In grant of Banned Books Week, the American Library Association (ALA) has published a list of the 150 astir challenged books documented betwixt 1990 and 2025.
The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 4,235 challenged titles past year, the second-highest full connected record. In this play of feverish censorship, this shouldn’t travel arsenic a surprise. But what is singular is the beneath list’s contented and scope.
Here’s a breakdown of the ALA’s data, including cardinal takeaways astir the astir banned books. Perhaps you’ll beryllium amazed to enactment that the database includes…
20 big classics.
Note: I specify these arsenic canonized novels written for adults. Plenty of accustomed suspects to spot here, including Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Killjoys besides proceed to obstruction against Salinger, Twain, Wright, Morrison, and Huxley.
But connected the modern end, this scholar was amazed to spot Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and Sara Gruen’s Water For Elephants getting apical prohibition marks.
Who knew censors were truthful pressed by—respectively—emotional migration, and avenging circus animals?
8 graphic novels.
Though a newer category, the graphic caller has seemingly enactment a bee successful galore a censor’s bonnet. Illustrated bodies being adjacent much alarming than the ones you tin ideate based connected words alone.
The database includes titles by Alison Bechdel, Gabby Rivera, and Craig Thompson. Notably, a graphic caller adaptation of another often banned title, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, caught treble fire.
11 children’s and mediate people titles.
Most of these books—like Jessica Love’s Julián Is a Mermaid—concern sex individuality and exploration. Other children’s titles—like Justin Richardson’s And Tango Makes Three—affirm queer families.
I was amazed to enactment the recurrence of Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen. But that little flash of cartoon babe nudity continues to fuss prudes, decades aft the book’s archetypal run.
81 young big titles.
Strikingly, the ALA recovered that the immense bulk of banned books challenged since 1990 were written for a young audience.
Theme-wise wrong that category, sex and intersexual contented seems to person tripped acold much censor wires than books dealing straight with weapon violence, radical violence, intelligence illness, drugs, the migrant experience, or—on that goofiest of ends—the “occult.”
Certain writers person been made repetition offenders. No less than 14 books by young big writer Ellen Hopkins made the list. Another recurring sanction successful these stacks is Lauren Myracle, who’s had six of her books challenged.
I was amazed to spot a beardown humanities fabrication beingness successful this category, acknowledgment to the inclusion of books similar Malinda Lo’s Last Night astatine the Telegraph Club. Ditto smutty-lite, materialistic franchises—like Cecily von Ziegasar’s Gossip Girl series.
(I mean for god’s sake, haven’t they shamed Serena van der Woodsen enough?)
10 romantasies.
Sarah J. Maas takes the barroom successful this admittedly caller category. Nine of her books made the astir banned list.
Elsewhere successful romantasy-land, determination has been important humanities vigor astir Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Princess, the 3rd publication successful her best-selling Infernal Devices trilogy.
8 memoirs.
Books successful this class interest intersexual unit and abuse, coming out, and spiritual trauma. To beryllium honest, I was amazed to find lone 8 autobiographies connected the full list. Wouldn’t existent stories would look much threatening, to a power-mad publication burner? But I accidental if there’s immoderate existent takeaway here, it’s that publication banners observe precise small rhyme oregon reason.
The ALA’s database besides includes five puberty guides, one anti-racist handbook, and six titles that defy casual categorization—to the constituent that it’s hard to conjecture however they merited a situation successful the archetypal place.
Books successful the second abstraction see 2 Rupi Kaur collections, and a compilation of shade stories. I’ll hazard that the Satanic Panic is liable successful each these cases.
You tin work up connected (and support!) the 150 astir banned titles here. In the meantime, combat the bully combat and see buying a banned publication today.
Let Books Be illustrations by Loveis Wise, Hyesu Lee, and Mikey Burton.
English (US) ·