Running from the 18th of September to the 24th, Banned Books Week celebrates our freedom to read, and is sponsored by a large number of organisations, including Amnesty International, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and the National Book Foundation, to name but a few.
For as long as books have been published, certain establishments, may they be political, religious, or social, have sought to prevent readers from getting their hands on certain books, due to fear of the messages and ideas contained within. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for books to be challenged, restricted, and even banned in the present day. With that in mind, here are ten of the most challenged books of the past 12 months.
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
Published in 2017, this Young Adult novel is expanded from a short story the author wrote in college following the police shooting of Oscar Grant. The novel is narrated by the character Starr Carter, a 16-year-old African-American girl from a poor neighbourhood who attends a wealthy, white majority, private school in an affluent neighbourhood. After witnessing a white police officer kill her friend, Starr’s life is embroiled in turmoil as she speaks up against the killing.
While The Hate U Give received critical acclaim upon its release, this didn’t stop it from facing a number of challenges from certain establishments in the United States. Since its publication, The American Library Association has listed it as one of the most challenged books in recent years due to accusations of vulgarity, drug use, offensive language, sexual references, and the promotion of anti-police messages. Shortly after its release, a South Carolina police union objected to the book being included in the Summer reading list for students at Wando High School, describing the book as “almost indoctrination of distrust of police”. The book remained on the reading list and the school’s principal was recognized by the state school library association for defending the novel, along with several other titles, including All American Boys. More recently, it was removed from school libraries of the Katy Independent School District for its explicit language. In late 2021, it was also removed from some Washington County School District Libraries for similar reasons. Thomas defended her novel, stating that it helped spur conversations.
All American Boys – Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Another Young Adult novel which tackles racism and police brutality, All American Boys follows two teenagers, Rashad Butler and Quinn Collins. The books alternates from the perspective of Rashad, a black boy who is assaulted by a police officer after he is suspected of thievery, and Quinn, a white boy who witnesses the assault. Praised by critics for its discussions of racism and police brutality, Publishers Weekly stated “the scenario that Reynolds and Kiely depict has become a recurrent feature of news reports, and a book that lets readers think it through outside of the roiling emotions of a real-life event is both welcome and necessary.”
Despite its success, the book has been one of the most banned in recent years due to its inclusion of profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be ‘too much of a sensitive matter right now.’ Like The Hate U Give, the book was challenged by a South Carolina police union for its supposed anti-police themes. In North Carolina, two parents, one of whom was a police officer, challenged the book being taught at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius. The school responded by inviting police officers, parents, faculty, and the community, to attend classes which reviewed the book. It was eventually decided the novel would remain on the school’s curriculum.
This Book is Gay – Juno Dawson
Described as “a manual for all areas of life as an LGBT person”, This Book is Gay examines what it’s like to grow up as LGBT, and includes testimonials from across the LGBT spectrum, and takes a both funny but frank look at the world through the eyes of those who are lesbian, bisexual, gay, queer, transgender or just curious. Despite its positive reception upon its publication in 2014, the book still regularly faces challenges.
A petition in Wasilla, Alaska, aimed to have the book pulled from library shelves due to its profanity and sexually explicit content. Dawson responded by saying the petition highlighted how “there is still such small-mindedness and hatred left to contend with.” Early this year, This Book is Gay was among 52 books banned by the Alpine School District due to the implementation of Utah law H.B. 374, “Sensitive Materials In Schools.”
The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
Despite being published in 1970 by one of America’s most beloved authors, The Bluest Eye is still regularly challenged for its content, which some argue includes offensive language, sexually explicit material, and controversial issues, as well as the depiction of child sexual abuse unsuited for the reader age group. Set in Morison’s hometown of Lorain, Ohio, the novel follows a young African-American girl named Pecola growing up in the 1940s. Often described by others as “ugly” for her mannerisms ad dark skin, Pecola develops an inferiority complex, which fuels a desire for blue eyes, which she strongly associates with “whiteness”.
Containing difficult themes such as race, offensive language, sexually explicit material, and its depiction of child sexual abuse, it’s not surprising the book has been routinely challenged by certain groups since it’s publication. Most recently, in January, the Wentzille school board went 4-3 in a vote to ban the book, going against the review committee’s 8-1 vote for it to be kept in the district’s libraries. This ban included several other titles, such as All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.
All Boys Aren’t Blue – George M. Johnson
Described as a Young-Adult non-fiction “memoir manifesto” by its author George M. Johnson, All Boys Aren’t Blue was published in 2020 and consists of essays written by Johnson that follows their life growing up as a queer Black man in Plainfield, New Jersey and Virginia. While primarily about Johnson’s own experiences, it also directly addresses Black queer boys who lack anyone in their lives experiencing a similar situation. Along with a number of other topics, the book’s more controversial themes touch upon consent, agency, and sexual abuse, which have caused to face numerous challenges in the short time since its publication.
The American Library Association listed the book as one of the most challenged books of 2021 in the United States, with school boards in at least ten different states banning it from their libraries. The same year, a board member of Flagler County School filed a criminal complaint against the Superintendent for carrying the book. The removal of the book sparked student protests and the County Sheriff’s Office found that the content of the book was not a violation of law and no further investigation was commenced. The book was also included with the list of books banned by the Alpine School District, 42% of which were LGBTQ+ related books.
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Harper Lee’s modern classic To Kill a Mockingbird tackles a number of difficult issues, primarily the issue of racism and inequality in the Deep South. Despite its subject matter, the novel has been praised for its warmth and humour, showing the events of the book through the eyes of a six-year-old girl nicknamed Scout, who’s father, Atticus, is a lawyer representing a black man accused of raping a white woman. Given its themes and inclusion of racial slurs, the book has been challenged many times over the decades, with some claiming it is not suitable for children to be taught.
In 2022, parents complained that the use of racist language meant, along with a number of other titles, the book was not suitable for teaching to children. Burbank (CA) Unified School District superintendent opted to remove such titles from required classroom reading lists. Due to a review committee’s recommendation, use of the N-word was banned in all school classes. Titles that were removed are made available for individual reading and, with the correct training, teachers can use then with small groups in order to spur conversations on racism and racial identity. The reading lists will be reviewed every eight years. The same year, following concerns raised by students and parents, the William S. Hart Union High School District in Santa Clarita (CA) chose to keep the book available in the school’s library, but it will no longer be allowed to be taught by teachers as part of their curricula.
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Another titles often cited as a modern classic of American literature, Of Mice and Men tells the tragic story of George and his simple-minded friend Lennie, two displaced migrant workers in California looking for work amidst the devastation of the Great Depression. The book doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of life during this time, and its themes include loneliness, racism, sexism, and death. Despite being a classic that has been taught in schools for decades, Of Mice and Men routinely receives challenges due to its bleak themes, making it a frequently seen novel on the American Library Associations lists of most banned books.
Along with To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men was also included in the list of books restricted by the Burbank (CA) Unified School District earlier this year. It was also among the challenged books no longer allowed to be taught by teachers at the William S. Hart Union High School District. Lessons on the book have since been dropped at the Henry Sibley High School (West St. Paul, MN) after certain parents and staff raised “concerns about racist stereotypes and slurs”, which they felt were not suitable for the ninth-grade students.
Maus – Art Spiegelman
The first and, for now, only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize, Maus was created by Art Spiegelman, and tells the story of Spiegelman’s father’s experiences as a Polish Jew during The Holocaust. Based on interviews with his father, Spiegelman anthropomorphises the different faction of WWII, presenting the Jews as mice, Nazis as cats, and Allies as dogs, fish, and frogs. On the surface, this may seem a crass way to present such a serious and devastating period of human history, but the results speak for themselves. Maus presents readers with the true horrors of The Holocaust, and the unimaginable pain and suffering endured by so many people. Maus was met with overwhelming critical acclaim upon its release, and has since gone down as one of the most important graphic novels ever created.
Despite its success, Maus’ dark subject matter has seen it challenged a number of times over the years, and such challenges go right up to the present day. At the beginning of 2022, a school board in Tennessee chose to ban the historical graphic novel, which in turn caused sales on Amazon to skyrocket. Ten school board members in McMinn county opted to remove the book from its curriculum, citing “rough, objectionable language” and drawings of naked women as being unsuitable for 13-year-olds. “We don’t need to enable or somewhat promote this stuff,” said Tony Allman, a McMinn county board member. “I am not denying it was horrible, brutal and cruel,” he said of The Holocaust. “It shows people hanging,” he said of the novel. “It shows them killing kids. Why does the education system promote this kind of stuff? It is not wise or healthy.” Spiegelman said the decision was “baffling” and left him with his jaw open. However, the board’s decision only caused the graphic novel to become even more widely read. Sales of the title shot up on Amazon’s charts, a professor in North Carolina offered to teach students at McMinn online for free, and the owner of Nirvana Comics in Knoxville, Tennessee offered to loan copies of the book to students.
Melissa – Alex Gino
Originally published under the name George, but later changed, Melissa is a children’s book that follows a transgender girl who struggles to be herself. The world sees her as a boy named George, so Melissa uses her class play of Charlotte’s Web to reveal her true self to the world and her mother. While the book has received a positive reception from many outlets, including the New York Times, the subject matter of the book has caused it to be hotly debated among certain circles, and has been one of the American Libraries Association’s most challenged books since its publication.
Earlier this year, after a heated debate at the Lincoln Parish Library in Ruston (LA), it was eventually decided that Melissa, along with a list of other removed books, would be returned to library shelves, following their removal the previous year. It was said the library would “adhere to its policy and refrain from censoring any book due to race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, or political views.” The previous year, several LGBTQ+ titles, including Melissa, were banned from a 5th grade classroom by the Swarthmore Rutledge School administration in the Wallingford-Swarthmore (PA) School District (WSSD). After many students and members of the community contacted the WSSD administration about their removal , the books were returned to shelves.
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Like a number of other novels featured, The Handmaid’s Tale is in the odd position of being considered both a modern classic, and an offensive piece of material in need of censoring. Published in 1985 and set in a near-future dystopia, the novel tells the story of a handmaid named Offred, who lives in a society where women are treated as second class citizens, who’s main use is to produce children for the ruling class of men in the Republic of Gilead. While a work of fiction, the book has its roots in many historical practices and ideas created to repress women, and it has become a book synonymous with feminism and women’s rights. While it has attracted much praise over the decades, it has also been met with challenges from the day it hit store shelves.
Such is the level of controversy surrounding the book, in May 2022, it was announced by Atwood that she was teaming up with publisher Penguin Random House to create a special, “unburnable” edition of the book, as a symbol against censorship. In June, this flame resistant copy was auctioned in New York for $130,000, the proceeds of which were donated to PEN America, a charity which seeks to defend freedom of expression and human rights. A video was posted of the book’s author torching the special edition with a flamethrower, and it was, indeed, fire proof.
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