Banned Books Week, October 5-11, 2025, is a celebration of the freedom to read and the resistance to censorship worldwide. This year’s theme is “Censorship is so 1984,” a nod to George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel* about a society in which a totalitarian regime strictly controls the information that its heavily surveilled citizens are allowed to access. The ALA’s data shows a shift in the approaches pro-book banning activists are taking and notes that most ban requests in2024 came from people involved in organized movements. In school and public libraries, board members and administrators initiated 72% of censorship requests, while parents initiated only 16%. Additionally, PEN America found that more than 4,000 different titles were removed from school libraries during the 23-24 school year. Oregon is one of several states that saw significant increases in book ban attempts over the past year. Most books that were targeted are about or by LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people. *1984 is available in the PCC Library in print, ebook, and audiobook formats, if you want to read it!
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson Number of challenges: 39 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Number of challenges: 38 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Number of challenges: 35 Challenged for: rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Number of challenges: 35 Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit.
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins Number of challenges: 33 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQIA+ content
Looking for Alaska by John Greene Number of challenges: 30 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews Number of challenges: 30 Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
Crank by Ellen Hopkins Number of challenges: 28 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, depiction of drug use.
Sold by Patricia McCormick Number of challenges: 28 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, rape
Flamer by Mike Curato Number of challenges: 27 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit