Bestselling classics like The Handmaid’s Tale, Brave New World and others will be pulled from library shelves at Edmonton public schools this fall. An internal list obtained by CBC News showed that over 200 books now deemed “sexually explicit” are slated for removal for students in Kindergarten to Grade 12. The news comes after Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides outlined new rules governing the availability of books in school libraries as of October 1, 2025.

He said the policy is not about banning books, but about putting rules in place for schools that lack standards for age-appropriate material. Beyond many classics, contemporary authors like John Green and Emily Henry also have titles on the list. Books with LGBTQ+ themes like Gender Queer and Two Boys Kissing have also been deemed sexually explicit and will be removed. The move will affect an estimated 115,000 students at over 200 schools in the Edmonton public system.