The 15 most banned books in U.S. schools
According to a new report, the most prohibited books in American schools are
More than 6,800 books of books were promulgated during the 2024-25 school year in 87 public school districts in 23 states, according to a report published Wednesday by Pen America, a non-profit organization which advocates freedom of expression. The report was published before the prohibition of books, which begins on Sunday.
“Censorship pressures have developed and increased,” said Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program in Pen America, in a press release. “A disturbing” daily ban “and the normalization of censorship have worsened and has spread over the past four years.”
The organization’s annual report “Banned in the USA” indicates that the current environment of “the ban on unhindered books recalls the red fear of the 1950s”. He defines a ban on the school book as “any action taken against a book based on its content and due to parental or community challenges, administrative decisions or in response to direct or threatened measures from government officials” which leads the book to be withdrawn or restricted.
The last report revealed that 3,752 unique titles were affected by prohibitions during the school year which ended in June. The most prohibited titles included “A Clockwork Orange” and “Wicked”, while the most prohibited authors included Stephen King, Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult. More than 80% of all prohibitions were born in only three states: Florida, Texas and Tennessee.
This last school year has experienced fewer total prohibitions than in 2023-24, more than 10,000, although the number is well above its place in 2021-2022 (more than 2,500 prohibitions), when Pen America began to compile an annual report. Since July 2021, Pen America has followed 22,810 books of books in 45 states.
One of the reasons why the total number of books of books may have dropped this year is that certain titles are removed preventively from the shelves.
“It works as a form” obeying in advance “to the early restrictions of the state or administrative authorities, rooted in fear or simply as a desire to avoid subjects which could be deemed controversial,” said the report.
Another potential reason, as the author Malinda Lo pointed out, is that the previously prohibited titles have not returned to the shelves. LO, whose book “Last night at the Telegraph Club” was n ° 4 on Pen America’s new list, said on Instagram that his novel in 2021 made the cup “partly because all the usual titles like” Gender Queer “have already been banned and deleted”.
“Once a book is prohibited, it has disappeared,” she wrote on Wednesday. “This is why we must continue to fight these attacks against our rights to the first amendment.”
“Gender queer”, a graphic thesis that made its debut in 2019, was n ° 1 on the list of the most prohibited books of Pen America in 2022, although it did not even make the top 15 on this year’s list.
Books with LGBTQ themes and characters – like “Gender Queer” and “Last night at the Telegraph Club” – are still among the most prohibited books highlighted in the annual reports of Pen America and the American Library Association, and this year is not different.
Here are the 15 most prohibited books of the last school year as followed by Pen America, classified in order of people prohibited by most public school districts across the country:
“ A clockwork orange ” by Anthony Burgess
Burgess’s dystopian satire on a socio-poopathic teenager gang leader, obsessed with Beethoven was prohibited in 23 districts of the 2024-25 school year. The 1962 novel was adapted to a film nominated for the Oscars by Stanley Kubrick in 1971 and was named one of the 100 best English -speaking novels in Time and one of the 100 best novels in the modern library.
‘Boughtless’ by Jennifer Niven
Niven’s novel in 2020 is a love story from adulthood that has been prohibited in 20 school districts. On his website, the successful author describes “breathless” as “the book I needed when I was sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years old. A frank vision of sex and love, a parental divorce, to find yourself and the importance of writing your story. To write your life. “
‘Sold’ by Patricia McCormick
The novel of the young adult of McCormick, on a daughter of Nepal who is sold in sexual slavery in India, was prohibited in 20 school districts in the last school year. This 2006 title was a finalist of the National Book Award and appeared on the weekly list of books of the publisher and the list of ten books for young ALA adults.
‘Last night at the Telegraph Club’ by Malinda Lo
The young historical novel of LO on love and duty in the 1950s, San Francisco, was prohibited in 19 school districts during the 2024-25 school year. The 2021 novel acclaimed by criticism has won a long list of awards, including a National Book Award, Stonewall Book Award and Asian / Pacific American Award for Literature.
“ A court of mist and fury ” by Sarah J. Maas
This successful romantic novel, which was prohibited in 18 districts of the 2024-25 school year, is the second book in the very popular series “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Maas. Maas, the only author with more than one title on this list of the best 15, also has the distinction of being one of the most prohibited authors this year, with 162 total prohibitions, behind Stephen King and the author of “Manivele” Ellen Hopkins.
‘Crank’ by Ellen Hopkins
The novel for young adults from Hopkins 2004 was prohibited in 17 school districts. On his website, the author revealed that this bestseller is vaguely based on “the story of his eldest daughter from dependence on crystal methamphetamine”. She said that the “crank” began as “a personal exploration of” why “behind my daughter’s decisions, and what role I could have played.”
‘Forever…’ by Judy Blume
The award-winning Young-Adult novel by Blume, which has been prohibited in 17 districts in the past school year, has been a target of censorship for 50 years, according to Pen America. Blume said that she had written the book – which was named one of the 100 best novels for NPR adolescents and the 100 best books Ya of Time of all time – because her daughter “asked for one story in two nice children who have sex without one or the other not becoming.”
“ The advantages of being a clogged ” by Stephen Chbosky
The Chbosky mastery novel in 2009 on an attentive “flora” navigating in the “strange world between adolescence and adulthood” was prohibited in 17 school districts of the 2024-25 school year. The New York Times best -seller n ° 1 – which deals with subjects such as the first dates, family drama, sex, drugs and suicide – was adapted in a 2012 film with Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.
‘Wicked’ by Gregory Maguire
This New York Times best-seller n ° 1, which made its debut in 1995 and is a redesigned prequel to “the marvelous sorcerer of Oz”, was prohibited in 17 school districts. The story of “Wicked”, however, is perhaps better known because of his adaptation to a Broadway musical, holder of a Tony and an Oscar-winning musical film with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
“ Not all boys are blue ‘by George M. Johnson
Johnson’s memories in 2020 on maturity as a queer black man were prohibited in 16 districts in the last school year. ordered. “”
“ A yard of thorns and roses ” by Sarah J. Maas
The first book in the Masas Romantasy series of Masas was, like the remaining books on this list, prohibited in 16 school districts. The central character of “A Court of Thorns and Roses” of 2015 is Feyre, 19, a moral hunting that is dragged into a magic earth and falls in love with his immortal kidnapper.
‘Damsel’ by Elana K. Arnold
This dark and twisted fairy tale, an honor book of the Michael L. Printz 2019 prize, is, on the surface, about a young lady who is saved from a dragon by a beautiful prince. Before “Damsel”, Arnold’s book “What Girls Are Made of” was a finalist of the National Book Award 2017 in young people.
‘The Duff’ by Kody Keplinger
In the novel for young adults of Keplinger in 2010, Bianca, 17, discovers that the “Hottie Slipl School” of the secondary school gave him an offensive nickname – Duff or appointed a big ugly friend – but she always finds herself in an enemy relationship with him. Keplinger was only 17 years old when she wrote this successful book, which was adapted in a 2015 film.
“ Nineteen minutes ” by Jodi Picoult
This New York Times best-seller is following a shooting in a small town in New Hampshire. Published in 2007, it is one of the 29 novels written by Picoult, whose other works include “My Sister’s Keeper”, “Small Great Things” and “The Pact”.
‘Storm and Fury’ by Jennifer L. Armentrut
The Romaine Romantasy 2019 of Armentrout is the first book of his series of three books “Harbinger”. “Storm and Fury” is centered on Trinity Marrow, 18, who “can become blind” but “can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits”, according to the Armementrut website.
