7 Banned Books That Should Be Required Reading

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas was challenged in 2017 for drug use, profanity, and language. Starr, a Black high school student sorting through the turmoil after witnessing the death of a friend at the hands of a police officer, is eventually drawn toward activism confronting institutionalized racism in the police department. Starr has a clearly drawn, complex inner life, and is surrounded by lived-in characters who balance out the viewpoints in the story, and show both the support and the challenges that Starr faces. Thomas manages to both write an entertaining, non-didactic book, and to illustrate how Starr’s story is both universal and specific.

Looking For Alaska by John Green was challenged in 2016 (and other years) for sexually explicit scenes. If I’m correct in my assumption as to what scene this challenge is referring to…it’s very funny. Which is great, because sex is sometimes really funny, and it’s important to have diverse representations of an experience that’s too often depicted only as solemn or sexy or scary The humor of this scene doesn’t detract from what the book takes very seriously, which is friendship, and grief, and love, written so beautifully that people are still getting quotes from Green’s first novel tattooed on their bodies.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell was challenged in 2016 for offensive language. Eleanor and Park is one of the most wonderfully written YA love stories I’ve ever come across, and for that reason alone it should be widely read. But beyond its appeal as a painful and realistic romance, the book depicts poverty, bullying, race, and abuse in ways that feel grounded and all too rare.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel was challenged in 2015 for violence and other graphic images. I’m not at all sure what violence this complaint is referring to, which makes me wonder if there wasn’t other content they found objectionable. This graphic novel does contain images of male and female nudity and female sexuality. It’s a story about sexuality, a memoir of the author and her father’s relationships with queerness, but it’s also very much about their relationship with each other and (maybe even more so) with books. Fun Home is a dense, kaleidoscopic read that reveals new depths every time I read it again.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples was challenged in 2014 for anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. I have to admit, “anti-family” cracked me up here. Saga is a series of comics that tell the story of a family willing to run and fight and work weird jobs in order to protect their family in a universe determined to tear them apart. More than anything else, Saga is a celebration of the family unit, a story of the joy people take in one another, and the sacrifices they’ll make to protect that love. It’s also a beautifully illustrated, diverse, gonzo sci-fi masterpiece full of new worlds and amazing characters.

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman was challenged in 2008 (and other years) for a political viewpoint, religious viewpoint. It’s true these books are filled with rage against the Church, sometimes (especially in the later books) to the point of didacticism, but Pullman’s anger is never pointed at religion, or God, themselves, but at the human institutions that take love and faith and corrupt them into oppression and power to serve their own highly human agenda. More powerful and potent than his political agenda is some of the most breathtaking fantasy ever written, the thrill of discovering new worlds upon worlds, some of the most lovable characters of all time, and a romance that still makes me weep. 

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou was challenged in 2007 (and other years) for sexual content. This is Angelou’s autobiography, written in prose that matches the rhythms and poignancy of her poetry. It gives context to her poems and tells a story about race, womanhood, sexual assault, and, ultimately, love and reading. It’s a classic for a reason, a memoir that is as much a pleasure to read as it is important.