Banned Books
“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
First published in 1970, Morrison’s novel about a Black girl growing up during the Great Depression is a meditation on the oppressive nature of America’s white-centric conception of beauty, as New York Times reviewer John Leonard wrote at the time. The story’s depiction of child abuse and sexual violence led to it being banned at a Southern California high school and elsewhere. (32 bans, 73 challenges)
“Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez
A 1937 explosion that killed nearly 300 students and teachers at a Texas school provides the historical context for this YA Novel a love story about a Black boy and a Mexican American girl. Published in 2015, the book written by an Ohio State University literature professor faced challenges in 2021 about sexual depictions in the story. (31 bans, 50 challenges)
“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas
Published in 2017, this novel about a teenage girl who witnesses a police officer kill her childhood best friend was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The bestseller was adapted into a 2018 film by the same name. An Illinois school board cited inappropriate language as a reason to ban the book in 2022; other challenges cited violence and an anti-police message. At the Festival of Books in April, Thomas said books like hers are seen as dangerous because of the power they have to create change through empathy. (24 bans)
“Crank” by Ellen Hopkins
The author based her 2004 novel on her daughter’s struggle with addiction to crystal meth and says the experience helped her better understand the nature of addiction. “The power of this novel is still felt in the constant challenges it still faces nearly twenty years after it was originally published,” writes Maryland librarian Nia Thimakis for the ALA. Challenges cited the book’s depictions of drug use and a violent sexual encounter. (24 bans, 48 challenges)
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie
Based on his own experiences, Alexie tells the story of a budding cartoonist growing up on a Spokane, Wash., reservation. Detractors have challenged the 2007 bestseller, citing sexual references and profanity. (21 bans, 52 challenges)
“Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher
This 2007 novel explores the reasons a teenage girl decided to take her own life, recorded on cassette tapes discovered by a friend. The book was adapted into a Netflix series in 2017. One Colorado school district banned the book, saying it glamorized suicide, according to PBS News Hour (20 bans)
“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
This 1951 novel is a classic of post-World War II American literature. The ALA notes that this title has been a favorite target of censors since its publication. Numerous school districts removed it from libraries and reading lists between 1960 and 2000.
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews
This 2012 novel centers around two teenage boys who try to make a movie about their female friend with leukemia. One Missouri school district pulled it from libraries in 2023 because of explicit sexual language. (20 bans, 48 challenges)
“Sold” by Patricia McCormick
This 2006 novel, about a young Nepalese girl who struggles to survive being sold into sexual slavery, was a National Book Award finalist. But its realistic depiction of her plight has led to challenges. (18 bans)
“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
The Nobel Prize-winning author’s novel about the Dust Bowl and the hard lives of displaced farmers and their families in California became a bestseller in 1939. It was banned and copies were burned in Kern County, the destination of the fictional Joad family.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
The classic 1960 novel about racial injustice in a Southern town has been banned and challenged in numerous communities. Challenges often cite language and racial depictions.
“Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
Modern Library’s editorial board ranked “Brave New World,” the 1932 novel about the discontents of a technologically-advanced future society, as the fifth most important novel of the 20th century. Nevertheless, the book was challenged as required reading in the Corona-Norco Unified School District in 1993 because it is “centered around negative activity.” The novel also was removed from a high school library in Foley, Ala., in 2000 after a parent complained that it showed contempt for religion, marriage and family.
“Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell
The 1949 dystopian novel was challenged in Florida in 1981 for being “pro-communist” and sexually explicit.
Written by Carlie Renee
