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Banned Books, Censorship, & Intellectual Freedom: Banned or Challenged Books

resources and further information about why books are banned and what books have been banned recently

Top 10 Banned Books 2021

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

#1 Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images

Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

#2 Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

 

 

 

Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

#3 All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

#4 Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

#5 The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

#6 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

#7 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

#8 The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

#9 This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.

Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

#10 Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit. 

List(s) of Banned Books

The Office of Intellectual Freedom, part of the American Library Association, tracks reports from libraries, schools, and the media on banned and challenged books.  The 10 books above were the most challenged titles for 2021.  If you'd like to see more of the most challenged books from past years, those are available on the American Library Association website: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10.  Lists are available for each year, or for the top 100 most challenged books by decade.

You can also view the books by category - Children's Books, Young Adult Books, Classics, or Books with Diverse Content

Read Banned Books

Some books that have been challenged or banned are available via Project Gutenberg.  They are available on the Project Gutenberg website.

The Internet Archive also has a collection of banned or challenged books available electronically.