Banned Books Week, October 5-11, 2025: Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights
Banning or Challenging Books
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials [from a library], 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.
- American Library Association
This guide was adapted with permission from Middlesex Campus' LibGuide: Middlesex Banned Books Week: Middlesex Campus Reads Banned Books. We thank them for generously sharing their work and resources.
Most Banned or Challenged Books in 2024 (stop by the library to check them out!)
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Gender Queer: a Memoir
by
Number of challenges: 106
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit -
The Bluest Eye
by
Number of challenges: 62
Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, EDI content, claimed to be sexually explicit -
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by
Number of challenges: 68
Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit -
Looking for Alaska
by
Number of challenges: 30
Challenged for its inclusion of profanity, sexually explicit scenes, drug and alcohol use, and LGBTQIA+ content.
See complete list of most challenged books here.