Every year during Banned Books Week (September 22-28 this year), the American Library Association (ALA) celebrates the freedom to read by recognizing books that have been challenged, censored, and banned in libraries and schools.
Check out some of the most challenged books (below)—and why they were challenged—from the last year (compiled from data from the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom).
Our Village Is a Book Sanctuary Community
In June 2023, the Village of Oak Park Board of Trustees voted to name Oak Park a Book Sanctuary Community. The resolution affirms that Oak Park champions diverse and inclusive books, and protects access to challenged and banned books. It also works with the new state law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker that discourages state libraries from removing books because of personal, political, or religious reasons.
Most challenged books in 2023
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Why was it challenged, banned, and/or restricted? It contains LGBTQIA+ content and has been considered to have sexually explicit images.
Description: This autobiography by Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Why was it challenged, banned, and/or restricted? It contains LGBTQIA+ content and profanity and has been considered to be sexually explicit.
Description: From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Why was it challenged, banned, and/or restricted? There is a depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, and profanity, and the content has been considered to be sexually explicit.
Description: A coming-of-age novel told in a series of letters to an unknown correspondent reveals the life of Charlie, a freshman in high school who is a wallflower, shy and introspective, and very intelligent. It's a story of what it's like to grow up in high school, tracing a course through uncharted territory in the world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends.
Flamer by Mike Curato
Why was it challenged, banned, and/or restricted? It contains LGBTQIA+ content and has been considered to be sexually explicit.
Description: It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Why was it challenged, banned, and/or restricted? Morrison's well-known novel is considered sexually explicit and includes depictions of child sexual abuse.
Description: Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove, an African-American girl in an America whose love for blonde, blue-eyed children can devastate all others, prays for her eyes to turn blue, so that she will be beautiful, people will notice her and her world will be different.
Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships & Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan
Why was it challenged, banned, and/or restricted? It contains LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, and is considered to be sexually explicit.
Description: You know all those things that no one ever wants to talk about? How do you find the answers to all the questions you have about yourself, your identity, and your body? Let's Talk About It provides a comprehensive, thoughtful, well-researched guide to everything you need to know. Covering relationships, friendships, gender, sexuality, anatomy, body image, safe sex, sexting, jealousy, rejection, and more, Let's Talk About It is the go-to handbook for everyone.
