Banned Books Week, October 1-7, 2023, is a celebration of the freedom to read and the resistance to censorship worldwide. This year’s theme is “Let Freedom Read.” The American Library Association documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Of the record 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship, most were by or about LGBTQIA+ persons and Black, Indigenous, and people of color. “As we’ve seen throughout National Library Week, as long as there are libraries, Americans’ right to read will not be overcome by censorship,” says Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, American Library Association President. “ ‘Let Freedom Read’ – captures what’s at stake for our democracy: that the safety of our right to speak and think freely is directly in proportion to our right to read.”
Top 13 most challenged books of 2022 A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. See Censorship by the Numbers to see a map of attempts to restrict access to books across the country in 2022. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Number of challenges: 151 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson Number of challenges: 86 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Number of challenges: 73 Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, EDI content, claimed to be sexually explicit Flamer by Mike Curato Number of challenges: 62 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit Looking for Alaska by John Green Number of challenges: 55 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Number of challenges: 55 Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison Number of challenges: 54 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie Sherman Number of challenges: 52 Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez Number of challenges: 50 Challenged for: depictions of abuse, claimed to be sexually explicit A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J.Maas Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit Crank by Ellen Hopkins Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: drug use, claimed to be sexually explicit Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson (audiobook available) Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, providing sexual education, claimed to be sexually explicit. Recommended websites 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books by Decade 12 Most Famous Banned Books ALA Reports Record Number of Demands to Censor Library Books and Materials in 2022. Books Banned by Governments Challenges by Reasons,Initiator, and Institution Fighting Censorship Intellectual Freedom Challenges in Oregon: a News Database The most banned and challenged books from 2013-2020. Oregon Library Association: Celebrate the Freedom to Read in Oregon
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Number of challenges: 151 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson Number of challenges: 86 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Number of challenges: 73 Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, EDI content, claimed to be sexually explicit
Flamer by Mike Curato Number of challenges: 62 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
Looking for Alaska by John Green Number of challenges: 55 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Number of challenges: 55 Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison Number of challenges: 54 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie Sherman Number of challenges: 52 Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez Number of challenges: 50 Challenged for: depictions of abuse, claimed to be sexually explicit
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J.Maas Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit
Crank by Ellen Hopkins Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: drug use, claimed to be sexually explicit
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson (audiobook available) Number of challenges: 48 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, providing sexual education, claimed to be sexually explicit.