“Protect the Freedom to Read”: 12 Books to Read for Banned Books Week

It’s Greg Gaines’ first day of his senior year—and he’s already looking forward to it being his last. He’s decided that, to navigate the place he hates, he needs only to stay on the outside—occasionally making films with his friend, Earl.

But this plan lasts only eighty hours. Greg’s mom makes him become friends with a girl who has cancer. What follows is “often hilarious teen dialogue” that deals with complex themes like grief and friendship (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). 

Parent groups and school boards have banned the book for its profanity and sexually explicit language, but, as author Jesse Andrews argues, crude humor is reflective of authentic teenage behavior—and can help young people process death. 

Drawing from the real events of the 1937 New London school explosion, "[This] layered tale of color lines, love and struggle in an East Texas oil town is a pit-in-the-stomach family drama” (New York Times Book Review). 

Presenting “a range of human nature, from kindness and love to acts of racial and sexual violence,” Out of Darkness follows two teens across color lines that fall for one another (School Library Journal, starred review). 

The book navigates heavy themes, like racial segregation, systemic violence, and a public lynching, with challengers flagging additional passages that describe sexual activity and abuse. 

Legislation like Utah’s H.B. 374 led to widespread restrictions, but author Ashley Hope Perez argues these complaints serve only as a pretext to censor marginalized history. 

Like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, another of Jesse Andrews’ books on this list, The Haters, was banned across several school districts, including Texas and South Carolina, for its graphic sexual content. Again, he employs a raw, colloquial teen-slang prose that parent advocates have deemed inappropriate for young audiences.

Confronting “issues of race, family, and socioeconomic,” this is “a classic road trip novel and a contemporary inventive adventure” (The Horn Book). Turns out jazz camp is lame—Wes and his best friend, Corey, are looking for a way out. Then comes Ash, a charismatic girl with a beautiful voice, and the three jam.

Ash decides that no bands have made it out of summer camp—no, they need to hit the road. Driving in Ash’s SUV across the country on The Haters Summer of Hate Tour, “readers will be sucked into this story, a raunchy bromance in the vein of Superbad” (Booklist, starred review).

Across the nation, from local libraries to prison systems, The Color Purple is one of the most frequently banned and challenged books. Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novel was, in the words of award-winning author Tayari Jones, “the first time I had seen Southern, Black women’s literature as world literature.” 

Censored for its sexual content, depictions of abuse, and profanity, it is “One of the great books of our time,” and should maintain its rightful place in the literary canon (Essence). Growing up in rural Georgia, Celie is abused by society and her own family. All she wants is to protect her sister, Nellie, from the same fate, and she helps her escape to a new life as a missionary. 

Left behind, Celie is married off to an older man, who turns out to be a brutal husband. Her only comfort comes from letters she writes directly to God. Over 20 years, the letters chronicle her journey towards self-discovery. 

Finding comfort among other strong women, including Shug Avery, her husband’s mistress, and her stepson’s wife, Sofia, she is challenged to seek a new, independent life. Meanwhile, Nettie’s letters arrive one after another, proving to be the most supportive of all. 

Exploring the intense emotional and physical aspects of teenage relationships, many parent groups and conservatives worked to ban What Girls Are Made Of—a National Book Award for Young People’s Literature finalist.

At just fourteen, Nina Faye’s mother told her unconditional love doesn’t exist. Now, she does everything to prove to her boyfriend she’s worthy of love. So, when he breaks up with her, she’s left bewildered. 

In a story that is “unflinchingly candid, unapologetically girl, and devastatingly vital,” author Elana K. Arnold considers the conditions of love—and what they ought to be (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Just one month after The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in 1885, the Concord Public Library in Massachusetts banned it as “trash and suitable only for the slums.” Today, it is both a central piece of American literature—and a source of debate. 

At its core, Mark Twain attacks racism and the corrupt values of the antebellum South. But with its frequent use of racial slurs, many schools have stopped teaching it. However, as with books that handle difficult topics, it’s crucial to approach it with careful thought and context—perhaps even pairing it with Percival Everett’s Pulitzer Prize-winning reimagining from Jim’s perspective. 

Huckleberry Finn is on the run from Widow Douglas, a wealthy resident who is trying to civilize him, and his drunken father. As he makes his way down the Mississippi River, he meets Jim, an escaped enslaved man. In a series of dramatic encounters, Jim Huck is forced to choose between his own salvation and Jim’s freedom. 

According to Pulitzer Prize- and Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain’s odyssey is “The best book we’ve had [...] There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.”

Regarded as “one of the most prophetic dystopian works of the twentieth century,” Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is frequently challenged for contradicting traditional religious, familial, and social values (Wall Street Journal).

In the future World State, everyone belongs to everyone. No matter what class you are in, you are a part of a complete, serene whole—made possible through the drug called soma. While sex is encouraged, the old way of procreation is outlawed. 

But one day, a man and a woman decide to journey beyond society’s confines and bring back two outsiders who change everything. 

Winner of the Stonewall Book Award, The Black Flamingo has been targeted, specifically in Florida and Wyoming, for its LGBTQIA+ themes, drag performance content, and depictions of race and identity. 

With “expertly crafted, stirring poetry,” Dean Atta tells the story of “an unforgettable teen who lives his liberation and truth in drag” (Shelf Awareness, starred review). Michael is a mixed-race gay teen. Growing up in London, he’s navigated his many identities, but never felt enough.

As he matures and confronts who he is and who he wants to be, Michael finds the Drag Society in a beautiful journey: “about a young man learning to feel comfortable in his own skin” (them).

Despite being, or more accurately, because it is, “the sex-ed class you didn’t get in high school—positive, frank and inclusive,” Jack of Hearts (and other parts) has been frequently challenged and restricted (Mackenzi Lee, New York Times-bestselling author).

“Told in a ferociously original voice,” this is a useful introduction for teenagers looking to learn more about the importance of consent, safety, and healthy communication across sex (Caleb Rohering, author of Last Seen Leaving).

Jack has a lot of sex and is not ashamed, even when people at his school gossip—and they love to gossip. But when Jack starts writing an online teen sex advice column, he starts to receive creepy, threatening love letters that try to suppress his personality and sexuality. Joining forces with his best friend, Jack works to uncover his stalker.

A classic, coming-of-age novel, Fallen Angels, is “as thought-provoking as it is entertaining, touching and, on occasion, humorous” (New York Times Book Review). 

Challenged for its raw depiction of war and its portrayals of racism across America and the military in the 60s, “This gut-twisting Vietnam War novel breaks uncharted ground” (Booklist, starred review).

It’s 1967, and Richie Perry is graduating from high school in Harlem, dreaming of college and becoming a writer like James Baldwin. But after volunteering for the army, a paperwork mix-up sends him to the front lines. 

There, violence and brutality are at every turn, leading Richie to question everything, including: Why is America even in Vietnam? And why are black troops given the most dangerous mission?

Facing localized challenges across districts like South Carolina and Florida, Killing Mr. Griffin follows a group of high school students who plot to kidnap a strict teacher. 

As supporters have argued, the book is a valuable tool for discussing the reality of peer pressure and mob mentality among teenagers—and banning it keeps us from these conversations.

Mr. Griffin is easily the most hated teacher at Del Norte High. So, one day, Dave decides to ask straight-A student Susan, who has a crush on him, to join a group of students intent on showing their teacher a lesson. 

But what starts out as a harmless prank leads to an accidental death. Now, they must reckon with the fact that one of them is a killer.

A “tale of first love” following two teenagers, Forever for a Year has been banned across school libraries for its sexual content (School Library Journal). 

However, as is the case with Jack of Hearts (and other parts), how can we expect our children to understand sexual safety and health if we’re banning books that offer accessible, authentic takes on the subject?

Carolina and Trevor meet on their first day of school and immediately feel an attraction to each other. Moving from first kisses to first sexual experiences, the couple is sure nothing can break them apart—until it does. 

“A touching, relatable, and highly appealing coming-of-age romance,” this is a valuable resource for children, educating them on the realities of love and heartbreak (The Horn Book).