This week marks Banned Books Week, an annual observation that raises awareness of the freedom to read, as well as the ongoing threats to that freedom that are surging across libraries and schools across the country at an unprecedented rate.
In 2025, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) documented the censorship of 6,588 books in libraries and schools, the highest number ever recorded by the office and astronomically higher than the average of 70 titles per year censored from 2001-2020.
These alarming numbers prove why Banned Books Week is so vital.
In a sign of the literary stars aligning, this year’s Banned Books Week coincides with ALA’s official 150th anniversary on October 6. To mark the occasion, ALA has released a list of the 150 most challenged books documented from 1990 through 2025. The list spans contemporary titles such as Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe and literary classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
“Every book on this list is a reminder that readers have the right to explore ideas and decide for themselves what to read,” said ALA President Maria McCauley. “For 150 years, ALA has worked alongside library workers to keep that choice open to everyone. We ask for support for our libraries so the next generation has that same freedom.”
Explore below the 150 most frequently challenged books since OIF began tracking censorship data and join libraries and readers everywhere in uniting against book bans.
- Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
- All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson
- Flamer by Mike Curato
- SOLD by Patricia McCormick
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
- Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
- It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris
- Crank by Ellen Hopkins
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
- Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Melissa by Alex Gino
- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
- Forever by Judy Blume
- Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Identical by Ellen Hopkins
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
- Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Drama by Raina Telgemeier
- The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
- And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
- A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
- Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
- Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Harry Potter [series] by J. K. Rowling
- Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen
- The Haters by Jesse Andrews
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- Damsel by Elana K. Arnold
- Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
- Lucky by Alice Sebold
- A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
- This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki
- Slaughterhouse-Five, or, the Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut
- Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
- What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold
- Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
- Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
- Push by Sapphire
- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
- Breathless by Jennifer Niven
- l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle
- Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
- I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel
- Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Sex Is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez
- Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold
- A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
- The Handmaid’s Tale (Graphic Novel) by Reneé Nault
- Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
- Fallout by Ellen Hopkins
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
- Glass by Ellen Hopkins
- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- Burned by Ellen Hopkins
- Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
- Shine by Lauren Myracle
- Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
- The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater
- Fade by Lisa McMann
- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
- The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley
- Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
- More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
- The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
- More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
- I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
- Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
- The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
- The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed
- The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
- The Freedom Writers Diary by Freedom Writers
- Heartstopper, Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman
- Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman
- People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins
- It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
- Blankets: An Illustrated Novel by Craig Thompson
- Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
- ttyl by Lauren Myracle
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
- Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
- We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
- Smoke by Ellen Hopkins
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds
- Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by Lev A. C. Rosen
- When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff
- Jesus Land: A Memoir by Julia Scheeres
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Traffick by Ellen Hopkins
- A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Lee Dugard
- Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
- A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
- House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
- Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
- Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
- The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
- Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
- Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
- My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier
- The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson
- Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
- Rick by Alex Gino
- The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
- Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings
- Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
- Impressions by Jack Booth
- In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
- Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
- Dear Martin by Nic Stone
- Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
- Beautiful by Amy Reed
- The You I’ve Never Known by Ellen Hopkins
- Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
- Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
- ttfn by Lauren Myracle
- Gossip Girl [series] by Cecily von Ziegesar
- All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell
- yolo by Lauren Myracle
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
- Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
- Forever for a Year by B. T. Gottfred
- Rumble by Ellen Hopkins
- Native Son by Richard Wright
Note: This list includes 153 total titles, as the final five are tied with an equal number of challenges.
For more information about Banned Books Week, visit BannedBooksWeek.org.
How you can support libraries
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Feature image: Author Andrew Larsen holds up a copy of Maurice Sendak’s “In the Night Kitchen” at the Big Chair during the 2026 ALA Annual Conference.
