Banned Books Week

Book Ban Data

Celebrate your freedom to read with a book from any of the challenged books lists and read more about banned and challenged books on the ALA Banned Book FAQ.

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 demands to censor books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted books bans since ALA began compiling data more than 20 years ago. The most challenged and reasons cited for censoring the books are listed below:

1. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
   Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
   HQ77.8.K628 A3 2020
2. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
   Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
   HQ76.27.A37 J644 2020
3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
   Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, EDI content, claimed to be sexually explicit
   PS3563.O8749 B55 2000
4. Flamer by Mike Curato
   Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
5. Looking for Alaska by John Green
   Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
   xGreen
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
   Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
7. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
   Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
   PS3605.V57 L39 2019
8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
   Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
   xAlexie
9. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
   Challenged for: depictions of abuse, claimed to be sexually explicit
   PS3616.E7432 O98 2015
10. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
    Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit
11. Crank by Ellen Hopkins
    Challenged for: drug use, claimed to be sexually explicit
12. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
    Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
    PS3601.N373 M38 2015
13. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
    Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, providing sexual education, claimed to be sexually explicit
    HQ76.26.D39 2021