Moms for Liberty Banned Book ListThe Novels They Want Taken Out of Schools

Florida enacted a new law earlier this year that allows parents to raise objections to books they deem inappropriate and to petition school districts to ban them.

Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration then proceeded to assemble a council tasked with creating restrictions for public school libraries and to train school librarians to abide by the law. But as reported by The Daily Beast last week, some of those appointed to the group are conservative parents with a history of pushing for book bans.

Candidates with years of teaching and experience were passed over for self-nominated candidates like Michelle Beavers, the website reported. She has no teaching experience but leads the Brevard County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that says it challenges "short-sighted and destructive" policies in public schools.

Moms for Liberty formed last year and has become known since then for its opposition to critical race theory in public schools, and its efforts to get books with LGBTQ+ themes removed from school libraries. This week, the group said it had endorsed 270 candidates running in school board elections who will promote those efforts.

The Moms for Liberty chapter in Florida's Indian River County challenged more than 150 books in November last year, but the Indian River County School Board later voted to remove only five: Blanketsby Craig Thompson, Triangles by Ellen Hopkins, Girl 2 Girl by Julie Peters, Deogratias: A Tale by Alexis Siegel and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. The full list of challenged books can be viewed here.

Meanwhile, the Brevard chapter has challenged 41 books in school libraries, saying they violate state pornography statutes, ClickOrlando.com reported.

The list includes the modern classic Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Khaled Hosseini's acclaimed novel The Kite Runner and Sally Rooney's bestselling Normal People.

"We're not looking to ban any books," Moms of Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice told Newsweek.

Referencing recent calls for an upcoming book by Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett to be canceled, Justice said: "There were people that don't want the book to be published. That's banning books. Our moms are saying write the book, publish the book, print the book, sell the book wherever you'd like to sell it, but don't put it in a public school library if it has explicit sexual content in it."

Moms for Liberty and Brevard County Schools have been contacted for comment.

Here is the full list of books the Brevard chapter of Moms for Liberty has sought to have removed from schools:

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

Forever by Judy Blume

Lucky by Alice Sebold

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

Sold by Patricia McCormick

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

What Girls are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Infandous by Elana K. Arnold

Push by Sapphire

The Haters by Jesse Andrews

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Breathless by Jennifer Niven

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

YOU: A Novel by Caroline Kepnes

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres

People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins

Beautiful by Amy Reed

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Normal People by Sally Rooney

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

Update 11/3/22, 11:55 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Tiffany Justice.

Uncommon Knowledge

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