List of most commonly challenged books in the United States
List
The list is sorted alphabetically by default. Included is each book's rank in the ALA's lists of top 100 challenged books by decade (if applicable).

List of most commonly challenged books in the United States

Section Title: List
Table Section Text: The list is sorted alphabetically by default. Included is each book's rank in the ALA's lists of top 100 challenged books by decade (if applicable).

Title	Author	Reason(s) for Challenge	Year(s) published	2000–2009 ALA rank	1990–1999 ALA rank

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian	Sherman Alexie	Content regarding alcohol, bullying, violence; sexual references; profanity and slurs	2007	N/A	N/A

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn	Mark Twain	Coarse language, racial stereotypes and use of the word "nigger"	1884	14	5

The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby	Dav Pilkey	Encouraging poor spelling	2002	47	N/A

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer	Mark Twain	Coarse language; racial stereotypes	1876	N/A	83

Alice (series)	Phyllis Reynolds Naylor	Sexual content	1985–2012	2	14

All the King's Men	Robert Penn Warren	Depicting a "depressing view of life" and "immoral situations"	1946	N/A	N/A

Always Running	Luis J. Rodriguez	Gang violence, drug use and sexual references	1993	68	85

America	E. R. Frank	Sexual references; drug and alcohol use	2002	100	N/A

American Psycho	Bret Easton Ellis	Sexual references; violence toward women	1991	N/A	53

An American Tragedy	Theodore Dreiser	Sexual content; abortion; murder	1925	N/A	N/A

The Anarchist Cookbook	William Powell	Content related to the manufacturing of illicit narcotics and explosives	1971	N/A	59

Anastasia Krupnik (series)	Lois Lowry	References to beer, Playboy magazine, and suicide	1979–1995	75	28

And Tango Makes Three	Peter Parnell, Justin Richardson	Content regarding homosexuality and same-sex marriage	2005	4	N/A

Animal Farm	George Orwell	Political (Communist) commentary	1945	N/A	N/A

Annie on My Mind	Nancy Garden	LGBT content	1982	N/A	44

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging	Louise Rennison	Crude language, sexual content, LGBT content	1999	35	N/A

The Arizona Kid	Ron Koertge	LGBT content	1988	N/A	75

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.	Judy Blume	Content dealing with menstrual cycles and feminine hygiene	1970	99	60

Arming America	Michael A. Bellesiles	Content dealing with firearms, later proven to have been fabricated	2000	38	N/A

As I Lay Dying	William Faulkner	Dealing with issues of death; abortion	1930	N/A	N/A

Asking About Sex and Growing Up	Joanna Cole	Sexual education	1988	N/A	57

Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories	Chris Crutcher	Content dealing with eating disorders, child abuse, racism, LGBT themes and AIDS	1991	44	63

The Awakening	Kate Chopin	Sexual content	1899	N/A	N/A

A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl	Tanya Lee Stone	Crude language, sexual content, mature themes	2006	N/A	N/A

Beloved	Toni Morrison	Themes regarding slavery; violence	1987	26	45

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out	Susan Kuklin	Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other ("wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints").	2014

Big Hard Sex Criminals	Matt Fraction, illustrated by Chip Zdarsky	Sexually explicit	2015	N/A	N/A

Black Boy	Richard Wright	Themes of Communism, racism and atheism	1946	81	N/A

Bless Me, Ultima	Rudolfo Anaya	Profanity, crude language and violence	1972	32	78

Blood and Chocolate	Annette Curtis Klause	Sexual content; supernatural themes	1997	57	N/A

Blubber	Judy Blume	Content dealing with the issue of bullying	1974	43	30

The Bluest Eye	Toni Morrison	Themes of racism, incest and child sexual abuse	1970	15	34

Bone (series)	Jeff Smith	References to smoking, drinking and gambling	1991–2004	N/A	N/A

The Boy Who Lost His Face	Louis Sachar	Themes of the occult, sexuality and bullying; profanity	1989	92	46

Boys and Sex	Wardell Pomeroy	Sexual education	1968	N/A	61

Brave New World	Aldous Huxley	Alleged anti-religion and anti-family themes; sexual content	1931	36	54

Brideshead Revisited	Evelyn Waugh	Themes of homosexuality, alcoholism, infidelity	1945	N/A	N/A

Bridge to Terabithia	Katherine Paterson	Allegations that the book promotes secular humanism, New Age religion, occultism, and Satanism	1977	28	8

Bumps in the Night	Harry Allard	Supernatural and occult themes, anti-family, encourages disobedience	1979	93	56

The Call of the Wild	Jack London	Author's pro-Socialism views	1903	N/A	N/A

Captain Underpants (series)	Dav Pilkey	Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence	1997–2015	13	N/A

Carrie	Stephen King	Violence, anti-religion, sexual themes	1974	N/A	81

Cat's Cradle	Kurt Vonnegut	Language, animal abuse, anti-religious themes, and scatological humor	1963	N/A	N/A

Catch-22	Joseph Heller	Obscene language	1961	N/A	N/A

The Catcher in the Rye	J. D. Salinger	Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group	1951	19	10

The Chocolate War	Robert Cormier	Nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group	1974	3	4

Christine	Stephen King	Obscene language, sexual themes	1983	N/A	95

A Clockwork Orange	Anthony Burgess	Obscene language	1962	N/A	N/A

The Color Purple	Alice Walker	Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group	1982	17	17

The Color Trilogy (series)	Kim Dong Hwa	Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group	2009	N/A	N/A

Crank	Ellen Hopkins	Drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit	2004	N/A	N/A

Crazy	Benjamin Lebert	Obscene language, sexual themes	2000	77	N/A

Crazy Lady!	Jane Leslie Conly	Offensive language	1993	45	62

Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat	Alvin Schwartz	Supernatural themes	1974	N/A	47

Cujo	Stephen King	Violence, obscene language, explicit sex scenes	1983	N/A	49

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time	Mark Haddon	Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other ("profanity and atheism").	2003

Curses, Hexes and Spells	Daniel Cohen	Supernatural themes, references to the Bible	1974	N/A	71

Cut	Patricia McCormick	References to cutting and self-harm	2000	86	N/A

Daddy's Roommate	Michael Willhoite	LGBT themes	1991	N/A	2

Daughters of Eve	Lois Duncan	Obscene language, sexual content, and violence	1979	51	N/A

A Day No Pigs Would Die	Robert Newton Peck	References to animal slaughter and mating	1972	80	16

The Dead Zone	Stephen King	Obscene language	1979	N/A	82

Deal with It!	Esther Drill	Explicit sexual content and LGBT themes	1999	82	N/A

Deenie	Judy Blume	References to masturbation	1973	N/A	42

Detour for Emmy	Marilyn Reynolds	Sexual content, and references to teen pregnancy	1993	83	N/A

Drama	Raina Telgemeier	Includes LGBT characters, was deemed sexually explicit, and was considered to have an offensive political viewpoint	2012	N/A	N/A

Draw Me a Star	Eric Carle	Sexual content, and nude drawings of Adam and Eve	1992	61	N/A

The Drowning of Stephan Jones	Bette Greene	LGBT themes	1991	N/A	96

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things	Carolyn Mackler	Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group	2003	34	N/A

Earth's Children (series)	Jean M. Auel	Graphic sexual content	1980–2011	N/A	19

Eleanor & Park	Rainbow Rowell	Offensive language	2013	N/A	N/A

The Face on the Milk Carton	Caroline B. Cooney	Sexual content, challenging authority, and unsuitable for age group	1990	29	80

The Facts Speak For Themselves	Brock Cole	Sexual content, violence	1997	54	N/A

Fade	Robert Cormier	References to child sexual abuse, and violence	1988	N/A	65

Fahrenheit 451	Ray Bradbury	Obscene language, references to smoking and drinking, violence, and religious themes	1953	69	N/A

Fallen Angels	Walter Dean Myers	Offensive language, racism, violence	1988	11	36

Family Secrets	Norma Klein	Sexual content, obscene language, references to adultery, smoking, and implied incest	1985	N/A	76

A Farewell to Arms	Ernest Hemingway	Sexual content	1929	N/A	N/A

Fat Kid Rules the World	KL Going	Obscene language, sexual themes, and drug use	2003	58	N/A

Fight Club	Chuck Palahniuk	Sexually explicit, violence, anarchist themes, smoking, drinking, etc...	1996

Fifty Shades of Grey	E. L. James	Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other ("poorly written," "concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it").	2011	N/A	N/A

The Fighting Ground	Avi	Obscene language	1984	42	N/A

Final Exit	Derek Humphry	References to assisted suicide	1991	N/A	29

Flashcards of My Life	Charise Mericle Harper	Sexual content and unsuitable to age group	2006	N/A	N/A

Flowers for Algernon	Daniel Keyes	Sexual content	1966	N/A	43

For Whom the Bell Tolls	Ernest Hemingway	Pro-Communist views	1940	N/A	N/A

Forever...	Judy Blume	Offensive language, sexual content	1975	16	7

Friday Night Lights	H. G. Bissinger	Obscene language, sexual content, and racism	1990	89	N/A

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic	Alison Bechdel	Violence and other ("graphic images").	2006

George	Alex Gino	Includes a transgender child, and the "sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels"	2015	N/A	N/A

The Giver	Lois Lowry	Obscene language, sexual content, violence, and unsuitable to age group	1993	23	11

Girls and Sex	Wardell Pomeroy	Sex education	1970	N/A	98

The Glass Castle	Jeannette Walls	Offensive language, sexually explicit	2005	N/A	N/A

Go Ask Alice	Anonymous	drugs	1971	18	25

Go Tell It on the Mountain	James Baldwin	Obscene language, explicit sex, references to masturbation, rape, violence and sexism.	1953	N/A	N/A

The Goats	Brock Cole	Obscene language, and a scene describing the rescue of a naked woman	1987	N/A	26

Gone with the Wind	Margaret Mitchell	Several uses of racial slurs, the book's portrayal of slavery, and references to rape.	1936	N/A	N/A

Goosebumps (series)	R. L. Stine	Supernatural themes, violence, and encouraging disobedience	1992–1997	94	15

Gossip Girl (series)	Cecily von Ziegesar	Drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit	2002–2011	22	N/A

The Grapes of Wrath	John Steinbeck	Portrays Kern County, California in a negative light	1939	N/A	N/A

The Great Gatsby	F. Scott Fitzgerald	Language and sexual references	1925	N/A	N/A

The Great Gilly Hopkins	Katherine Paterson	Obscene language and racism	1978	52	20

Grendel	John Gardner	Depictions of torture and mutilation	1971	96	N/A

Guess What?	Mem Fox	Supernatural things, and references to punk rock	1990	N/A	66

Habibi	Craig Thompson	Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.	2011

Halloween ABC	Eve Merriam	Possible Satanic and cult references, as well as violence	1987	N/A	31

The Handmaid's Tale	Margaret Atwood	Sexuality, profanity, suicide, violence, anti-Christian themes	1985	88	37

Harris and Me	Gary Paulsen	Obscene language	1993	70	N/A

Harry Potter (series)	J. K. Rowling	Unsuited to age group, witchcraft, religious viewpoint, anti-family, darkness/scariness/violence, and for "setting bad examples".	1997–2007	1	48

Heather Has Two Mommies	Lesléa Newman	Homosexuality	1989	N/A	9

His Dark Materials (series)	Philip Pullman	Political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, violence	1995–2000	8	N/A

The Holy Bible	various	Religious viewpoint, violence	Canon est. ca. 3rd century	N/A	N/A

The House of the Spirits	Isabel Allende	Sexual content	1982	97	73

The Hunger Games	Suzanne Collins	Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group	2008–2010	N/A	N/A

I Am Jazz	Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings	Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group.	2014

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings	Maya Angelou	Sexually explicit	1969	6	3

I Saw Esau	Iona Opie, Peter Opie	Obscene language	2000	98	N/A

In Cold Blood	Truman Capote	Violence, sexual content, and obscene language	1966	N/A	N/A

In the Night Kitchen	Maurice Sendak	Nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit	1970	24	21

Invisible Man	Ralph Ellison	Obscene language and sexual content	1952	N/A	N/A

It's Perfectly Normal	Robie Harris	Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: "alleges it is child pornography"	1994	12	13

It's So Amazing	Robie Harris	Sex education, sexual content	1999	37	N/A

Jack	A. M. Homes	LGBT themes and references to divorce and domestic violence	1990	N/A	74

James and the Giant Peach	Roald Dahl	Supernatural themes and references to drug use	1961	N/A	50

The Joy of Gay Sex	Charles Silverstein, Edmund White	LGBT themes and explicit sexual content	1977	78	N/A

Julie of the Wolves	Jean Craighead George	Unsuited to age group, violence	1972	91	32

Jump Ship to Freedom	James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier	Obscene language, violence, and racism	1981	N/A	100

Jumper	Steven Gould	References to physical and sexual abuse towards children	1992	N/A	94

The Jungle	Upton Sinclair	Author's pro-Socialism and anti-Communism views	1906	N/A	N/A

Junie B. Jones (series)	Barbara Park	Encouraging disobedience	1992–2011	71	N/A

Kaffir Boy	Mark Mathabane	References to male prostitution and sexual abuse	1986	39	33

Killing Mr. Griffin	Lois Duncan	Violence and obscene language	1978	25	64

King & King	Linda De Haan, Stern Nijland	Homosexuality	2002	20	N/A

The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence	2003	50	N/A

Lady Chatterley's Lover	D. H. Lawrence	Sexual content	1928	N/A	N/A

Life is Funny	E.R. Frank	Sexual content	2000	40	N/A

A Light in the Attic	Shel Silverstein	Violence and encouraging disobedience	1981	N/A	51

Little Bill (children book series)	Bill Cosby, illustrated by Varnette P. Honeywood	Criminal sexual allegations against the author	1997–2000	N/A	N/A

Lolita	Vladimir Nabokov	References to pedophillia and sexual abuse	1955	N/A	N/A

Looking for Alaska	John Green	Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.	2005	N/A	N/A

Lord of the Flies	William Golding	Obscene language, violence, and animal cruelty	1954	N/A	68

The Lord of the Rings	J. R. R. Tolkien	Supernatural themes	1954	N/A	N/A

The Lovely Bones	Alice Sebold	Religious themes	2002	74	N/A

Lush	Natasha Friend	Drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group	2006	N/A	N/A

Make Something Up: Stories You Can't Unread	Chuck Palahniuk	Profanity, sexual explicitness, and being "disgusting and all around offensive"	2015	N/A	N/A

Mein Kampf	Adolf Hitler	Glorification of Nazism	1925	N/A

Mick Harte Was Here	Barbara Park	Obscene language, and references to death	1996	64	N/A

Mummy Laid an Egg	Babette Cole	Sex education	1994	N/A	77

My Brother Sam Is Dead	James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier	Obscene language and violence	1974	27	12

My Mom's Having a Baby!	Dori Hillestad Butler	Nudity, sex education, sexual content, and unsuitable for age group	2005	N/A	N/A

My Sister's Keeper	Jodi Picoult	Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence	2004	N/A	N/A

The Naked and the Dead	Norman Mailer	Obscene language	1948	N/A	N/A

Naked Lunch	William S. Burroughs	Sexual content	1959	N/A	N/A

Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan	Jeanette Winter	Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence	2009	N/A	N/A

Native Son	Richard Wright	Violence and sexual content	1940	N/A	69

The New Joy of Gay Sex	Charles Silverstein, Edmund White, Felice Picano	LGBT themes and sexual content	1993	N/A	24

Nickel and Dimed	Barbara Ehrenreich	Drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint	2001	N/A	N/A

Nineteen Eighty-Four	George Orwell	Pro and Anti-Communist views, sexual content, and violence	1949	N/A	N/A

Of Mice and Men	John Steinbeck	Offensive language, racism, violence	1937	5	6

Olive's Ocean	Kevin Henkes	Obscene language and sexual content	2003	59	N/A

On My Honor	Marion Dane Bauer	References divorce, death, suicide, and defeat	1986	N/A	72

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	Ken Kesey	Obscene language, violence, and references to mental illness	1962	49	N/A

This One Summer	Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki	Includes LGBT characters, drug use and profanity, and considered sexually explicit with mature themes	2014	N/A	N/A

Ordinary People	Judith Guest	Obscene language and sexual content	1976	N/A	52

The Outsiders	S. E. Hinton	Anti-religious content	1967	N/A	38

The Perks of Being a Wallflower	Stephen Chbosky	Drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: "date rape and masturbation"	1999	10	N/A

Persepolis (series)	Marjane Satrapi	Gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: "politically, racially, and socially offensive," "graphic depictions"	2000–2003	N/A	N/A

The Pigman	Paul Zindel	Obscene language	1968	N/A	39

The Pillars of the Earth	Ken Follett	Sexual content, and references to violence toward women	1989	N/A	91

A Prayer for Owen Meany	John Irving	Anti-religion and criticism of the Vietnam War and the Iran-Contra incident	1989	76	N/A

Private Parts	Howard Stern	Sexual content	1993	N/A	86

Rabbit, Run	John Updike	Sexual content	1960	N/A	N/A

Rainbow Boys	Alex Sánchez	LGBT themes, sexual content	2001	48	N/A

Revolutionary Voices	Amy Sonnie	Homosexuality, sexually explicit	2000	N/A	N/A

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry	Mildred D. Taylor	Offensive language	1976	66	N/A

Running Loose	Chris Crutcher	Racial slurs, sexual content	1983	N/A	92

Saga (series)	Brian K. Vaughan	Anti-family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group	2012–present	N/A	N/A

The Satanic Verses	Salman Rushdie	Portrayal of the prophet Muhammad in a negative light	1988	N/A	N/A

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (series)	Alvin Schwartz	Unsuited for age group, violence	1981–1991	7	1

A Separate Peace	John Knowles	Sexual content	1959	N/A	N/A

Sex	Madonna	Sexual content	1992	N/A	18

Sex Education	Jenny Davis	Sexual content	1995	N/A	93

Shade's Children	Garth Nix	Sexual content and nudity	1997	95	N/A

Slaughterhouse-Five	Kurt Vonnegut	Sexual content, anti-religious content, violence	1969	46	67

The Sleeping Beauty Quartet (series)	Anne Rice	Sexual content	1983–2015	N/A	55

Snow Falling on Cedars	David Guterson	Sexual content	1994	33	N/A

So Far from the Bamboo Grove	Yoko Kawashima Watkins	References to rape and violence against women	1986	84	N/A

Song of Solomon	Toni Morrison	Sexual content, bestiality, and racism	1977	72	84

Sophie's Choice	William Styron	Sexual content	1979	N/A	N/A

Sons and Lovers	D. H. Lawrence	Sexual content, and incest	1913	N/A	N/A

Speak	Laurie Halse Anderson	References to rape	1999	60	N/A

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes	Chris Crutcher	Obscene language, sexual content	1993	85	N/A

A Stolen Life	Jaycee Dugard	Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group	2011	N/A	N/A

The Story of Little Black Sambo	Helen Bannerman	Racism	1899	N/A	90

The Stupids (series)	Harry Allard, James Marshall	Promoting negative behavior, references to death, and obscene language	1974–1989	62	27

Summer of My German Soldier	Bette Greene	Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit	1973	55	88

The Sun Also Rises	Ernest Hemingway	Sexual content	1926	N/A	N/A

Taming the Star Runner	S. E. Hinton	Offensive language	1988	N/A	N/A

The Terrorist	Caroline B. Cooney	Portrays Muslims in a negative light	1997	63	N/A

That Was Then, This Is Now	S. E. Hinton	Violence, drug use, obscene language	1971	N/A	97

Their Eyes Were Watching God	Zora Neale Hurston	Author's political views	1937	N/A	N/A

The Things They Carried	Tim O'Brien	Violence, animal abuse, obscene language, and criticism of the Vietnam War	1990	65	N/A

Thirteen Reasons Why	Jay Asher	Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group	2007	N/A	N/A

Tiger Eyes	Judy Blume	Sexual content, drug use, and language	1981	87	89

A Time to Kill	John Grisham	References to slavery, rape, and the text includes racial slurs	1989	67	N/A

To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	Offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group	1960	21	40

Tropic of Cancer	Henry Miller	Sexual content	1934	N/A	N/A

ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series)	Lauren Myracle	Offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group	2004–2007	9	N/A

Twilight (series)	Stephenie Meyer	Religious viewpoint, violence, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group	2005–2008	N/A	N/A

Two Boys Kissing	David Levithan	Homosexuality and other ("condones public displays of affection"). Also considered to include sexually explicit LGBT content	2013

Ulysses	James Joyce	References to masturbation	1922	N/A	N/A

Uncle Bobby's Wedding	Sarah S. Brannen	LGBT themes	2008	N/A	N/A

The Upstairs Room	Johanna Reiss	Obscene language and references to the Holocaust	1972	79	N/A

We All Fall Down	Robert Cormier	Offensive language, sexual content	1991	30	41

Whale Talk	Chris Crutcher	Racism, offensive language	2001	41	N/A

What My Mother Doesn't Know	Sonya Sones	Nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, sexism, unsuited to age group	2001	31	N/A

What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys	Lynda Madaras	Sex education	1987/2007	N/A	58

What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls	Lynda Madaras	Sex education	1987/2007	73	35

When Dad Killed Mom	Julius Lester	Violence, sexual content	2001	56	N/A

Where Did I Come From?	Peter Mayle	Sex education	1973	N/A	79

Where's Waldo?	Martin Handford	Nudity	1987	N/A	87

The Wish Giver	Bill Brittain	Supernatural themes	1983	N/A	99

The Witches	Roald Dahl	Misogyny, encouraging disobedience, violence, animal cruelty, obscene language, and supernatural themes	1983	N/A	22

Women in Love	D. H. Lawrence	Sexual content and misogyny	1920	N/A	N/A

Women on Top	Nancy Friday	Sexual content	1991	N/A	70

A Wrinkle in Time	Madeleine L'Engle	Supernatural themes, and religious themes	1963	90	23

You Hear Me?	Betsy Franco	Obscene language and topics	2000	53	N/A

Sentence(s)

Brave New World was one of the most challenged books.

final_sentence: Brave New World was one of the most challenged books.