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Banned Books Week 2022

About Banned Books Week

September 18-24, 2020 is banned books week, and in recognition the Fintel Library is providing this of some of the most frequently challenged books from 2001-2021 owned in our collection!  This research guide will serve as an introduction to these books, as well as provide links to online resources on banned and/or frequently challenged works. 

Internet Resources

banned books logo

Gallery of Banned Books

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Persepolis

PN6747.S245 P4713 2003

Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions”

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Summer of My German Soldier

Juv. PZ7.G8283 Su 2003

Reasons: offensive language, racism, sexually explicit

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Bridge to Terabithia

Juv. PZ7.P273 Br

Reasons: occult/Satanism, offensive language

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Of Mice and Men

PS3537.T3234 O2 2000

Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group, violence

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

PS3551.N464 Z466 2002

Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit

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The Annotated Huckleberry Finn

PS1305.A2 H43 2001

Reason: racism

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His Dark Materials 3-Book Trade Paperback Boxed Set

 PR6066.U44 A3 2002

Reason: religious viewpoint 

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Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited

PR6015.U9 B65 2004

Reasons: insensitivity, nudity, racism, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

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Beloved

PS3563.O8749 B433 1999

Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

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The Glass Castle

HV5132 .W35 2005

Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit

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Bless Me, Ultima

PS3551.N27 B54 1978

Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, violence

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The Hunger Games

Juv. PZ7.C6837 Hun 2008

Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, insensitivity, offensive language, occult/satanic, violence

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The Bluest Eye

PS3563.O8749 B55 1994

Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

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The Catcher in the Rye

PS3537.A426 C3 2001 

Reasons: sexual content, offensive language, unsuited to age group

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Fun Home

PN6727.B3757 Z46 2006

Reasons: violence and other (“graphic images”)

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Looking for Alaska

Juv. PZ7.G8233 Lo 2005

Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

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To Kill a Mockingbird

PS3562.E353 T6 1999

Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

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The Kite Runner

PS3608.O832 K58 2003

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This Day in June

Juv. PZ8.3.P5586836 Th 2014

Reason: challenged and burned for including LGBTQIA+ content

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This One Summer

Juv. PZ7.7.T355 Thi 2014

Reasons: challenged because it includes LGBT characters, drug use and profanity, and it was considered sexually explicit with mature themes

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The Hate U Give

Juv. PZ7.1.T4567 Hat 2017

Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

PZ7.R79835 Har 1999

Reasons: banned and forbidden from discussion for referring to magic and witchcraft, for containing actual curses and spells, and for characters that use “nefarious means” to attain goals

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Beyond Magenta

HQ77.9 .K85 2014  

Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit. 

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George

Juv. PS3607.I4582 G46 2015  

Reasons: banned, challenged, and relocated because it was believed to encourage children to clear browser history and change their bodies using hormones, and for mentioning “dirty magazines,” describing male anatomy, “creating confusion,” and including a transgender character

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Juv. PZ7.A382 Ab 2007

Reasons: banned and challenged for sexual references, profanity, violence, gambling, and underage drinking, and for its religious viewpoint

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Lawn Boy: A Novel

PS3605.V57 L39 2019  

Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

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Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

E184.A1 R49 2020 

Reasons: Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people

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The Handmaid's Tale

PR9199.3.A8 H3 1986

Reasons: banned and challenged for profanity and for “vulgarity and sexual overtones”