Banned Books

2010-2022: American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and PEN America's Index of School Book Bans

Showing 1 - 20 of 121  There are a total of 381 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "Clap when you land"
Star rating for Clap when you land
Average Rating:
2.3 stars
Description:
"Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people . . . In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance -- and Papi's secrets -- the two girls are forced...
Book cover for "The poet X"
Star rating for The poet X
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
When Xiomara Batista, who pours all her frustrations and passion into poetry, is invited to join the school slam poetry club, she struggles with her mother's expectations and her need to be heard.
Book cover for "Half of a yellow sun"
Star rating for Half of a yellow sun
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:
Re-creates the 1960s struggle of Biafra to establish an independent republic in Nigeria, following the intertwined lives of the characters through a military coup, the Biafran secession, and the resulting civil war.
Book cover for "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens agenda"
Star rating for Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens agenda
Average Rating:
4.8 stars
Description:
"Sixteen-year-old, not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier is blackmailed into playing wingman for his classmate or else his sexual identity and that of his pen pal will be revealed" --Provided by publisher.
Book cover for "The upside of unrequited"
Star rating for The upside of unrequited
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
Avoiding relationships to protect her sensitive heart, plus-sized Molly supports her once-cynical twin, Cassie, when the latter has her own bout of lovesickness, a situation that is complicated by sibling dynamics and an unexpected romantic triangle.
Book cover for "What if it's us"
Star rating for What if it's us
Series:
What if it's us volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.6 stars
Description:
When Arthur, a summer intern from Georgia, meets Ben, a native New Yorker, it seems like fate, but after three attempts at dating fail they wonder if the universe is pushing them together or apart. Told in two voices.
Book cover for "The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian"
Star rating for The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
Book cover for "The house of the spirits"
Star rating for The house of the spirits
Average Rating:
4.7 stars
Description:
"The unforgettable first novel that established Isabel Allende as one of the world's most gifted and imaginative storytellers. The House of the Spirits brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political power is tempered only by his love for his delicate wife, Clara, a woman with a mystical connection to the spirit world. When their...
Book cover for "Shout"
Star rating for Shout
Description:
Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven...

10. Speak

Book cover for "Speak"
Star rating for Speak
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.

11. Feed

Book cover for "Feed"
Star rating for Feed
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble.
Book cover for "I know why the caged bird sings"
Star rating for I know why the caged bird sings
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
"Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou's debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey,...
Book cover for "A boy called Bat"
Star rating for A boy called Bat
Series:
Boy called BAT volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
When his veterinarian mom brings home a stray baby skunk that needs rehabilitation before it can be placed in a wild animal shelter, Bat, who has austim, resolves to prove that he is up to the challenge of caring for the skunk permanently.
Book cover for "Red Hood"
Star rating for Red Hood
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle . . . But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks . . . A new moon rises. And with it, questions." -- Adapted from back cover.
Book cover for "Thirteen Reasons Why"
Star rating for Thirteen Reasons Why
Author:
Average Rating:
3.3 stars
Description:
**THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL, NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES**
The #1 New York Times bestseller and modern classic that's been changing lives for a decade gets a gorgeous revamped cover and never-before-seen additional content, including:

·         An introduction from its award-winning author, Jay Asher;
·        
...
Book cover for "The handmaid's tale"
Star rating for The handmaid's tale
Series:
Handmaid's tale volume 1.
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
Set in the near future, The handmaid's tale describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population. The story is told...
Book cover for "Cinderella is dead"
Star rating for Cinderella is dead
Average Rating:
3.5 stars
Description:
"Queer black girls team up to overthrow the patriarchy in the former kingdom of Cinderella" --
Book cover for "The darkest part of the forest"
Star rating for The darkest part of the forest
Author:
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:
In the town of Fairfold, where humans and fae exist side by side, a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives awakes after generations of sleep in a glass coffin in the woods, causing Hazel to be swept up in new love, shift her loyalties, feel the fresh sting of betrayal, and to make a secret sacrifice to the faerie king.
Book cover for "Ivy Aberdeen's letter to the world"
Star rating for Ivy Aberdeen's letter to the world
Description:
When a tornado rips through town, twelve-year-old Ivy Aberdeen's house is destroyed and her family of five is displaced. Ivy feels invisible and ignored in the aftermath of the storm—and what's worse, her notebook filled with secret drawings of girls holding hands has gone missing. Mysteriously, Ivy's drawings begin to reappear in her locker with notes from someone telling her to open up about her identity. Ivy thinks—and hopes—that this someone...
Book cover for "Forever--"
Star rating for Forever--
Author:
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
Two high school seniors believe their love to be so strong that it will last forever.