Out of Darkness – a novel by Ashley Hope Pérez
“Out of Darkness,” a novel about a teen interracial couple in 1937, is the most banned book in Utah, per a recent report by the American Library Association.
The big picture: Complaints in Utah and nationwide have overwhelmingly targeted books with themes addressing race and LGBTQ+ identities.
Arrowhead Library System has 7 copies available for check out or hold or also available online for as little as $10.
Every year, books are banned and challenged in public and school libraries, usually because they fall somewhere on a wide spectrum of appropriateness. Often a single parent (or someone who doesn’t have a child in the school district) can challenge a book, which effectively removes it from the shelves pending a review. Many children (and adults) get their reading books from their school or public library, so removing them from the shelf makes them inaccessible to that reader, effectively banning them. We rebelliously read these banned books and discuss what they are about and why they have been banned.
