Banned Books Week – The 10 Most Challenged Titles Of 2013

In this post to celebrate banned books week, we share the most challenged titles of 2013.

21-27 September 2014 is Banned Books Week

What is Banned Books Week?

Banned Books Week is the book community’s annual celebration of the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookshops, and libraries. More than 11 000 books have been challenged since 1982.

The 10 most challenged titles of 2013 were:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence
2. The Bluest Eye , by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. Fifty Shades Of Grey, by E.L. James
   Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
6. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower , by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
   Reasons: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
10. Bone (series), by Jeff Smith
    Reasons: Political viewpoint, racism, violence

If you want to find out which books were the most challenged over the past 13 years, follow this link: The Top Ten Challenged Books Lists: 2001-2013

  by Amanda Patterson