Conservative activist Bonnie Wallace, who has been vocal about sexually explicit books in Texas public schools, is now calling attention to books in school libraries that contain extreme violent content.
Wallace has attended multiple school board meetings to show trustees that books containing sexually explicit material are available in their school libraries and should be removed.
“Nobody really knows what’s in the books until you start researching and delving into it,” Wallace told the Daily Signal. “Then, it’s like, ‘what in the world are we doing?’”
Wallace’s Lawsuit With Houston ISD
Wallace filed a lawsuit against Houston ISD after the school board removed her from a March 2026 school board meeting where she read from “A Court of Silver Flames,” a Sarah J. Maas fantasy romance novel filled with sexually explicit content.
Her lawsuit alleges that Houston ISD violated her First Amendment rights by stopping her from speaking and removing her from the meeting.
Books With Violent Content in Texas Schools
However, Wallace is now raising concerns about books that describe or depict violent acts that she says are inappropriate for minors. The activist provided the Daily Signal with information on multiple books found in many Texas public school libraries that contain extreme violent content.
The first, “By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead,” by author Julie Anne Peters, follows a character who plans to commit suicide after experiencing long-term bullying. Wallace says the book teaches children “how to kill themselves correctly the first time,” particularly because it depicts the character using websites to create a countdown to her planned death.
“Suicide rates are the highest they’ve ever been, and it would seem very common sense to not have books that glamorize or trivialize suicide paid for by tax dollars,” Wallace told the Daily Signal.
The activist says this is not the only book available in school libraries that should concern parents.
According to Wallace, “Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls,” by author Lynn Weingarten, contains a plot involving the murder of a diabetic parent in a way that could go undetected.
Weingarten’s book follows the story of a teenage girl who no longer wants to live with her parents. The main character, Delia, fakes her own suicide by finding a girl at a homeless camp who resembles her and killing her. Delia then writes a fake suicide note before running away with another group of teenagers.
The teenagers later decide that Delia’s father, whom she says offended her, should die, and they inject him with a fatal amount of insulin in an attempt to make his death appear to be a suicide.
Wallace says the book also contains drug and alcohol use.
“It’s just very deep and dark,” she said. “Why are we planting these types of thoughts into our children’s minds? I say we need to do better.”
Another book Wallace cites, “Assassination Classroom,” by author Yusei Matsui, is a 21-volume manga series that depicts teachers and students using knives and firearms in attempts to kill one another.
Wallace says the series depicts schools as combat zones and could instill fear in children who attend school.
“They’re reading this stuff, and then they’re afraid of each other. They’re afraid of school, and not just that, they may be the one child that decides to bring a knife or gun to schools to kill others,” Wallace said. “I think that, with tax dollars, we should have more discernment on what we’re spending money on. …The content is so deep and dark, and I would even say demonic.”
Mother Speaks out Against Violent Book
A mother living in Florida spoke with the Daily Signal about her son’s experience reading the violent book, “Night,” by Elie Wiesel. “Night” is a memoir detailing his experiences as a prisoner in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buna, Gleiwitz, and Buchenwald during the Holocaust.
The book depicts graphic scenes, including beatings and physical abuse, executions, mass murder, descriptions of people dying, dead bodies, and the physical effects of starvation and imprisonment.
The Florida mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said that after her son read the book, he experienced a crisis.
“I remember him telling us he didn’t want to read it. I remember him telling us it was giving him nightmares,” the mother said.
She explained that her son had nightmares over one scene depicted in the book in which babies were thrown in the air and shot, particularly because he had a younger brother.
“He’s 10 years older than his little brother,” the mother said, “so I imagine it just made him really think a lot about his baby brother being in that situation, and it was just really hard for him.”
The Florida woman said she believes the book can bring “tremendous educational value,” but that educators should “worry about the age appropriateness and the psychological effects” the book can cause on younger minds.
Despite pushback against the book from activists and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who argue that its depiction of graphic violence is age-inappropriate for middle-schoolers, the Texas State Board of Education approved the Holocaust memoir as statewide required reading for eighth-grade students. It will be implemented in 2030.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Calls Out Schools
Last month, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held a news conference alongside Wallace, where they discussed books with sexually explicit and violent content that are available in taxpayer-funded school libraries across the state.
Patrick told reporters that school districts have been warned that there could be consequences if they do not remove such books.
“School districts be aware. Next session, if these books are not off the shelf, we will pass a law that will knock your grade letter down one,” the lieutenant governor said. “So, if you’re an A school, you’ll be a B. If you’re a B, you’ll be a C. If you’re a C, you’ll be a D—and an F, you can’t go much lower than that to begin with. Maybe that’s why you have an F school.”
Patrick added, “If this is what’s in your library, we also can look at potential budget issues. We are not going to have this filth and vulgarity and violence—of graphic scenes of rape, of stories of teachers and students having a sexual affair. And it’s in our school libraries.”
Texas Prisons Prohibit Some Books Found in Schools
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice maintains a list of thousands of books that prisoners are prohibited from possessing inside state prisons. Wallace provided the Daily Signal with that list and says some of those books are available in public school libraries.
Among those are “Lucky,” by Alice Sebold; “Push,” by Sapphire; and “All the Rage,” by Courtney Summers; which all contain graphic depictions of rape, according to Wallace.
“The Lovely Bones,” by Alice Sebold, includes the sexual assault of a minor and a serial killer who preys on young girls. “After the Fire,” by Will Hill, includes sexual content involving a minor. “Living Dead Girl,” by Elizabeth Scott, also includes sexual abuse of a minor.
Wallace claims that at least 56 books on the criminal justice department’s prohibited list may be found in high schools, with some also available in elementary and junior high schools.
“The books that are highlighting graphic violence against children are undermining the value of human life,” Wallace said. “They are books that are literally eroding and minimizing the value of human life to children who don’t have the discernment to understand that this is fiction.”
“We need better laws that prohibit this and penalize school districts [that] are not complying with the new laws,” Wallace added.
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
