Top 10 Banned Young Adult Books (Banned Book Week 2017)

September 24-30 is Banned Books Week, and to celebrate, I've compiled a list of my favorite frequently banned/challenged young adult books. (For more information on Banned Books Week, check out my blog post here.)

10. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Banned for "sexual content, offensive language," and for being "unsuited to age group" (ALA; 2005 Top Ten #3, 2009 & 2001 Top Ten #6).

Photo credit: Emma K.

While I know Catcher in the Rye is a beloved novel to many, I had to put this one at the bottom of the list. It was just... too depressing. The premise of the book, for those who haven't read it (and I hadn't either until recently), is that sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from his fourth school in a row after failing four of his five classes (he excels in English but doesn't seem to bother with his other classes), and thusly spends his winter break feeling depressed and discontent with everything around him. His roommates, Ackley and Stradlater, serve to make him even angrier and angstier. He also encounters an old teacher of his (of whom he tries to think kindly of but ends up thinking is a problem) and a girl he used to be friends with (who riles him up further). Holden then proceeds to drink excessively and make many bad decisions. Say what you will about Catcher in the Rye, I thought it was too angsty, and half of the plot points weren't necessary. Still, it earns a spot on this list for being a school favorite. Teenage angst levels, though? Through the roof.

9. Looking for Alaska by John Green

Banned for "a sexually explicit scene that may lead a student to 'sexual experimentation'" (#6 on ALA's Top Ten Banned Books of 2016).

Photo credit: Emma K.

Looking for Alaska tells the story of last-words-collector Miles "Pudge" Halter in his search to find the new meaning in his life. Miles, largely unpopular at his school, decides to go to Culver Creek, a boarding school in Alabama where he hopes he will find what poet François Rabelais called in his last words "The Great Perhaps." Once at Culver Creek, Miles--a very skinny boy--is dubbed Pudge by his roommate, the Colonel, for obvious and extremely ironic reasons. He also meets Alaska, who he immediately thinks is "the hottest girl in all of human history." (Although if Alaska had heard him thinking that, she would have said something along the lines of, "Don't objectify women," or, "You should be subverting the patriarchal paradigm.") Alaska, the Colonel, and their friends Lara and Takumi, become the best pranking squad Culver Creek has ever seen. But when something devastating happens, it's up to Pudge to answer the question that Alaska's hero Simón Bolívar asked with his last words: "How will I ever get out of this labyrinth. Read with caution, though, because this book will ruin you-- piece by tearful piece.

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Banned for "drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language," and being "sexually explicit, unsuited for age group," as well as “date rape and masturbation” (ALA; 2009 Top Ten #3, 2004 Top Ten #5, 2008 Top Ten #6, 2014, 2013 & 2006 Top Ten #8).

Photo credit: danica s on Flickr (under this license) [Cropped]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is like The Catcher in the Rye but set five or six decades later and infinitely more interesting. While the plot is similar-- around Christmastime, a teenage boy--in this case, Charlie--with a predilection for being oblivious goes through a life-changing experience of friends, enemies, and lots of alcohol and other various substances-- the writing is much different, Stephen Chbosky taking a much more relatable approach to the topic. I thought the characters were really well-developed, and it was an interesting side of high school that I had never seen before-- including the showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show that Charlie and his best friends Sam and Patrick put on. It was wonderful to see how each character and relationship developed through the story. I really liked the story, though Charlie did get a bit too Holden Caulfield-ish for me at times. I would recommend it for those with a less vanilla take on books, but it's not really for the faint of heart since, as the reasons for banning say, it does have a lot of drinking, smoking, and some other various recreational drugs.

7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Banned for its "morbid plot, offensive language, and sexual content" (Vanity Fair).

Photo credit: Rachel Kramer Bussel on Flickr (under this license)

Cancer is not something young adult books have often been concerned with; that is, not until The Fault in Our Stars was published. Since then, many other books featuring the prevalent disease have been written, like Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, a personal favorite. In The Fault in Our Stars, 17-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster begins attending a cancer support group at her mom's urging and meets a cancer survivor named Augustus Waters who came to the group to support his friend Isaac. The two soon become better acquainted and, after trading favorite books, decide to go to Amsterdam to meet the author of Hazel's favorite book and ask some questions about the ending. The only problem is, Hazel's health is rapidly declining and she struggles with balancing her feelings for Augustus with her need to keep from harming others once she dies: "I'm a grenade and at some point I am going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?" This book was sweet, surprising, and left me wondering, "What just happened?" Though this book was challenged for being too morbid, I think it's important to understand the craziness--and commonness--of cancer.

6. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Banned for being "anti-ethnic, anti-family," showing "insensitivity," and having "offensive language, [the] occult/satanic, [and] violence" (ALA; 2011 Top Ten #3, 2013 & 2010 Top Ten #5).

Photo credit: Mike Mozart on Flickr (under this license)

Considered one of the most popular dystopias of the 21st century, the Hunger Games series has been challenged ever since it first came out. Violence is pretty intense in the books, but Teen Choice Award-winning author Suzanne Collins doesn't get too gory with the details, which is great-- especially because the entire premise of the book is that 12 boys and 12 girls are sent into an arena to fight to the death. And boy, do they die. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, is a 16-year old girl from District 12, the mining district, who volunteers to take her sister Prim's place in the Hunger Games, knowing that she could die, but that the risk of her sister dying was greater-- and nearly everyone she gets close to in the series? Yep, you guessed it. They die. Overall, the book's narrative is really interesting, and it has plenty of twists and turns to keep you entertained. I can tell you, the first time I read it, I was definitely surprised at the ending. There's plenty of times when you'll be awed by what just happened, and plenty of times when you'll be proud for figuring it out beforehand! I recommend it to everyone-- but the squeamish beware.

5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Banned for having "drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism," and being "sexually explicit, unsuited to age group" (ALA; 2014 Top Ten #1, 2012 & 2010 Top Ten #2, 2013 Top Ten #3, 2011 Top Ten #5).

Photo credit: Emma K.

Sherman Alexie tells a great story in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: Arnold Jr., or "Junior" for short, was born with hydrocephalus--meaning that he has too much spinal fluid in his head. It causes him to have a lisp, a stutter, and and even seizures, and ultimately leads to his being bullied. His best friend, Rowdy, tries to protect him, but his violent streak leads him and Junior into more trouble than they were in before. After an incident with his schoolteacher, Junior realizes that he needs to get out of the Spokane Indian reservation if he wants to succeed in life. With this in mind, he starts school at Reardan, the all-white school more than twenty miles from home. He immediately begins gaining friends and respect at Reardan, despite his skin color, his heritage, and his poverty. Meanwhile, Rowdy and the others on the "rez" feel a bit betrayed, and Junior's home turns into a place of hostility towards him. But through Varsity basketball, Junior overcomes the numerous tragedies that drag him down throughout the book. And at the end of it all, there's a bittersweet reunion and many tough life lessons learned.

4. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Banned for an "R-rated" scene (Tor).

Photo credit: CHRIS DRUMM on Flickr (under this license)

This book with two Londons--London Above and London Below--takes fourth place for being absolutely awesome, and also for reminding me of my personal favorite book, A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (in which there are four Londons, every one of them amazing). Richard Mayhew, Neverwhere's protagonist, is an uppity fellow with an emotionally taxing fiancée who stumbles into London Below, the London of shadows and things that go bump in the night. Suddenly, all the aspects of his normal life vanish, and it's as if he's not even there; his fiancée has no idea who he is, his landlord is renting out his apartment, he can't use his phone, he simply stops existing in regular London, or what those in London Below call London Above. And Door, the girl he found bleeding on the street and who dragged him into this whole mess, needs him to help her find the person who killed her family and rid London Below of the darkness that lurks inside it. This book is haunting, enchanting, and gorgeously surreal. I found myself lost within the world and within the character's thoughts and emotions, wondering what would happen next. I loved Neverwhere, and I think it was really unfair that it was banned (more info here). The scene that was considered inappropriate was extremely short, and was less to show a sexual relationship and more to show just how invisible Richard was in London Above. My suggestion? Ignore the censors, and read this book!

3. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Banned because "its cover has an image of two boys kissing, and it was considered to include sexually explicit LGBT content" (#5 on ALA's Top Ten Banned Books of 2016).

Photo credit: Emma K.

Stop. You just had a preconceived notion about this book. You just saw the cover and read the title and immediately assumed something like, "it's definitely a cheesy romance," or "it's about gay people, gross" (uh, rude), or even "it's going to be gay book porn." I would like you to take that preconceived notion and throw it away. Because this book is none of those things. No, this book is an anthem. Based on true events, Two Boys Kissing by Lambda Literary Award-winner David Levithan tells many stories, mainly that of Craig and Harry, two ex-boyfriends who plan to break the Guinness World Record for the world's longest kiss. One of the best parts of the book? It's by a Greek Chorus of all the gay men who died of AIDS. Poignantly written, Two Boys Kissing is heartwarming, heartbreaking, and will fill you with life. I recommend this book to everyone-- it's well written, has interesting and complex characters, and is beautifully optimistic. I also recommend some of David Levithan's other books, like Every Day and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (co-authored by John Green).

2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Banned for "offensive language" (#10 on ALA's Top Ten Banned Books of 2016).

Photo credit: Emma K.

Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors, as she has written at least six books and they are all amazing. Eleanor & Park is no exception. Eleanor is a fiery redhead with a bigger size and a bigger heart, and Park is a half-Korean boy with eyes "so green they could turn carbon dioxide into oxygen." Heartwarming and heartbreaking, Eleanor & Park delivers a cynical yet optimistic take on modern-day teenagers, modern-day life, and modern-day love. It's a delightful read, with everything just a bit deeper than it seems. Eleanor, for example, usually wears men's clothing, but while our first impression of that may be that she's abominably fashion-unconscious, it turns out that her family of four siblings and an abusive stepfather just can't afford to get the fashionable clothes that would keep her from being bullied at school. Fortunately, Park lets her sit next to him on the bus, keeping her from the bullies for a blissful hour each day: thirty minutes to school, and thirty minutes back. As love blossoms between the two, we are pulled in to a world of hope, wonder, and then devastating, devastating loss. Oh, but I won't spoil it for you. You'll just have to read it yourself.

1. The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

Banned for "occult/Satanism, religious viewpoint, violence," and being "anti-family" (ALA; 2001 & 2002 Top Ten #1, 2003 Top Ten #2).

Photo credit: Emma K.

The Harry Potter series is beloved by teens, children and adults from all over the world. It has been translated into 68 languages and has sold over 400 million copies worldwide (Scholastic). Many grew up with the books, some are just discovering them now, and even more will discover them in the future. The Harry Potter books, beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, tell the story of teenage wizard Harry Potter as he attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and embarks on a journey to defeat the Dark Lord that killed his parents and left him with a lightning bolt-shaped scar. In the books, we watch Harry and his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, as they grow older, wiser, and stronger-- magically and otherwise. I honestly don't know a person who wouldn't fall in love with something from the books, and for that reason, I think it's crazy that they've been banned and challenged so many times. The best way to support the freedom to read? Pick up the books and read them-- for the first time or the hundredth.