ST. LOUIS — The 97 books banned in schools across St. Louis this fall cover topics like anatomy, photography and the Holocaust. There are books that are also popular TV series, including “Game of Thrones,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Walking Dead” and “Watchmen.”

And as life imitates art, Kirkwood School District banned a comic book adaptation of George Orwell’s “1984,” the cautionary tale about government mind control.

A new state law banning “explicit sexual material” — defined as any visual depiction of sex acts or genitalia, with exceptions for artistic or scientific significance — went into effect at the end of August and applies to both public and private schools.

Teachers and librarians have scoured their book lists for any applicable content at the direction of lawyers. But interpretation of the law varies by geography, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis of public records:

• Ten school districts in St. Louis city and mostly inner suburbs plan to ignore the law and not change their library collections. University City posted a photo this week of banned books displayed in the middle school library along with a sign reading “We Read Banned Books.”

• Four suburban districts — Francis Howell in St. Charles County and Kirkwood, Lindbergh and Rockwood in St. Louis County — each removed more than 12 books from their schools.

• Wentzville School District banned one book and pulled 223 others “for further review,” including dozens of art history books and “Children’s Bible Stories.”

• Two Jefferson County districts, Fox and Festus, banned no books. A Festus spokesman clarified that materials falling under the law “were never in school libraries in the first place.”

The number of book bans nationwide this school year is on track to top last year’s record total, according to the American Library Association. The spike comes amid a culture war over how educators should teach about race, gender and sexuality.

“When you dictate what people can read, what people can choose from, that’s the mark of an authoritarian society, not a democratic society,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the…