20 Books That Have Been Banned In The United States

It’s tough to explain away the 20 books that have been banned in the United States. Each book has validity but for different age groups.

Flamer-Mike Curato

It’s tough to reason why some books have been banned, especially when they’re personal accounts of an individual. In some cases, it might help, but the content isn’t always deemed appropriate for kids.

Drama: A Graphic Novel-Raina Telgemeier

Many books that have been banned as of late are typically about LGBTQ+ issues. Unfortunately, this is a hot issue in the USA as of now, and many people would rather kids not be exposed to it.

This One Summer-Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

While there is little to no same-sex issues in this book, the fact that it features sexual content sets many adults to wonder if it’s appropriate. Comics are a lot of fun, typically, but they can also depict situations many adults don’t approve.

Beloved-Toni Morrison

Some books make sense when it comes to keeping them away from children. But depending on where this book landed, it makes little sense to push this story out of reach.

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Speaks Out-Susan Kuklin

Accusations about transgender teens and other individuals get thrown around way too often. Books have been banned for no better reason than because they challenge ideals. Unfortunately, while some books don’t need to be featured to kids, they’re still stories that should be told.

Looking for Alaska-John Green

Sexually explicit scenes are usually what gets the hackles up on the average parent. But it’s fair to state that many parents don’t want their young children to learn explicit language either.

Melissa-Alex Gino

Trans issues are a big topic at the moment, and while the reality is that no book should be banned, some topics are best kept away from kids. Should the need arise, it should be the parents right to expose children to this.

This Book is Gay-Juno Dawson

There’s a big difference between a book that’s written for shock value and one that’s written to inform others. Too many people condemn books that cover certain topics without first trying to understand them.

18r, g8r-Lauren Myracle

It all depends on where a book is featured, or at least it should, when it comes to profanity and sexual content. Adolescents still aren’t a preferred audience, but they’re far better than small children just learning to read.

The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini

A single rape scene in this book was enough to get it banned. In Afghanistan, which is where the story takes place, it’s controversial for a few reasons.

Crank-Ellen Hopkins

Most schools don’t want to see a story about drug usage, addiction, and sexual content normalized. But despite this, many schools have kept it around while others have banned it.

Thirteen Reasons Why-Jay Asher

Sometimes, well, a lot of times, stories are reflections of what is happening in an author’s life. Unfortunately, this sometimes feels like a cash grab based on something controversial.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl-Jesse Andrews

The heightened awareness of various issues such as death and drug use are often seen as positive to many people. But the need to bring these things into the mainstream while making a small fortune feels, well, kind of dirty.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian-Sherman Alexie

Given the fact that Sherman is Native American and has based this story largely around his life, one might think that some folks would understand. But that wasn’t the case since the book was banned roughly 16 times only a few years ago.

The Hate U Give-Angie Thomas

Social unrest has been a hot topic for a while now and one might think that such books would flood the shelves. They might at a bookstore, but schools aren’t having this in a big way since this was removed 17 times.

The Lawn Boy-Jonathan Evison

Book banning is one thing, but receiving death threats is another. Forget that this book was banned 17 times, the author had to fear for his life, which is not necessary.

The Bluest Eye-Toni Morrison

This book was banned 22 times thanks to the plethora of explicit content that was packed into the pages. And to think, it was about a colored girl who thought she would be more beautiful with blue eyes.

Out of Darkness-Ashley Hope Perez

It wasn’t the relationship between a Mexican-American girl and a black boy that got this book banned. It was the content that went through violence, racism, and sexually explicit material.

All Boys Aren’t Blue-George M. Johnson

The content of a book is often what gets it banned, not who writes it or the reason they had for putting words to paper. Like it or not, society demands a certain amount of decorum, and in the public most of this stuff is fine. In the classroom, it’s hard to say who will react in what way.

Gender Queer: A Memoir-Maia Kobabe

This book holds the title so far after being removed an astounding 41 times from school bookshelves. Whether a person agrees with the subject matter or not, every story deserves to be told. But in the public, not in the classroom.