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Banned Books Week

A curated guide highlighting frequently challenged and banned books and resources for research issues surrounding intellectual freedom.

Top 10 most challenged books

Top Ten Most Challenged Books in 2024 Available for Checkout

cover - all boys aren't blue

#1 All Boys Aren't Blue

Number of challenges: 39

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

cover Gender Queer: A Memoir

#2 Gender Queer: A Memoir

Number of challenges: 38

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

cover #3 The Bluest Eye

#3/4 (Tie) The Bluest Eye

Number of challenges: 35

Challenged for: rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content

cover art -The Perks of Being a Wallflower

#3/4 (Tie) The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Number of challenges: 35

Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, profanity

Tricks

#5 Tricks

Number of challenges: 33

Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQIA+ content

#6/7 (Tie) Looking for Alaska

Number of challenges: 30

Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit 

COVER Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

#6/7 (Tie) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Number of challenges: 30

Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity

Crank book Cover

#8/9 (Tie) Crank

Number of challenges: 28

Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, depiction of drug use

Sold book cover

#8/9 (Tie) Sold

Number of challenges: 28

Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, rape

cover - Flamer

#10 Flamer

Number of challenges: 27

Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

Challenged and Banned Classic Literature

Top Challenged Books 2013-2022

2024

2024 Banned books

2023

2023 Banned books

2022

top Banned in 2022

2021

top Banned in 2021

2020

top ten 2020

2019

top 10 2019

2018

top 10 2018

2017

top ten 2017

2016

top ten 2016

2015

top ten 2015

2014

top ten 2014

Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books by Decade

Linked titles are availble for checkout at Ekstrom Library. Other titles can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

  1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  2. Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
  3. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
  4. Looking for Alaska by John Green
  5. George by Alex Gino
  6. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
  7. Drama by Raina Telgemeier
  8. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
  9. Internet Girls (series) by Lauren Myracle
  10. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  11. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  12. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  13. I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel
  14. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  15. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  16. Bone (series) by Jeff Smith
  17. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
  18. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
  19. A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss
  20. Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg
  21. Alice McKinley (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
  22. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris
  23. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
  24. Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
  25. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
  26. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  27. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
  28. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  29. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
  30. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  31. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
  32. It's a Book by Lane Smith
  33. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  34. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
  35. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
  36. A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer
  37. Bad Kitty (series) by Nick Bruel
  38. Crank by Ellen Hopkins
  39. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
  40. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
  41. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey
  42. This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman
  43. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
  44. A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
  45. Beloved by Toni Morrison
  46. Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine
  47. In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco
  48. Lush by Natasha Friend
  49. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
  50. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
  51. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
  52. The Holy Bible
  53. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
  54. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
  55. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
  56. Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily von Ziegesar
  57. House of Night (series) by P.C. Cast
  58. My Mom's Having A Baby by Dori Hillestad Butler
  59. Neonomicon by Alan Moore
  60. The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake
  61. The Giver by Lois Lowry
  62. Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  63. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
  64. Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle
  65. Dreaming In Cuban by Cristina Garcia
  66. Fade by Lisa McMann
  67. The Family Book by Todd Parr
  68. Feed by M.T. Anderson
  69. Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
  70. Habibi by Craig Thompson
  71. House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
  72. Jacob's New Dress by Sarah Hoffman
  73. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
  74. Monster by Walter Dean Myers
  75. Nasreen’s Secret School by Jeanette Winter
  76. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
  77. Stuck in the Middle by Ariel Schrag
  78. The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
  79. 1984 by George Orwell
  80. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
  81. Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
  82. Awakening by Kate Chopin
  83. Burned by Ellen Hopkins
  84. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
  85. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
  86. Glass by Ellen Hopkins
  87. Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesle´a Newman
  88. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  89. Madeline and the Gypsies by Ludwig Bemelmans
  90. My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis
  91. Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack
  92. Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology by Amy Sonnie
  93. Skippyjon Jones (series) by Judith Schachner
  94. So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
  95. The Color of Earth (series) by Tong-hwa Kim
  96. The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
  97. The Walking Dead (series) by Robert Kirkman
  98. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
  99. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S Brannen
  100. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

"Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books: 2010-2019", American Library Association, March 26, 2013. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade2019 (Accessed September 23, 2024)

Linked titles are availble for checkout at Ekstrom Library. Other titles can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

  1. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
  2. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
  3. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
  4. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
  5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
  6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  7. Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
  8. His Dark Materials (series) by Philip Pullman
  9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series) by Lauren Myracle
  10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  11. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
  12. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
  13. Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
  14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  15. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  16. Forever by Judy Blume
  17. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
  18. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
  19. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  20. King and King by Linda de Haan
  21. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  22. Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily von Ziegesar
  23. The Giver by Lois Lowry
  24. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
  25. Killing Mr. Griffen by Lois Duncan
  26. Beloved by Toni Morrison
  27. My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier
  28. Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
  29. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney
  30. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
  31. What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones
  32. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
  33. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
  34. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
  35. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
  36. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  37. It’s So Amazing by Robie Harris
  38. Arming America by Michael Bellasiles
  39. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
  40. Life is Funny by E.R. Frank
  41. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
  42. The Fighting Ground by Avi
  43. Blubber by Judy Blume
  44. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
  45. Crazy Lady by Jane Leslie Conly
  46. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
  47. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey
  48. Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
  49. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
  50. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  51. Daughters of Eve by Lois Duncan
  52. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
  53. You Hear Me? by Betsy Franco
  54. The Facts Speak for Themselves by Brock Cole
  55. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Green
  56. When Dad Killed Mom by Julius Lester
  57. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
  58. Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
  59. Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes
  60. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
  61. Draw Me A Star by Eric Carle
  62. The Stupids (series) by Harry Allard
  63. The Terrorist by Caroline B. Cooney
  64. Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park
  65. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
  66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
  67. A Time to Kill by John Grisham
  68. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
  69. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  70. Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen
  71. Junie B. Jones (series) by Barbara Park
  72. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
  73. What’s Happening to My Body Book by Lynda Madaras
  74. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
  75. Anastasia (series) by Lois Lowry
  76. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
  77. Crazy by Benjamin Lebert
  78. The Joy of Gay Sex by Dr. Charles Silverstein
  79. The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss
  80. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
  81. Black Boy by Richard Wright
  82. Deal With It! by Esther Drill
  83. Detour for Emmy by Marilyn Reynolds
  84. So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Watkins
  85. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
  86. Cut by Patricia McCormick
  87. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
  88. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  89. Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissenger
  90. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
  91. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
  92. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
  93. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
  94. Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine
  95. Shade’s Children by Garth Nix
  96. Grendel by John Gardner
  97. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
  98. I Saw Esau by Iona Opte
  99. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
  100. America by E.R. Frank

 

"Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books: 2000-2009", American Library Association, March 26, 2013 ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade2009 (Accessed September 23, 2024)

Linked titles are availble for checkout at Ekstrom Library. Other titles can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

  1. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
  2. Daddy’s Roommate, by Michael Willhoite
  3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
  4. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
  5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
  6. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
  7. Forever, by Judy Blume
  8. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
  9. Heather Has Two Mommies, by Leslea Newman
  10. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
  11. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
  12. My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
  13. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
  14. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
  15. Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
  16. A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
  17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
  18. Sex, by Madonna
  19. Earth’s Children (series), by Jean M. Auel
  20. The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
  21. In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
  22. The Witches, by Roald Dahl
  23. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
  24. The New Joy of Gay Sex, by Charles Silverstein
  25. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
  26. The Goats, by Brock Cole
  27. The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard
  28. Anastasia Krupnik (series), by Lois Lowry
  29. Final Exit, by Derek Humphry
  30. Blubber, by Judy Blume
  31. Halloween ABC, by Eve Merriam
  32. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
  33. Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane
  34. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
  35. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters, by Lynda Madaras
  36. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
  37. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
  38. The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
  39. The Pigman, by Paul Zindel
  40. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
  41. We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
  42. Deenie, by Judy Blume
  43. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
  44. Annie on My Mind, by Nancy Garden
  45. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
  46. The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar
  47. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat, by Alvin Schwartz
  48. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
  49. Cujo, by Stephen King
  50. James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
  51. A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein
  52. Ordinary People, by Judith Guest
  53. American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis
  54. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
  55. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
  56. Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard
  57. Asking About Sex and Growing Up, by Joanna Cole
  58. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons, by Lynda Madaras
  59. The Anarchist Cookbook, by William Powell
  60. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
  61. Boys and Sex, by Wardell Pomeroy
  62. Crazy Lady, by Jane Conly
  63. Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
  64. Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan
  65. Fade, by Robert Cormier
  66. Guess What?, by Mem Fox
  67. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
  68. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
  69. Native Son, by Richard Wright
  70. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies, by Nancy Friday
  71. Curses, Hexes and Spells, by Daniel Cohen
  72. On My Honor, by Marion Dane Bauer
  73. The House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende
  74. Jack, by A.M. Homes
  75. Arizona Kid, by Ron Koertge
  76. Family Secrets, by Norma Klein
  77. Mommy Laid an Egg, by Babette Cole
  78. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo A. Anaya
  79. Where Did I Come From?, by Peter Mayle
  80. The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline Cooney
  81. Carrie, by Stephen King
  82. The Dead Zone, by Stephen King
  83. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
  84. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
  85. Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
  86. Private Parts, by Howard Stern
  87. Where’s Waldo?, by Martin Hanford
  88. Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene
  89. Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
  90. Little Black Sambo, by Helen Bannerman
  91. Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett
  92. Running Loose, by Chris Crutcher
  93. Sex Education, by Jenny Davis
  94. Jumper, by Steven Gould
  95. Christine, by Stephen King
  96. The Drowning of Stephen Jones, by Bette Greene
  97. That Was Then, This is Now, by S.E. Hinton
  98. Girls and Sex, by Wardell Pomeroy
  99. The Wish Giver, by Bill Brittain
  100. Jump Ship to Freedom, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

 

Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books: 1990-1999", American Library Association, March 26, 2013. ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade1999 (Accessed September 23, 2024)

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