"Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It brings together the entire book community -- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types -- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular(1)."
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According to the website sites.psu.edu, The Hunger Games is banned for its religious viewpoints, violence, occult/satanic, offensive language, anti-ethnic, anti-family, and sexuality(9).
According to the website thebookescape.com, Beloved was challenged for being to violent(2).
According to the website bannedlibrary.com, The Giver has been challenged by many groups from the 1990s and 2000s trying to get it banned on the grounds that it was violent and included sexually explicit material(5).
According to the American Library Association, Looking for Alaska ranked number six on the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2016. The reason that it was challenged was due to it being considered sexually explicit(4).
*Only available through Interlibrary Loan (I-Share)*
According to the American Library Association, Two Boys Kissing ranked number 11 in the Top 11 Most Challenged Books of 2018. The reason for its ranking is because the book has been challenged and burned for including LGBTQIA+ content(4).
According to the American Library Association, Thirteen Reasons Why ranked number six on the Top 11 Most Challenged Books of 2018. The reason for its ranking is because it has been "banned, challenged, and restricted for addressing teen suicide."(4)
According to the American Library Association, Beyond Magenta ranked number two on the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2019. The reason that it ranked so high is because it is being challenged for having "LGBTQIA+ content, for 'its effect on any young people who would read it,' and for the concerns that it was sexually explicit and biased."(4)
According to the website bannedlibrary.com, Go Ask Alice was challenged in 2008 in South Carolina at Berkeley County's Hanahan Middle School for having language, sexual content, drug use, and blasphemy(6).
According to the American Literature Association (ALA), The Handmaid's Tale was banned and challenged for its profanity and "vulgarity and sexual overtones."(4)
According to the website thoughtgo, The Great Gatsby has been challenged by religious organizations for its language, violence and sexual references(8).
According to the website thoughtco, To Kill a Mockingbird has been frequently banned and challenged on sexual and social grounds(7).
According to the website bannedlibrary.com Bridge to Terabithia was first challenged in 1986 in Nebraska due to the use of profanity like, "Oh Lord" and "Lord". As the years passed it has continued to be banned because of the language, "witchcraft" being displays, and the disrespect shown towards adults. In 2002 Cromwell, Connecticut banned it along with others because of the quote, "they are 'satanic [and] a danger to our children."(3)
According to the ALA, Make Something Up: Stories You Can't Unread ranked number eight on the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2016. The reason it was challenged was due to its profanity, sexual explicitness, and being "disgusting and all around offensive."(4)
Photo Credit: Quillie Gaskill
