A Katy, Texas, school district has banned 14 more books, including Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, the basis for the film that is currently the hottest ticket in the country, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Maguire’s novel, a reimagining of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was adapted into a 2003 musical that was in turn adapted into a film released last month. The movie, directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, was a box office hit, having grossed over $350 million worldwide so far.
According to PEN America, Maguire’s book has been banned in more than 30 school districts across the nation.
Other books banned by the Katy school district include Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, and Katie Green’s Lighter Than My Shadow.
Some of the other books banned by the district are frequent targets of censors: Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange, Patricia McCormick’s Sold, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake.
The Katy school district has previously made headlines over its book bans. In September of 2023, the school banned titles including Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. and John Green’s Looking for Alaska. This August, the board approved a policy that would ban any books about gender fluidity.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
