The American Library Association (ALA) has released its list of the ten most banned books for last year. The numbers of books that are banned each year continues to rise. The short version: there was a 65% surge in banned books from 2022 to 2023. The most common reason for a book to be banned is that it contains LGBTQ+ and/or sexual themes.
And, not surprisingly, we have chosen to release this list of potential library purchases on Right to Read Day.
 | “Gender Queer” Author Maia Kebab Awards 3 Pub Date 2019 Theme LGBTQ+ | “Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.” Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe |
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 | “All Boys Aren’t Blue” Author George M. Johnson Awards 3 Pub Date 2020 Theme LGBTQ+ | “From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.” All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson |
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 | “This Book is Gay” Author Juno Dawson Awards 2 Pub Date 2021 Theme LGBTQ+ | “This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it’s like to grow up LGBTQ also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention hilarious illustrations.” This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson |
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 | “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” Author Stephen Chbosky Awards 4+ Pub Date 1999 Themes Love & Family; Sex & Sexuality | “The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.” The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky |
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 | “Flamer” Author Mike Curato Awards 7 Pub Date 2020 Theme LGBTQ+ | “It’s the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone’s going through changes―but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can’t stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.” Flamer by Mike Curato |
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 | “The Bluest Eye” Author Toni Morrison Awards 3 Pub Date 1993 Theme Sexuality; rape/incest | “In Morrison’s acclaimed first novel, Pecola Breedlove—an 11-year-old Black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others—prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment.” The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison |
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 | “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” Author Jesse Andrews Awards 3 Pub Date 2012 Theme Teenage mortality; teenage relationships | “It is a universally acknowledged truth that high school sucks. But on the first day of his senior year, Greg Gaines thinks he’s figured it out. The answer to the basic existential question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? His strategy: remain at the periphery at all times. Keep an insanely low profile. Make mediocre films with the one person who is even sort of his friend, Earl. This plan works for exactly eight hours. Then Greg’s mom forces him to become friends with a girl who has cancer. This brings about the destruction of Greg’s entire life.” Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews |
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 | “Tricks” Author Ellen Hopkins Awards 1+ Pub Date 2017 Theme Young Adult; Coming of Age | “When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival. Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching…for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don’t expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words “I love you” are said for all the wrong reasons.” Tricks by Ellen Hopkins |
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 | “Let’s Talk About it: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationship, and Being a Human” Authors Erika Moen Matthew Nolan Awards 1 Pub Date 2021 Theme Teen Sexuality | “Growing up is complicated. How do you find the answers to all the questions you have about yourself, about your identity, and about your body? Let’s Talk About It provides a comprehensive, thoughtful, well-researched graphic novel guide to everything you need to know. Covering relationships, friendships, gender, sexuality, anatomy, body image, safe sex, sexting, jealousy, rejection, sex education, and more, Let’s Talk About It is the go-to handbook for every teen, and the first in graphic novel form.” Let’s Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan |
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 | “Sold” Author Patricia McCormick Awards 2 Pub Date 2008 Theme Sex trafficking; Rape | “Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though she is desperately poor, her life is full of simple pleasures, like playing hopscotch with her best friend from school, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family’s crops, Lakshmi’s stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family. He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at “Happiness House” full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution.” Sold by Patricia McCormick |
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