‘Large swaths’ of books banned in U.S.
Top 10 targeted titles in schools, libraries deal with LGBTQ+ issues or race.
The recent surge in book bans in U.S. school districts and libraries is the latest front in a long-running battle that has swept up even a literary masterpiece by Toni Morrison.
But the dramatically increasing censorship attempts have evolved, says Allison Lee, Los Angeles director of PEN America, a century-old writers organization that works to defend freedom of expression.
Before the current wave, communities usually banned books on a case-bycase basis, often in response to complaints about violent or sexual content. Now, Lee says, “large swaths of books, sometimes even entire school or classroom libraries, are being removed.” Many activists and politicians object to an entire genre of books that deal with LGBTQ+ topics or issues. Other targeted books deal with race.
The American Library Assn. reports that in 2022, a record 1,269 demands were made to restrict or ban books and other materials in schools and libraries, up from 156 in 2020.
Here are 10 books PEN America says were most frequently banned from July 2021 through the first part of the 2022-23 school year.
1. “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe.
This bestselling 2019 autobiography in graphic novel format has been praised for its honest, open discussion of what it’s like to be a nonbinary person. It also has been attacked for its frank depiction of sexual behavior, as Times columnist Robin Abcarian wrote in 2022. The debut book by a Santa Rosa illustrator, “Gender Queer” has become the most banned book in America, a target of school boards, conservative candidates, preachers and parental groups who condemned it as pornography aimed at impressionable children. (56 bans; 150 challenges, according to the ALA)
2. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson.
In a recent discussion at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Johnson recalled that as a young Black queer person, they never saw themselves in any of the books they read. That led Johnson to write this 2020 book of comingof-age essays, which has been challenged for its LGBTQ+ content and for being sexually explicit. In 2022, Time magazine named Johnson one of the 100 influencers shaping the next generation. (38 bans, 86 challenges)
3. “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.
First published in 1970, Morrison’s novel about a Black girl growing up during the Great Depression is a meditation on the oppressive nature of America’s white-centric conception of beauty, as New York Times reviewer John Leonard wrote at the time. The story’s depiction of child abuse and sexual violence led to it being banned at a Southern California schooldistrict and elsewhere. (32 bans, 73 challenges)
4. “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez.
A 1937 explosion that killed nearly 300 students and teachers at a Texas school provides the historical context for this YA novel, a love story about a Black boy and a Mexican American girl. Published in 2015, the book written by an Ohio State University literature professor faced challenges in 2021 about sexual depictions in the story. (31 bans, 50 challenges)
5. “Flamer” by Mike Curato.
This award-winning 2020 novel explores a teenage boy’s struggle to understand and accept his sexuality while at summer camp in the 1990s. In an interview with PEN America, Curato described “Flamer” as a book about suicide prevention. Critics objected to its sexualleaning content. (25 bans, 62 challenges)
6. “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas.
Published in 2017, this novel about a teenage girl who witnesses a police officer kill her childhood best friend was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The bestseller was adapted into a 2018 film of the same name. An Illinois school board cited inappropriate language as a reason to ban the book in 2022; other challenges cited violence and an anti-police message. At the Festival of Books in April, Thomas said books like hers are seen as dangerous because of the power they have to create change through empathy. (24 bans)
7. “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins.
The author based her 2004 novel on her daughter’s struggle with addiction to crystal meth and says the experience helped her better understand the nature of addiction. “The power of this novel is still felt in the constant challenges it still faces nearly twenty years after it was originally published,” writes Maryland librarian Nia Thimakis for the ALA. Challenges cited the book’s depictions of drug use and a violent sexual encounter. (24 bans, 48 challenges)
8. “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison.
The 2018 novel tells the story of Mike Muñoz, a young biracial gay Chicano from a working-class family in Washington state. “The coming of age novel has received top marks from critics and readers, but also some challenges as well in schools and libraries because it contains profanity and sexually explicit scenes,” according to the ALA. (23 bans, 54 challenges)
9. “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins.
In this 2009 novel, Hopkins tells the story of five troubled teenagers who become involved in prostitution in different parts of the country. It’s another provocative work by the writer, who had four titles on the ALA’s list of the top 100 banned or challenged books between 2010 and 2019. (21 bans)
10. “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson.
The British author delves into sexuality and gender in her 2014 young adult nonfiction bestseller. “I felt as a former teacher, sex education for LGBTQ+ teenagers wasn’t very good,” Dawson says on Instagram. “They weren’t really learning anything about safety in relationships.” Critics have denounced the book on social media as pornography. (21 bans, 48 challenges)