Gregory Maguire's Wicked novel reportedly banned in Utah—full list here

Utah officials have ordered Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West off public school library shelves, increasing the statewide crackdown on titles deemed "sensitive" under a controversial education law and its recent H.B. 29 Sensitive Material Review Amendments.

The book, published in 1995, inspired Stephen Schwartz's 2003 hit Broadway musical of the same name, and two record-breaking film adaptations — 2024's Wicked and 2025's Wicked: For Good — directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo (as Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (as Glinda).

Wicked is one of three books that were formally banned on January 5, 2026 — along with Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes. This censorship law from the Utah State Board of Education was first passed in 2022 and was subsequently amended in 2024, as reported by Playbill. Altogether, this law has already banned a total of 22 books that "strip library collections of a broad range of books they classify as containing 'sensitive materials,'" the report adds.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah on behalf of authors and two anonymous high school students, arguing that this law violates the First Amendment by ignoring the educational value of published works that are age-appropriate.

Furthermore, the ACLU underscores that a disproportionate number of banned books were written by women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ writers.

The full list of 22 books banned in Utah under this new law and its recent amendments can be found below (via The Salt Lake Tribune).

1. Water for Elephants — Sara Gruen
2. Tilt — Ellen Hopkins
3. Fallout — Ellen Hopkins
4. Tricks — Ellen Hopkins
5. Blankets — Craig Thompson
6. A Court of Thorns and Roses — Sarah J. Maas
7. A Court of Mist and Fury — Sarah J. Maas
8. A Court of Wings and Ruin — Sarah J. Maas
9. A Court of Frost and Starlight — Sarah J. Maas
10. A Court of Silver Flames — Sarah J. Maas
11. Damsel — Elana K. Arnold
12. Empire of Storms — Sarah J. Maas
13. Forever — Judy Blume
14. Like a Love Story — Abdi Nazemian
15. Living Dead Girl — Elizabeth Scott
16. Milk and Honey — Rupi Kaur
17. Oryx & Crake — Margaret Atwood
18. What Girls Are Made Of — Elana K. Arnold
19. Thirteen Reasons Why — Jay Asher
20. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West — Gregory Maguire
21. Nineteen Minutes — Jodi Picoult
22. The Perks of Being a Wallflower — Stephen Chbosky

This story is still developing…