The Texas Department of Criminal Justice — the agency that runs Texas state prisons — maintains a public list of books and other publications it has refused to allow inside its facilities. Each entry cites the specific page or pages and the specific content that triggered the denial: a photograph, a rape scene, a depiction of a minor, a sexually explicit image. TDCJ calls it the Denied Books List.

On May 11, 2026, LION cross-referenced the Whitewright High School library inventory provided by the district against the TDCJ list.

Fourteen books on Whitewright HS shelves appear on the TDCJ list. Thirteen of those fourteen were denied for sexual content — depictions of rape, child sexual abuse, incest, or sexually explicit imagery. The fourteenth was excluded from this report because the TDCJ denial reason was specific to fighting techniques, a concern specific to incarcerated adults. The thirteen titles, alphabetical, with TDCJ’s stated reason for denial:

• Cinema: Year by Year, 1894–2004 (reference) — Page 95 contains a sexually explicit image.
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker — Pages 11 & 12 depict incest (stepfather/stepdaughter).
• Crank by Ellen Hopkins — Page 341 contains a graphic depiction of rape.
• Four Past Midnight by Stephen King — Pages 547 & 548 depict the rape of a minor.
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson — Page 67 contains a sexually explicit image; pages 113–117 depict rape.
• The Kiss by Kathryn Harrison — Page 128 contains incest (father/daughter).
• The Last Juror by John Grisham — Pages 24, 25, and 26 depict rape. Whitewright HS holds two copies.
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold — Page 15 depicts sexual assault of a minor (age 13).
• The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal (reference) — Pages 102 and 232 contain sexually explicit images. Title-only match — see verification note below.
• Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult — Page 17 depicts indecency with a child.
• The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño — Page 15 depicts sex with a minor (age established on page 3).
• Sold by Patricia McCormick — Pages 102, 103, 120, and 121 depict sex with a minor (age 13).
• World Without End by Ken Follett — Pages 497, 498, and 1085 contain graphic depictions of rape.

Twelve of the thirteen entries above match the TDCJ list on both title and author. The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal matched on title only; the Whitewright catalog provided to LION does not include ISBNs, and at least two editions of that reference work exist with different pagination. LION cannot independently confirm the edition on the Whitewright shelf is the same edition TDCJ flagged. The title remains on the list for transparency.