Knoxville, TN (WVLT – WOKI) More than 100 books are now prohibited from library shelves in Knox County Schools.
Last July, Knox County’s board of education passed a policy to remove “explicit” books from everyday student access in response to Tennessee’s new Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Specifically, KCS’s policy bans books that “contain nudity or descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence or sadomasochistic abuse.”
At the time, state legislators said removing the books is all about keeping parents’ voices heard across state school districts, giving them more power to opt their children out of instruction that isn’t in line with their values.
A list of books banned from school libraries obtained by WVLT News shows a total of 113 books that are banned. That includes the 48 books which were banned back in December.
School districts statewide are updating their libraries to comply with the new law. The number of books removed has greatly varied with some removing hundreds of book and others only removing a select few.
These are the 65 books KCS has removed from library shelves:
- This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron Aceves
- Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
- The Haters by Jesse Andrews
- Damsel by Elana Arnold
- Red Hood by Elana Arnold
- What Girls Are Made Of by Elana Arnold
- The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood
- Forever by Judy Blume
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
- This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender
- Solo Leveling Vol. 1 by Chugong
- The Little Black Book for Girlz by St. Stephen’s Community House
- Flamer by Mike Curato
- Life Is Funny by E.R. Frank
- The Handsome Girl and Her Beautiful Boy by B.T. Gottfried
- The Nerdy and the Dirty by B.T. Gottfried
- Boys I Know by Anna Gracia
- Welcome to St. Hell by Lewis Hancox
- Crank by Ellen Hopkins
- People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins
- Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
- Rumble by Ellen Hopkins
- Smoke by Ellen Hopkins
- The You I’ve Never Known by Ellen Hopkins
- Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
- I Never by Laura Hopper
- We Are The Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
- The Weight of Blood by Tiffany Jackson
- The Almost Moon by Alice Jebold
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George Johnson
- milk and honey by Rupi Kaur
- the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur
- Naruto Vol. 1 by Masashi Kishimoto
- Blood Lad, Vol. 1 by Yuuki Kodama
- The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee
- A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo
- A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
- House of Sky & Breath by Sarah J. Maas
- Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
- The League of Super Feminists by Minon Malle
- The Dark Knight Strikes Again by Frank Miller
- Exit Here by Jason Myers
- Shine by Lauren Myracle
- Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
- Breathless by Jennifer Niven
- Olympians: Artemis – Wild Goddess of the Hunt by George O’Connor
- Asking For It by Louise O’Neill
- Eyewitness Books: Mammals by Steve Parker
- Juliet Takes A Breath by Gabby Rivera
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
- Cherry by Lindsey Rosin
- Push by Sapphire
- Lucky by Alice Sebold
- Jesus Land by Julia Shears
- Inu-Yasha Vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahasi
- Dragon Ball Vols. 1-2-3 by Akira Toriyama
- Dragon Ball Vols. 4-5-6 by Akira Toriyama
- Dragon Ball Vols. 7-8-9 by Akira Toriyama
- The Merciless by Danielle Vega
- Hell Followed With Us by Andrew White
- Dr. Xargle’s Book of Earthlets by Jeanne Willis
Earlier this school year, KCS removed the following books:
- Me, Earl & The Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
- Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony
- 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
- Girls on the Verge by Sharon Biggs Waller
- There’s Going to Be a Baby by John Burningham
- Draw Me A Star by Eric Carle
- Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
- A Stolen Life by Jaycee Duggar
- The Carnival of Bray by JessieAnn Foley
- In A Glass Grimmly by Adam Gimwitz
- Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
- Locke and Key: Alpha and Omega by Joe Hill
- Locke and Key: Clockworks by Joe Hill
- Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill
- Identical by Ellen Hopkins
- Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Attack on Titan Vol. 2 by Hajime Isayama
- Grown by Tiffany Jackson
- DUFF by Kody Keplinger
- The Walking Dead: Book Ten by Robert Kirkman
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
- Monstress Vol. 2: the Blood by Marjorie Liu
- Late Night at the Telegraph Club by Malina Lo
- Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
- Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
- The Way We Work by David Macaulay
- Wicked by Gregory Maguire
- Sold by Patricia Morrison
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- Skin by DonnaJo Napoli
- Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
- Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
- Beautiful by Amy Reed
- Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Graphic Novel by Ransom Riggs
- You: The Owner’s Manual for Teens by Michael Roizen
- I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez
- In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
- A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
- The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
- Blankets by Craig Thompson
- Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Story courtesy of our news partner WVLT
