Banned Books Week, September 22-28, 2024, is a celebration of the freedom to read and the resistance to censorship worldwide. This year’s theme is “Freed Between the Lines”. The American Library Association documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship, as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources in 2023. This was a 65% increase over titles challenged in 2022. Of the titles targeted for censorship, most were by or about LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals. “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. “Freed Between the Lines” 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.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Number of challenges: 106 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson Number of challenges: 82 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson (audiobook) Number of challenges: 71 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, providing sexual education, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Number of challenges: 68 Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit.
Flamer by Mike Curato Number of challenges: 67 Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Number of challenges: 62 Challenged for: rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews Number of challenges: 56 Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins Number of challenges: 56 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, druts, rape, LGBTQIA+ content
Let's Talk About It: The Teens Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan Number of challenges: 55 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education, LGBTQIA+ content
Sold by Patricia McCormick Number of challenges: 53 Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, rape