A group of best-selling authors whose books are banned from Utah public schools are suing the state, arguing its sensitive materials law is unconstitutional.
Filed in federal court, the lawsuit comes after three more books were banned from K-12 schools.
“Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the Broadway musical and two PG-rated films was added to the 22-title list.
KUER reports in a 2024 interview, Maguire said his book is not meant for children and that he purposely included “somewhat raunchy material” in the early pages to show readers what they were getting into.
The two other added titles are, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky and “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult. Both stories are set in high schools.
In 2024, PEN America said “Nineteen Minutes” was the most commonly banned book in the U.S.
Among those suing over Utah’s book ban law are award-winning novelists Elana K. Arnold and Ellen Hopkins, the Estate of Kurt Vonnegut and two anonymous Utah public high school students.
In a 59-page complaint they say that “by disregarding the literary value of age-appropriate books and removing them, Utah is trampling on the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.”
The Salt Lake Tribune reports one of the high school plaintiffs says she was sexually assaulted during her freshman year and sought out Arnold’s novel, “What Girls Are Made Of,” a title that has been removed from schools across the state.
The student says she wanted to read the book to cope with her trauma, only to realize it had been banned.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the Utah State Board of Education and its 15 members, Utah Attorney General Derek Brown and three Utah school districts.
