt's full story at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.