In a draconian move, Normal People is one of fifty-eight books that have been banned from Walton County Public School Libraries in Walton County, Florida.

Sally Rooney's smash hit coming of age novel joins the likes of E.L. James' 50 Shades Of Grey, Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes and Arundhati Roy's The God Of Small Things on the banned list.

There also appears to be zero tolerance for books addressing any form of sexuality or non-traditional family units, with Carolyn Robertson's Two Dads, Leslie Newsman's Mammy, Mama & Me and The Gender Quest Workbook: A Guide For Teens And Young Adults Exploring Gender Identity all barred from public school libraries in Walton County.

"Among the books on the list is The God Of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy," says our man Chris Donovan, "which was widely hailed as a major literary success, winning the Booker Prize in 1997. It was also notable for challenging the caste system, which still sheds its dark shadow over life in India. The book was criticised in India for its open descriptions of sexuality and in her home State of Kerala, Roy had to face charges of obscenity. However, it has subsequently appeared in many lists of the Greatest Indian Novels of all time. Whoever compiled the list clearly didn’t have a clue as to the identity of the writer, leaving out the name ‘Roy’ completely.

"The list is also notable for featuring two books – The Bluest Eye (1970) and Beloved (1987) – by Toni Morrison, widely regarded among the most important black writers of the past 100 years. She won her first major award in 1977, scooping the National Books Critics Circle Award for Song Of Solomon. Since then she has consistently ranked among the most critically acclaimed and most decorated writers in America, including variously winning the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award (1988), the American Book Award for Beloved (1988), the Nobel Prize in Literature (1993), the French Commender of the Arts and Letters, Paris (1993). The National Humanities Medal (2000), the Norman Mailer Prize, Lifetime Achievement (2009), Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction (2011), and the PEN/Saul BellowAward for Achievement in American Fiction (20160, among dozens more. Toni Morrison died in 2019. In 2020, it was decided that Toni Morrison Day would be celebrated annually in Ohio, on her birthday February 18th."

The Brooklyn Public Library, which has launched a Books Unbanned initiative, says in response: "The American Library Association reported 729 challenges to library, school and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. Most targeted books were for a teen audience and were by or about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons. This represents the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling these lists 20 years ago."

In a separate move this week, the state of Florida has banned a number of maths textbooks for students because of their references to critical race theory and other 'prohibited topics'.

The following was tweeted by Daniel Uhlfelder who's just announced his candidacy for Florida Attorney General.
"Ron DeSantis and his sidekicks in Tallahassee have been warned," the Democrat says.

BREAKING: My home county, Walton County, Florida has moved forward on banning 58 books from Walton County Public School Libraries.

Here is the list: pic.twitter.com/IDjnq0XKNP

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) April 20, 2022

Libraries across the country are facing an increasingly coordinated effort to remove books from shelves. With #BooksUnbanned, BPL seeks to combat the negative impact of censorship. Learn more at https://t.co/4sPbslW817 pic.twitter.com/rw9C7oxwBV

— BKLYN Library (@BKLYNlibrary) April 13, 2022