Top 10 Most Banned Books: 2014

For the past many years, during Banned Books Weak, I have put together a list of the top ten most banned books of the previous year. Out of 311 challenges (a slight increase from the 307 challenges reported in 2013) as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, here are the top ten:

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying”
2. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi
   Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda”
3. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
   Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”
5. It’s Perfectly Normal (The Family Library), by Robie H. Harris
   Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”
6. Saga, Vol. 1, by Brian K. Vaughan
   Reasons: Anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
7. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation”
9. A Stolen Life: A Memoir, by Jaycee Dugard
   Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group
10. Drama, by Raina Telgemeier
    Reasons: sexually explicit

Click these links if you are looking for the top 10 lists for previous years with easy links to Amazon: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001.

Additionally, in 2010, I put together a list of the 100 Most Banned & Challenged Books Of The Decade by aggregating several lists from the American Library Association.