10 challenged books that belong in libraries

Book censorship is like a snake in the grass; you don't always see it until the fangs pop out. Efforts to challenge books are as old as the printed medium, but the frequency and intensity of these attacks have spiked hard over the last few years.

Thankfully, this recent influx of anti-book crusades is getting smacked with pushback from equally enthusiastic campaigns to keep challenged books in libraries and bookstores. Censorship is a rejection of the ideas a book explores, and people who are afraid of ideas rarely have the best intentions, especially if they hammer their opinions in with flowery speeches about “decency” or “protecting the children.”

If you’re in the mood to challenge authority (and I can think of plenty of reasons you’re feeling that way right now), here are ten excellent challenged books that belong in the public square. Stare in ignorance in the eye and say, “Not today, friend.”

10. New English Canaan or New Canaan by Thomas Morton

Honest question: Is there a better way to start a list of challenged books than talking about the first book to be banned in North America? New English Canaan or New Canaan by Thomas Morton is older than the United States by over a century, but it’s just as relevant now as it was in the 1600s.

Through the pages of New English Canaan, Morton delivers a blistering critique of the Puritan culture that dominated the Thirteen Colonies, casting an especially withering light on its despicable treatment of Native Americans. Morton’s words made him a pariah in the eyes of his peers, but despite the best efforts of colonial authorities, his book remains on shelves to this day.

9. And Tango Makes Three by Lesléa Newman and Justin Richardson

People don't always treat same-sex couples with the same respect as their heterosexual counterparts, and that can make it difficult for children to form an unbiased opinion of these unions and the children raised by them. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson challenges the notion that families have to look a certain way by focusing on a trio of penguins who formed an unlikely family.

Based on the story of two male penguins in the Central Park Zoo who came together to care for an abandoned egg, And Tango Makes Three is a fantastic way to introduce children to LGBTQ+ families. For that same reason, it’s one of the most challenged children’s picture books ever printed, sitting at the top of the American Library Association’s Most Challenged Books lists three years in a row from 2007 to 2009.

8. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Judy Blume holds the illustrious honor of being the most challenged author of the twenty-first century. Blume’s work regularly explores ideas that self-appointed guardians of childhood innocence find appalling, including menstruation, teenage sex, birth control, and infant mortality. Any of her books could have made it on this list, but ultimately, I went with Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret tells the tale of Margarette, an inquisitive young girl raised by interfaith parents. The book follows Margaret as she deals with her growing attraction to boys, broods over her first period, and reconciles her complicated views of religion. That’s a literal laundry list of heavy topics right there, and Blume’s courageous exploration of them has landed this book on many censors’ dartboards.

7. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Graphic novels add a visual element to the reading experience, so they usually get more attention when they court controversy. Persepolis, an autobiographical account of Marjane Satrapi’s life before, during, and after the Iranian Revolution, is one of those “high-profile” graphic novels.

A gorgeous tapestry woven with visual storytelling and insightful prose, Persepolis is a story about the hypocrisy of authoritarianism and the importance of staying true to oneself in the face of oppression. Unfortunately, these messages, and the book's willingness to convey them through frightening imagery and harsh language, have led to multiple censorship attempts.

6. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Racial profiling and the threat of police brutality are threats that far too many people face today. Few books dare to challenge younger readers to reflect on these issues, and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas does so with remarkable maturity and nuance.

The book follows Star Carter, who becomes the face and voice of a massive protest movement after a white police officer guns down her best friend during a traffic stop. Controversial from the moment it hit print, The Hate U Give has frequently topped the ALA’s “most challenged books of the year” lists since 2017.

5. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Thanks to the all-time hit show on Netflix, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has become a household name. The sixth and final season of the said show will premiere in April of this year (barring any unexpected and agonizing delays), so now’s the perfect time to read the book that started it all if you haven't gotten around to it yet.

Through Gilead and its fundamentalist oppression of women, Atwood presents a terrifying what-if scenario for any nation, one that asks haunting questions about the fragility of civil rights and the ways one can resist tyranny. Parents, teachers, and politicians worldwide have challenged The Handmaid’s Tale’s presence in schools, but the lessons Atwood teaches through her prose are worth learning.

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

Identity can be tricky to figure out, especially when caught in the push-and-pull of two radically different worlds and feel you don't entirely belong in either. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is as much a comic as a novel. That juxtaposition is a perfect metaphor for the themes this coming-of-age story tackles.

The story of Arnold Spirit Jr., a Spokane Native American boy attending an almost all-white school near his tribe’s reservation, is about finding oneself. Its graphic depiction of the harsh realities Native American communities face has earned it a healthy mix of supporters and detractors. Speaking for myself, I think it’s a great way to help young readers understand the nastier side of colonialism's legacy.

3. North to Alaska by John Greene

John Green is an author who isn’t afraid to break his readers like a fistful of dry noodles. The tears Green drew through The Fault in Our Stars could fill Hoover Dam with enough water to last a decade, but there haven't been many high-profile attempts to keep the book out of readers’ hands. Looking for Alaska is a whole other story.

Loosely based on Green's own experiences in a private school for troubled students, Looking for Alaska has everything moral crusaders don’t want to see in a book aimed at young readers: swearing, drug use, and a very explicit sex scene. Many have tried to keep this book out of schools, but dismissing it as an obscene slop ignores the moments when it slows down and transforms into a thoughtful meditation on grief, the endless search for meaning, and the mysterious, restrictive power of hope.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I first read To Kill a Mockingbird in fifth grade and then had to reread it in seventh grade. Schools across the country fold it into their curriculums, but that same notoriety has made it a frequent target for book censors.

To Kill a Mockingbird doesn’t pull its punches; it’s an honest examination of normalized racism and the failings of the justice system. It’s not afraid to be ugly when it needs to be, and that’s inspired many, even a few teachers, to make a move to remove it from schools out of a misguided urge to “protect” students.

As noble as that sentiment might be, keeping kids from witnessing the evils of Bob Ewell also means preventing them from seeing the incredible paragon of virtue that is Atticus Finch standing up for an innocent man in court. The good far outweighs the bad here, if you ask me

1. Maus by Art Spiegelman

Maus by Art Spiegelman is a book that genuinely changed my life. This biographical dive into the complicated relationship Art shared with his father, an aloof and volatile Holocaust survivor, is equal parts grotesque, uplifting, infuriating, and uncomfortably hilarious. It’s a surreal journey into the misty depths of collective trauma, one that some don’t want anyone to experience.

As celebrated as it is controversial, Maus has been at the center of several high-profile attempts to remove it from circulation. As crazy as it may sound, some people have argued that a story about the lingering impact of the greatest atrocity in human history needs to be banned because it has a few panels with naked mice on them. What a scandal! Someone, get a pyre going!

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