Research Guides: Banned Books: Protect Your Freedom to Read

A Worrisome Trend

Since 2021, ALA has tracked a sharp spike in censorship attempts in libraries. In 2024, ALA recorded the third highest number of book challenges since tracking began in 1990: ALA documented 821 attempts to censor library books and other materials in 2024 across all library types, a decrease from 2023, when a record high 1,247 attempts were reported. ALA recorded attempts to remove 2,452 unique titles in 2024, which significantly exceeds the average of 273 unique titles that were challenged annually during 2001–2020.

Censorship by the Numbers
Resources documenting the number and locations of censorship attempts against libraries and materials compiled by ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom.
Book Ban Data, ALA
Latest numbers from ALA about book bans and challenges in the United States, including preliminary data from the first half of 2023. TL;DR: They're up. A lot.
Banned and Challenged Books
ALA's page devoted to censorship attempts and the annual Banned Books Week celebration.
Book Bans, PEN America
Resources and commentary related to book bans in the U.S., including a comprehensive list of successful school bans, assembled by a national writer's association.
Ralph E. McCoy Collection of the Freedom of the Press
Housed in the Special Collections Research Center on the first floor of Morris Library, the McCoy Collection offers the opportunity to explore issues of censorship and freedom of expression from a historical perspective. It is one of the world's best collections of rare books highlighting the history of First Amendment freedoms. It includes examples of many books that have been banned in the United States and Europe over the centuries. Many of the books listed below part of this collection.

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used in Overview of African American history collections in SCRC on Resources for the Study of African American History in Southern Illinois: Overview of Special Collections
Beacon for Freedom of Expression
The Beacon for Freedom project maintains an extensive database of censored publications and publications about censorship.

Read Banned Books Free Online

The Banned Books Club and Books Unbanned are two initiatives to allow folks across the U.S. access and read banned books for free online.

Banned Book Club
Program to provide free access to electronic copies of banned books. Follow the steps to "Access Banned Books" to get your free card and start reading.
Banned Books Club at the Palace Project
Jump straight to the app the Banned Book Club uses to provide access to available titles.
Books Unbanned
A number of public libraries nationwide have joined the Books Unbanned initiative, offering free access to commonly challenged or banned titles in eBook form to readers age 13-26. If you fall in that age bracket, sign up for a free temporary library card and read banned books!

Top Ten Challenged Books from the Last Five Years

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie, Sherman
#8 most challenged book of 2022 for profanity and supposedly being sexually explicit. #6 most challenged in 2021. #5 most challenged in 2020.

Fiction. "Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot."
All Boys Aren't Blue by Johnson, George M.
#1 most challenged in 2024 for LGBTQIA+ content and claimed to be sexually explicit. #2 most challenged in 2023. #2 most challenged in 2022. #3 most challenged in 2021.

"In a series of personal essays, journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. 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."
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Kuklin, Susan
#10 most challenged book of 2021 for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit. #2 most challenged in 2019.

Nonfiction. "Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference."
The Bluest Eye by Morrison, Toni
#3 (tie) most challenged book for 2024 for depiction of sexual assault, depiction of incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, and EDI content. #6 most challenged book for 2023. #3 most challenged book of 2022. #8 most challenged in 2021. #9 most challenged in 2020.

Fiction. "It is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove -- a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others -- who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different."
Flamer by Curato, Mike
#10 most challenged of 2024 for LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit. #5 most challenged of 2023. #4 most challenged of 2022.

"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."
Gender Queer by Kobabe, Maia; Phoebe Kobabe (Inker and colorist)
#2 most challenged in 2024 for LGBTQIA+ content and claimed to be sexually explicit. #1 most challenged in 2023. #1 most challenged in 2022. #1 most challenged in 2021.

"Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography 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 fan fiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: It is a useful and touching guide on gender identity--what it means and how to think about it--for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere."
The Hate U Give by Thomas, Angie
#5 most challenged book of 2021 for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda. #10 most challenged in 2020.

Fiction. "Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer."
Let's Talk About It by Moen, Erika; Matthew Nolan
#9 most challenged of 2023 because it was Claimed to be sexually explicit and offered sex education and LGBTQIA+ content.

"A graphic novel about sex, sexuality, gender, body, consent, and many other topics for teens"-- Provided by publisher
Is what I'm feeling normal? Is what my body is doing normal? Am I normal? How do I know what are the right choices to make? How do I know how to behave? How do I fix it when I make a mistake? Let's talk about it. Growing up is complicated. How do you find the answers to all the questions you have about yourself, about your identity, and about your body? "Let's talk about it" provides a comprehensive, thoughtful, well-researched graphic novel guide to everything you need to know. Covering relationships, friendships, gender, sexuality, anatomy, body image, safe sex, sexting, jealousy, rejection, sex education, and more, "Let's talk about it" is the go-to handbook for every teen, and the first in graphic novel form."
Looking for Alaska by Green, John
#6 most challenged book (tie) of 2024 for supposedly being sexually explicit. #5 most challenged book (tie) of 2022.

Fiction. "Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash."
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Andrews, Jesse
#6 (tie) most challenged book of 2024 for profanity and supposedly being sexually explicit. #7 (tie) most challenged book for 2023. #9 (tie) most challenged for 2022. #7 most challenged in 2021.

Fiction. "It is a universally acknowledged truth that high school sucks. But on the first day of his senior year, Greg Gaines thinks he's figured it out. The answer to the basic existential question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? His strategy: remain at the periphery at all times. Keep an insanely low profile. Make mediocre films with the one person who is even sort of his friend, Earl. This plan works for exactly eight hours."
Melissa (previously Published As GEORGE) by Gino, Alex
#1 most challenged in 2020 for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community”.

"When people look at Melissa, they think they see a boy named George. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl. Melissa thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. Melissa really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part ... because she's a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, Melissa comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all."
Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck, John
#8 most challenged book in 2020 for racial slurs and racist stereotypes, and their negative effect on students.

Fiction. "Tells a story about the strange relationship of two migrant workers who are able to realize their dreams of an easy life until one of them succumbs to his weakness for soft, helpless creatures and strangles a farmer's wife."
Out of Darkness by Pérez, Ashley Hope
#9 most challenged book of 2022 for depictions of abuse and supposedly being sexually explicit. #4 most challenged in 2021.

Fiction. "Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines."
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Chbosky, Stephen
#3 (tie) most challenged book of 2024 for supposedly being sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, depiction of sexual assault, depiction of drug use, and profanity. #4 most challenged book of 2023. #5 most challenged book (tie) of 2022

Fiction. "A coming of age novel about Charlie, a freshman in high school who is a wallflower, shy and introspective, and very intelligent. He deals with the usual teen problems, but also with the suicide of his best friend."
Sold by McCormick, Patricia
#8 (tie) most challenged book of 2024 for depiction of sexual assault and supposedly being sexually explicit. #10 most challenged book for 2023.

Fiction. "Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her poor mountain home in Nepal thinking that she is to work in the city as a maid only to find that she has been sold into the sex slave trade in India and that there is no hope of escape."
Speak by Anderson, Laurie Halse
#4 most challenged of 2020 because t was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity.

"A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school."
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Reynolds, Jason and Ibram X. Kendi
#2 most challenged book in 2020 because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.

Nonfiction. "As Kendi provocatively illustrates, racist thinking did not arise from ignorance or hatred. Racist ideas were created and popularized in an effort to defend deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and to rationalize the nation's racial inequities in everything from wealth to health."
This Book Is Gay by Dawson, Juno
#3 most challenged book in 2023 for LGBTQIA+ content, providing sexual education, and because it was claimed to be sexually explicit. #10 (tie) most challenged book in 2022. #9 most challenged of 2021.

"Inside this revised and updated edition, you'll find the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask: from sex to politics, hooking up to stereotypes, coming out and more. This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it's like to grow up LGBTQIA+ also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention hilarious illustrations"
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper, Lee
#7 most challenged book in 2020 for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.

Fiction. "A young girl growing up in an Alabama town in the 1930s learns of injustice and violence when her father, a widowed lawyer, defends a black man falsely accused of rape."

Morris Library

Banned Books: Protect Your Freedom to Read

A Worrisome Trend

Read Banned Books Free Online

Top Ten Challenged Books from the Last Five Years