10 Frequently Banned or Challenged Young Adult Books
1. Source: ALA Office for
Intellectual Freedom
10 Frequently Challenged or
Banned Young Adult Fiction
Books
2015 Theme: Young Adult
Fiction
2. The Absolutely True
Diary of a Part-Time
Indian
By Sherman Alexie
Little, Brown Books for Young
Readers
Source: Little,
Brown Books for
Young Readers
Why Challenged: anti-family,
cultural insensitivity,
drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling,
offensive language, sex education,
sexually explicit, unsuited for age
group, violence, depictions of
bullying
3. Persepolis
By Marjane Satrapi
Pantheon Books/Knopf Doubleday
Source:
Pantheon
Books/Knopf
Doubleday
Why Challenged: gambling,
offensive language, political
viewpoint, “politically,
racially, and socially
offensive,” “graphic
depictions”
4. The Bluest Eye
By Toni Morrison
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston
Why Challenged:
Sexually explicit,
unsuited for age group.
Additional reasons:
“contains controversial
issues”
Source: Stock Photo
5. The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini
Bloomsbury Publishing
Source: Bloomsbury
Publishing
Why Challenged: Offensive
language, unsuited to age
group, violence
6. The Perks of Being a
Wallflower
By Stephen Chbosky
MTV Books/Simon & Schuster
Source: MTV
Books/Simon & Schuster
Why Challenged:
drugs/alcohol/smoking,
homosexuality, offensive
language, sexually
explicit, unsuited for age
group. Additional reasons:
“date rape and
masturbation”
8. Chinese Handcuffs
By Chris Crutcher
Greenwillow
Books/HarperCollins
Source: Greenwillow
Books/HarperCollins
Why Challenged:
depiction of incest, rape,
animal torture, teen drug
use, breaking and entering,
illegal use of a video
camera, profanity directed
to a school principal, and
graphic sexual references
9. The Giver
By Lois Lowry
HMH Books for Young
Readers
Source: HMH Books
for Young Readers
Why Challenged:
depictions of adolescent
drug use, suicide, and
lethal injections
10. The House on Mango
Street
by Sandra Cisneros
Vintage/Knopf Doubleday
Source: Vintage/Knopf
Doubleday
Why Challenged:
mature content, social
issues
11. Looking for Alaska
By John Green
Dutton Books/Penguin Random
House
Source: Dutton
Books/Penguin Random
House
Why Challenged:
Sexual content,
inappropriate/graphic
language
12. About Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week (BBW) is the national book community's annual celebration of
the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw
attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and
hosting a variety of events. The 2015 celebration will be held Sept. 27-Oct. 3.
BBW was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of
challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books
have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association.
There were 311 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2014,
and many more go unreported.
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the voice of the US book and
journal publishing industry. AAP represents the industry’s priorities on policy,
legislative and regulatory issues regionally, nationally and worldwide. AAP is active
in freedom of expression regionally, nationally and globally. Its Freedom to Read
Committee serves as the publishing industry’s watchdog on a wide-ranging slate of
free speech-related issues. Find us online at www.publishers.org or on twitter at
@AmericanPublish.
13. More information on Banned Books
Week:Website: http://bannedbooksweek.org/about
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bannedbooksweek
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BannedBooksWeek
Follow the conversation #bannedbooksweek
