Banned Books for Baddies

Hey there, baddies! Welcome to doing precisely what the fuck we want. That includes reading whatever the fuck we please under any circumstance without the opinion of elected officials. 

Books and literature are the backbone of societies. They capture feelings, times, places, auras, dreams, nightmares, excitement, and unending joy. They document history. Books hold truth to power. With literature, we understand each other much more.

Below are the 100 Frequently Challenged Books compiled by the American Library Association (ALA). I’ve organized their list by genre and linked it to my storefront, should you feel called to purchase a book or two. If the book is not available, the links lead to the author’s website. 

If purchasing a book is not in your current budget, please donate, utilize, visit, and support your local libraries more than ever. Libraries are one of the few remaining institutions in a capitalist society where you can participate in free activities with no expectations—no expectations to spend money or make financial commitments to participate—just be part of the community. It’s imperative to maintain our educational and community-focused organizations. Libraries are core institutions. 

You’ll notice the bulk of these books are YA/Children-leaning, not to encourage or influence such impressionable minds. Don’t let people tell you what you should or should not read. Yes, of course, always be mindful of age-appropriate content for the littles. Use discernment and research whether the content suits you, your child, or to whom you’re recommending books. 

It’s normal to desire education, follow curiosity, flex your imagination, seek to understand people who aren’t like you and become educated by reading all genres. Do your part by supporting brave authors and journalists who share all shades of life. 

Remember that differences of taste, opinion, and religious belief are not qualifiers for demanding censorship.

Read on, baddies.

Children, Middle Grade & Young Adult

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

• Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey

• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

• Drama by Raina Telgemeier

• Internet Girls (series) by Lauren Myracle

• Looking for Alaska by John Green

• George by Alex Gino

• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

• I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

• Bone (series) by Jeff Smith

• Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

• A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss

• Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg

• It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris

• Alice McKinley (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

• Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

• It's a Book by Lane Smith

• What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

• Bad Kitty (series) by Nick Bruel

• Crank by Ellen Hopkins

• The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey

• This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman

• This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

• A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

• Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine

• In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco

• Lush by Natasha Friend

• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

• Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily von Ziegesar

• House of Night (series) by P.C. Cast

• My Mom's Having A Baby by Dori Hillestad Butler

• Neonomicon by Alan Moore

• The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake

• Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle

• Fade by Lisa McMann

• The Family Book by Todd Parr

• Feed by M.T. Anderson

• Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

• Habibi by Craig Thompson

• Jacob's New Dress by Sarah Hoffman

• Nasreen’s Secret School by Jeanette Winter

• Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

• Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

• Madeline and the Gypsies by Ludwig Bemelmans

• My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis

• Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack

• Skippyjon Jones (series) by Judith Schachner

• Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S Brannen

American Classics & Books Taught in School

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

• Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

• 1984 by George Orwell

• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

• The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

• A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer

• Beloved by Toni Morrison

• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker

• The Giver by Lois Lowry

• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

• Awakening by Kate Chopin

Non-fiction

• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

• Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

• Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

• Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

• This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

• Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology by Amy Sonnie

• The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter

General Fiction

• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

• The Walking Dead (series) by Robert Kirkman

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

• Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

• Dreaming In Cuban by Cristina Garcia

• House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

• Monster by Walter Dean Myers

• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

• Stuck in the Middle by Ariel Schrag

• The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal

• Burned by Ellen Hopkins

• Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

• Glass by Ellen Hopkins

• So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins

• Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Spice Reads & Erotica

• Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

Religion

• The Holy Bible

There are all types of banned books, and this list is incomplete, as it’s only a tiny snapshot of the books that have been banned or censored. We will always support everyone’s right to education, reading, art, culture, and life. Buy books, read, and keep books for years to come. 

This document was compiled using information from the ALA. Support the ALA through education and donations at ala.org. 

Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books: 2010-2019", American Library Association, September 9, 2020 https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade2019 (Accessed November 13, 2024)

Document ID: 0382b963-8cb0-4bb4-813f-4b0ba972d50c