This year, Banned Books Week runs from Sept. 22 – 28 and the theme is "Freed Between the Lines," symbolizing the freedom that can be found within a book and the freedom that is threatened by book bans and censorship efforts. In honor or Banned Books Week 2024, let’s take a look at some of the most banned books of 2023 compiled by the American Library Association:

• Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
  Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit.
  This graphic novel autobiography recounts the author’s journey through adolescence to adulthood and the exploration of gender identity and sexuality.
• All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
  Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit.
  A series of personal essays written by a journalist and activist, this book follows stories and experiences from the author’s life growing up as a queer black man.
• This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson
  Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit.
  This light-hearted, informative book plays off the desire for guidance about how to exist as an LGBTQ+ person, answer pressing questions, and navigate your feelings and identify.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, profanity.
  This Young Adult novel follows an introverted and shy teenager named Charlie through his freshman year of high school and the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.

Nonfiction Work on Censorship

• On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US by James LaRue
  The author, previous executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, analyzes the dangers of censorship and book banning within public and educational spaces using humor throughout to build a case against censorship.
• Banned Books edited by Victoria Heyworth-Dunne
  This book explores classic books once deemed too controversial for public consumption and how politics and worldview impact what is considered appropriate. Presented in chronological order, it provides a great overview of how social norms affect attempted and successful book banning.
• Book Banning and Other Forms of Censorship by Carolee Laine
  This Young Adult book about the flow of information in the modern world explains why schools, interest groups and governments attempt to suppress information in print and online.
• Your Freedom, Your Power: A Kid's Guide to the First Amendment by Allison Matulli with Clelia Castro-Malaspina; illustrated by Carmelle Kendall.
  This middle-grade book explains the First Amendment and engages readers in learning more about their country and their rights. Each section asks an important question for young folks to consider and then explains fundamental legal topics every kid should know. Plus, readers will learn about legal cases and social movements that have gotten us where we are today.

DVDs to Check Out

• A Wrinkle in Time (Rated PG)
  Challenged for: opposing Christian beliefs and teaching occult practices; sending mixed signals about good and evil; and for undermining religious beliefs.
  Originally published in 1962, this 2018 movie adaptation features Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling. When her scientist father mysteriously disappears, 13-year-old Meg, her younger brother, and their friend are sent to find him by three supernatural beings. They travel across the universe to fight back evil and save their father.
• Fahrenheit 451 (Rated PG-13)
  Challenged for: swear words and discussions of drugs.
  Originally published in 1953, the book is about a future dystopia where future is banned and people’s lives are heavily influenced by technology (like TVs that are the size of whole walls). The main character, Montag, is a fireman that sets fires instead of putting them out. In this 2018 adaptation that stars Michael B. Jordan, the dystopian society exists after a second civil war and the population is controlled with TV news and drugs.
• The Hate U Give (Rated PG-13)
  Challenged for: vulgarity, profanity, drug use, racially insensitive language.
  This 2019 film of the 2017 book by Angie Thomas is an excellent adaptation. When Starr Carter witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a police officer, her world is shattered. Her delicate balancing act between her poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives, and the mostly white, wealthy prep school that she attends forces her to find her voice or else fall into despair.
• Banned Books, Burned Books: Forbidden Literary Works (Not Rated)
  This documentary series by author and book critic Maureen Corrigan takes viewers on a tour of some of the most challenged and controversial works of literature. She explores the common reasons books have been and continue to be banned and asks you to consider the shifting trends in why books are challenged.

What to Watch on Kanopy

• Lord of the Flies (Not Rated)
  Challenged for: bullying, excessive violence and bad language.
  Originally published in 1954, the book is about a group of British schoolboys who get stranded on an uninhabited island after a plane crash. These middle-school boys attempt to establish order to get rescued, and what results is chaos and paranoia that quickly becomes violent. This film from 1963 is in black and white, which makes it feel just as raw as the stranded boys.
• Catch-22 (Rated R)
  Challenged for: racism, misogyny and violence.
  Published in 1961, this satirical and darkly comedic novel about the absurdity of war takes place during WWII. It follows the life of Captain Yossarian, a U.S. Air Force B-25 bombardier and his squadron of pilots, and is said to both entertain and outrage readers with its anti-war sentiments. This 1970 film adaptation features Orson Welles and was directed by Mike Nichols.
• Scary Stories (Not Rated)
  Challenged for: frightening children; violence; occult themes.
  Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a terrifying collection of short horror stories for teens that was first published in 1981. With two additional publications, this series scared the pants off of a generation of readers, which was the cause of its frequent challenges in schools and libraries. This documentary features more than 40 interviews from families of author Alvin Schwartz to folklorists and discusses the impact the books had on readers.

What you can do to help fight censorship and advocate:

Visit the American Library Association’s website to find local initiatives and events, and learn how to advocate for the continued freedom to read.

And don’t forget to check out your local branch for Banned Books Week activities!