September 2022 Reading Recommendations for Adults by Fran Joyce

Every September, I look for banned books to recommend to adults. This year I’m going to try something different, I have printed the list of the 10 Most Banned or Challenged Books in the United States in 2021 directly from the ALA website. Why? Because I think it is important to understand the political and moral climate of our country.

These are the types of books that offend people enough that they try to have them removed from libraries and banned from school curriculums. These are the ideas that frighten people the most.

“Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.” Stephen Chbosky

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021. Of the 1597 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:

1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images

2. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

3. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

4. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda

6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and use of a derogatory term

7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
   Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women

8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit

9. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.

10. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

The list of books above was taken from this website:

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

https://www.bustle.com/articles/183209-15-quotes-about-censorship-and-the-danger-of-banning-books