Banned Books Week 2025: Exhibit & Resources

The practice of book banning is a threat to intellectual freedom everywhere. Every year, the American Library Association raises awareness through Banned Books Week, a campaign that fights against censorship in libraries and promotes the freedom to read. Here at the Krupp Library, we've assembled a display full of commonly banned books for our patrons' perusal, plus a blog post explaining the basics of book banning!

Official ALA Banned Books Week Theme Graphic

What is Banned Books Week?

According to the American Library Association (ALA), "Banned Books Week launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of book challenges in libraries, schools, and bookstores." Since then, it has been held annually in either the last week of September or the first week of October. Each year, the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of titles challenged and banned in libraries across the country in an effort to draw attention to the harms of censorship.

They also choose a theme and an honorary chair for Banned Books Week. This year's theme, "Censorship is so 1984," references George Orwell's 1949 classic 1984, a cautionary tale about the dangers of censorship. Previous years' honorary chairs have included LeVar Burton of PBS Kids' Reading Rainbow in 2023 and filmmaker Ava DuVernay in 2024. This year, actor, author and activist George Takei was named.

Takei said this about his appointment:

I’m proud to serve as honorary chair of Banned Books Week, because I remember all too well the lack of access to books and media that I needed growing up. First as a child in a barbed-wire prison camp, then as a gay young man in the closet, I felt confused and hungry for understanding about myself and the world around me. Now, as an author, I share my own stories so that new generations will be better informed about their history and themselves."

About Book Banning

Why Ban Books?

Oftentimes, those pushing for books bans mean well, and are attempting to protect others, usually children, from being exposed to difficult or disturbing information; this often means offensive language or inappropriate sexual content. In fact, the OIF has found that the top three most common reasons for challenging a book are:

The material was considered to be "sexually explicit"
The material contained "offensive language"
The material was "unsuited to the age group"

However, in avoiding such topics, mentions of LGBTQIA+ identities and characters are often erased. As stated in PEN America's article "The Normalization of Book Banning," "In sexualizing LGBTQ+ people, swaths of literature have been removed under the premise of removing “inappropriate” or “obscene” books." Other topics, like sex education or discussions of sexual assault, are also caught in the crossfire, and books by queer authors or authors of color (or featuring queer characters or characters of color) are highly targeted across genres.

In an analysis of banned titles from the 2023-2024 school year, PEN America found that of 4,218 unique titles banned:

36% featured fictional characters or real people of color
29% included LGBTQ+ characters, people, or themes
More than half of the banned books with LGBTQ+ people or characters include communities of color

Many people have challenged books over the years, for a variety of reasons and from all sides of the political aisle. But in 2024, the ALA found that the majority of censorship attempts came from pressure groups and the decision makers (school boards, elected officials, etc.) who had been swayed by them. Merriam-Webster defines a pressure group as "an interest group organized to influence public and especially government policy, but not to elect candidates to office."

Book Challenges vs. Book Bans

The ALA describes the difference between the two terms as follows: "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials." Both challenges and bans are counted in data regarding censorship attempts, as even if the challenge does not succeed, it still shows what titles, themes and ideas are under pressure.

ALA OIF Graphic: Number of Unique Titles Challenged per Year

2024 Book Banning Data

Since 2021, the number of unique titles challenged across the country has skyrocketed. Prior to that year, the most titles challenged was 390 in 2004; in 2023, a new peak was hit with 4,240 titles challenged. The numbers are down for 2024, with 2,452 titles challenged, but that number is still the third highest amount in the last two decades.

821 total attempts to censor library books were documented in 2024, the most common justifications for which were: "false claims of illegal obscenity for minors; inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes; and covering topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice," according to the ALA.

Listed below are the top ten most challenged books of 2024, plus the reasons they were challenged.

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
[TIE] The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: depiction of sexual assault, depiction of incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content
[TIE]The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, depiction of sexual assault, depiction of drug use, profanity
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins: claimed to be sexually explicit
[TIE] Looking for Alaska by John Green: claimed to be sexually explicit 
[TIE] Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews: claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity
[TIE] Crank by Ellen Hopkins: claimed to be sexually explicit, depiction of drug use
[TIE] Sold by Patricia McCormick: claimed to be sexually explicit, depiction of sexual assault
Flamer by Mike Curato: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

2025 Banned Book Display - Part 1 — Krupp Library's 2025 Banned Books Week Display, part one.

On Display

At the Krupp Library, we are proud to own many of the top banned books of 2024, as well as plenty of other titles that have come under fire in previous years. Each book on display has been paired with a "Rap Sheet" that explains why the book was challenged. Here's a sampling of what we have on offer!

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1986, Houghton Mifflin Company): #7 most challenged book of 2019; challenged for profanity, vulgarity, and "sexual overtones."

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson (2021, Sourcebooks Fire): #3 most challenged book of 2023; challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, and claims it was sexually explicit.

Looking for Alaska by John Green (2005, Dutton Books): #6 most challenged book of 2024 (Tied); challenged for claims it was sexually explicit.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe (2020, Oni Press): #2 most challenged book of 2024; challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and claims it was sexually explicit.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960, Lippincott): #7 most challenged book of 2020; challenged for inclusion racial slurs, depiction of a "white savior" character, and perception of the Black experience.

Sold by Patricia McCormick (2008, Hyperion Paperbacks): #8 most challenged book of 2024 (Tied); challenged for depiction of sexual assault and claims it was sexually explicit.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970, Holt, Rinehart and Winston): #3 most challenged book of 2024 (Tied); challenged for depiction of sexual assault and incest, claims it was sexually explicit, and EDI content.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017, Balzer + Bray): #5 most challenged book of 2021; challenged for profanity, violence, an "anti-police message," and “indoctrination of a social agenda.”