Amid a lawsuit brought by several authors earlier this year and approved by a judge to proceed last week, the state of Utah has added seven new books to its list of titles that must be removed from public schools statewide on Monday. That brings the total number of books banned in Utah to 44.

The new books added to the list are

Utah passed one of the strictest bills related to books in public schools in 2024. House Bill 29 (HB 29) allows parents to challenge books they deem “sensitive material,” and it also outright bans books from all public schools in the state if those books have been deemed “objective sensitive material” or “pornographic” per state code in at least three public school districts or two public school districts and five charter schools statewide. The bill took effect on July 1, 2024, and it started with 13 titles.

The bill is retroactive, meaning titles that met the state’s guidelines before the bill’s start date were included on the list. Per HB 29, any time a public or charter school removes a book deemed “sensitive material,” they must notify the State Board of Education. If that book meets the removal threshold, all schools will be notified and expected to dispose of it.

Of the 44 books now prohibited in Utah public schools, 33 are written by women. You can see the full list here. —KJ

We’re delighted to announce that Zero to Well-Read is a finalist for the Signal Awards in two categories: Best Arts & Culture Podcast and Best New Podcast!

Part book club, part English class, Zero to Well-Read is a fun and informative guide to the books people talk about like everyone has read them.

Vote for Zero to Well-Read in Best Arts & Culture Podcast and Best New Podcast.

We all judge a book by its cover. There’s no shame in that—covers are the biggest marketing tool a book has.

But not all book covers are created equal. Some are better than others for reasons that range from being unique to giving a fresh twist to a design trend, or just because. Everyone’s taste differs, and what makes a book cover “the best” is a little science and a lot of subjective preferences. 

So what September book covers deserve a little shoutout for their designs? Here are six of the best from the month. Design teams are credited where that information is available.

→ Cloud Six by Amy Fusselman: There are few true cartoon covers out there, but this one not only is, but it fits the tone of the book. The space in the design—image at the top and the title at the bottom—creates a lot of visual intrigue, too. That’s not to touch the bright colors. 

→ Fallow by Sarah Anderson: Anderson’s book is described as “slyly funny and tender,” and what better image to project than a cow straddling the worlds of boring corporate offices and gorgeous, lush natural landscapes? 

→ Female Life on Planet Earth by Laleh Khadivi: A design that unfurls the longer you look at it, this cover utilizes a lot of shades and shapes of pink. The face–with a slight smirk–in the top left and the hand gesture contrast with the book’s title and simple font choices, inviting intrigue. Is it a gender reveal smoke bomb or something else (or both)?

→ Garden by Hiroko Oyamada, translated by David Boyd and Lucy North: There have been several really memorable bee covers in recent years (see Meat Bees by Dane Erbach, for example). But this one’s all about how detailed the small image is and how it pops against the background. 

→ Ply by Hernan Diaz, cover design by Jason Boohe: This is a font-driven cover, and the use of what look like folded strips of paper makes the title font unique and memorable. The starkness of the cream and peach against the green really makes this one pop. 

→ Switzy by Emma Cline: Deceptively minimalist, the design for this Booker Prize longlist title packs a punch. The illustration is from Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, published in the New York Herald in the early 1900s. It depicts a boy whose dreams are full of fantastical adventures.

There were many good covers this month, and it’s always great when some of the best covers are for books that may otherwise go under the radar. —KJ

Tomi Adeyemi felt the pressure to be “the perfect dark-skinned Black girl, to be ‘Oprah good’.” The author of Children of Blood and Bone talked with The Guardian about the public fallout from the film adaptation of her bestselling YA fantasy novel and the weight of becoming a Black YA lit symbol.

Here’s something that shouldn’t need to be said: No one person can or should represent an entire community; one person’s work cannot and should not symbolize what an entire underrepresented group can contribute to literature or anything else.

In 2018, when Children of Blood and Bone was published, the Children’s Book Cooperative Center reported that, in a sample of 3,682 books for children and teens:

Adeyemi’s spare account of her time spent working on the book series and co-writing the adaptation’s script sounds all too familiar:

“It’s been 12 to 14 years of intense grinding … The whole journey of the trilogy and the adaptation felt biblical … It took all of me.”

It’s one of many stories about Black and Brown people living with the knowledge that they have to work harder than everyone else to achieve the same success, and understanding that their individual failures and successes will be inequitably scrutinized and applied broadly.

We still have no idea what, exactly, happened in the making of the adaptation that led to Adeyemi publicly and completely distancing herself from the film, but it’s not hard to imagine the exhaustion that came with that project and level of success.

I’m going to watch the movie, but I won’t be waiting on news about an adaptation of Adeyemi’s new release, The Siren. – SZW

The Traitors is back! Traitors: New Blood is now airing, and the cast for the new celebrity Traitors season was just announced.

As a lover of all things creepy, I truly believe that The Traitors is the ultimate way to usher in the creepy fall season.

If you’re a fan of The Traitors, have I got some recommendations for you! Just read this post and imagine that you’re in that Scottish castle. Are you there with me? Okay? Let’s do this.

︎ Mazywood by Tananarive Due: While The Traitors takes place at an isolated Scottish castle, Tananarive Due’s recently released Gothic horror novel features an isolated mountain lodge.

︎ Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw: If you love the hidden secrets, deceptions, and back-stabbing on The Traitors, then you’ll love Cassandra Khaw’s novella about a dysfunctional group of friends who gather together at a haunted mansion in Japan for a wedding.

︎ Newbourne Park by Jennifer Thorne: While not set in a castle, Newbourne Park is set in an opulent mansion in England. If you like the dark humor and camp of The Traitors, this book is going to be your vibe.

As a Traitors fan, you’re probably also a huge fan of Gothic fiction in general, so make sure to check out these Gothic horror books from around the globe and these Gothic thrillers. And try not to get murrrrderrred! —EM

It’s big things poppin’ for all things having to do with The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood.

First off, the 2021 mega-bestselling STEMinist romance, which began as a Reylo fanfic, has already been adapted into a buzzy new film that just came out on September 23rd on Prime Video.

Secondly, Hazelwood announced Tuesday that not only will The Love Hypothesis have a sequel—titled The Two-Body Problem (which is an obvious riff off of Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem)—but that sequel is already set to be adapted by MRC for Amazon MGM Studios.

Hazelwood shared the cover of the new book on Instagram, as well as a few deets on what to expect in the sequel:

I’m sure it will sell beaucoup copies. —EE

Did you know? Super-sized “did you know” today in the form of a full podcast episode we published last week on the dizzying fame and life of Capote.

Turn up the heat with these steamy new romance novels.

Close out National Translation Month with these excellent books in translation.

SeaWorld’s horny new Halloween experience includes a romantasy-themed haunted house.

Enter to win a $50 ThriftBooks gift card by signing up for Book Riot’s Romance newsletter!

An immersive Alice in Wonderland experience is coming to London.

Written by Rebecca Schinsky, Jeff O’Neal, Sharifah Williams, Kelly Jensen, Danika Ellis, Erica Ezeifedi, and Emily Martin. Thanks to Vanessa Diaz for copy editing.

Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here.

Got a tip, question, comment, or story idea? Drop us a line: thenewsletter@bookriot.com