Show:
Dodge the dogma
(Religion)
The book was better (Adapted to film)
Oh my!
(Explicit content)
Zip it
(Language)
It's a classic (Classics)
100
Known as the most banned book of the 21st century for challenges by Christian groups for occultism, paganism, wiccanism, satanism, and witchcraft. This series follows a young man's journey through good and evil in a wizarding world.
What is "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling?
100
Among other challenges for this teen series, this book was removed from the shelves by the Head Librarian at an Australian grade school who stated, "We wanted to make sure they realize it's fictitious and ensure they don't have a wrong grasp on reality." But the only blurring of reality is that the costars of this supernatural film adaptation were involved in real life.
What is "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer?
100
This best-seller was pulled off the shelves in public libraries across the United States due the extreme level of BDSM. Referred to as mommy porn, the novel gives fifty reasons why.
What is "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E. L. James
100
This 1885 classic remains one of the most controversial novels for its racially offensive language and was ranked #14 on ALA Top 100 Challenged list from 2000-2009. Written in an historical setting, this story follows a boy's adventure down the Mississippi River with runaway slave Jim.
What is "(The) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain?
100
Challenged in Northville, Michigan by a parent of a middle schooler in 2013 because of a portion in which the young girl describes her genitalia, this biography is a first hand account of a Jewish girl in hiding from the Gestapo.
What is "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank? Will also accept The Diary of Anne Frank
200
In 2011 when this sacred text was publicly burned by a pastor in Florida it triggered thousands of protesters in Afghanistan to overrun the United Nations compound.
What is the Koran? (Qurʼan, Quran)
200
This violent trilogy turned blockbuster about kids killing kids as public entertainment was challenged by a parent in Goffstown, New Hampshire claiming that the book gave her daughter nightmares.
What is "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins?
200
In 1966 the book was removed by a principle for being "too frank" and "too revealing." The backlash from this adulterous New England story was so bad when it was first published in 1850 that the author left his community in Salem.
What is "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne?
200
This series had hundreds of challenges on its accessibility in public libraries partly due to the language content. Narrated by an unknown person, the plotline follows a group of teenagers whose scandals are sent through text message to everyone in "Manhattan's elite" signed only "XOXO".
What is "Gossip Girl" by Cecily von Ziegesar?
200
Published in 1953, this classic was banned due to its book banning and book burning content, in this case the Bible. Set in a dystopian future where free thought is not permitted and books are burned, the title of this classic is said to reflect the temperature at which paper burns.
What is "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury?
300
Challenged based on one person's concern that ""students' belief that America is one country under God would be undermined by reading the novel". This novel tells the story of two boys that fly kites in Kabul, Afghanistan, where it is forbidden.
What is "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini?
300
Citing language and sexual references a college in South Carolina challenged this novel. In a film directed by Baz Luhrmann, the "old sport" from this novel showed up on again on the big screen chasing the elusive Daisy this year.
What is "The Great Gasby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald?
300
Since this novel's publication in 1982, it's been challenged by parents for its sexual explicit scenes that involve incest, heterosexual and homosexual acts. This novel follows the life of Celie in 1930s Georgia through a series of letters that she writes to god and her sister Nettie which symbolizes her voice, emotions, and desires.
What is "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker?
300
This book has been challenged since the era of its publication in the 1960s for its use of racially charged language. In this classic novel, a child witnesses her father Atticus Finch defend a black man accused of raping white woman in Southern Alabama.
What is "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee?
300
This classic was challenged by a parent for its sexual explicitness at Stonewall Jackson High School, but was unsuccessfully banned. Set in the 1920s South, this coming of age story follows protagonist Janie's life through poverty, suppression and three marriages.
What is "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston?
400
Removed from library shelves at a Catholic school in Ontario for an anti-Christian viewpoint , the young protagonist of this fantastical novel travels with an armored bear to rescue a friend who has been kidnapped by Gobblers.
What is "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman? Will also accept His Dark Materials (series title)
400
Removed from the reading list of a high school course for explicit content, this film adaptation of a young man's adventures with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth was later brought to life with actor Robert Pattinson.
What is "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen?
400
Plymouth-Canton, Michigan parents deemed this novel about the psychological impact of slavery pornographic. Morrison's protagonist Sethe was later portrayed by Oprah in the film adaptation of this novel.
What is "Beloved" by Toni Morrison?
400
This was one of the most censored books in the United states between 1961-1982 and is currently one of the top 10 most challenged books, partly due to its offensive language. The protagonist in this famous coming of age story fantasizes himself as a guardian of a group of children playing in a rye field next to an edge of a cliff, and that he is meant to catch them if they are close to falling.
What is "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger.?
400
Based in a futuristic dystopian London, this classic genetically engineers humanity into five castes: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. There were 348 requests to remove this book from shelves across institutions in the U.S. in 2010.
What is "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley?
500
In Michigan, this book sparked the trial Todd v Rochester Community Schools due to reference to religious matter. "So it goes" that the protagonist in this American classic is kidnapped by aliens and taken to Tralfamadore.
What is "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut?
500
Challenged by parents of a school in the state of Washington for its sexual, language and violent content. This incredibly touching story is told from the perspective of a boy whose father died at the World Trade Center attacks.
What is "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer?
500
Labeled as pornographic by a board of education president due to an incestuous scene, the ACLU defended the teaching of this African-American Literature. This novel explores issues of internalized racism through the narrative of a black child who wishes she had blue eyes.
What is "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison?
500
Challenged by an Illinois schoolboard in 1984 for its racially offensive language, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel illustrates issues during the Civil War through the romantic story of Rhett and Scarlet.
What is "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell?
500
Published in 1906, this book was burned in Nazi bonfires for its socialist views. A Lithuanian family immigrates to Chicago and is exploited while working in a local meat packing plant in this industrial classic.
What is "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair?