Banned Books Week is officially here. Increasingly, book challenges and bans have sparked conversations around freedom of expression, diversity, and the role of literature in fostering critical thinking. Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) tracks the most challenged books in the U.S., documenting attempts to remove or restrict access to titles that some find controversial. As we reflect on the last decade, the ALA’s lists reveal much about societal debates and the importance of defending the right to read.

Since 2014, these 10 books have the most reported challenges and bans:

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

2. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

3. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

4. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

5. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

6. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

8. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

9. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

10. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

The 2025 Eleanor Roosevelt Banned Book Awards

Eleanor Roosevelt championed literacy, libraries, and intellectual freedom, urging citizens to actively shape a better world. In her spirit, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center is celebrating those authors who’ve faced bans, but defended human rights through their writing, in partnership with the educators, librarians, and activists fighting for free expression today.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: The 2025 Eleanor Roosevelt Banned Book Awards Nomination Form is now open! 📚🏆

You can help recognize living authors who boldly defend human rights through their writing in the face of a growing trend of book challenges.

Submit your nominations for the 2025 Banned Book Award Ceremony.

⏳ Submission Deadline: Sept. 30, 2024

Banned books from the last 10 years

Banned Books Week is a celebration of the power of stories to challenge, transform, and inspire. Books that are frequently challenged often deal with complex themes including identity, race, and social justice—topics that are crucial for building empathy, understanding different perspectives, and encouraging thoughtful dialogue. These books often offer marginalized voices a platform, helping readers explore stories that reflect the diversity and richness of human experience.

Curious what else has made the list over the past decade? Check out the year-by-year breakdown below and visit ALA.org to see why these titles have been challenged.

You can borrow many of these titles for free through your library on Libby—check them out and see what the conversation is all about.

2023

1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

2. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

3. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

5. Flamer by Mike Curato

6. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews (tie)

8. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins (tie)

9. Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan

10. Sold by Patricia McCormick

2022

1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

2. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

4. Flamer by Mike Curato

5. Looking for Alaska by John Green (tie)

6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (tie)

7. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

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

9. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

10. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (tie)

11. Crank by Ellen Hopkins (tie)

12. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews (tie)

13. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson (tie)

2021

1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

2. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

3. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

4. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

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

7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

9. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

10. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

2020

1. Melissa, previously published as George by Alex Gino

2. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds

3. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

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

6. Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

9. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

10. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

2019

1. Melissa, previously published as George by Alex Gino

2. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

3. A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller

4. Sex Is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth

5. Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack, illustrated by Stevie Lewis

6. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

7. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

8. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

9. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

10. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, illustrated by Henry Cole

2018

1. Melissa, previously published as George by Alex Gino

2. A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller

3. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey

4. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

5. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

7. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

8. Skippyjon Jones series by Judy Schachner

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

10. This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman, illustrated by Kristyna Litten

11. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

2017

1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

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

3. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

5. Melissa, previously published as George by Alex Gino

6. Sex Is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

8. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

9. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, illustrated by Henry Cole

10. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

2016

1. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

2. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

3. Melissa, previously published as George by Alex Gino

4. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

5. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

6. Looking for Alaska by John Green

7. Big Hard Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction, illustrated by Chip Zdarsky

8. Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread by Chuck Palahniuk

9. Little Bill (series) by Bill Cosby, illustrated by Varnette P. Honeywood

10. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

2015

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green

2. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

3. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

4. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

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

6. The Holy Bible

7. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

8. Habibi by Craig Thompson

9. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter

10. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

2014

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

2. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

3. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, illustrated by Henry Cole

4. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

5. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

6. Saga by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples

7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

9. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

10. Drama by Raina Telgemeier

RELATED READ: The 10 most banned books of the year

*Title availability may vary by library & region.