Banned Books Week runs from October 1st to the 7th this year, and it is a hugely important topic.
To call attention to the increasing number of attempted book bans in the past few years, and to celebrate some of our favorite banned books, staff will be racing against the clock to share their favorite banned book recommendations (and delicious, sweet snacks) on Wednesday, October 4th at CLP – Allegheny and Saturday, October 7th at CLP – Main.
Here’s a preview of our fiction picks for this program – check them out and come to 30 Books in 30 Minutes to hear about each title’s unique appeal in our staff’s own words.
You can sign up for a free library card here. If you are new to our eResources, check out these tutorial videos on how to get started.
If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them to you! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.
If you have any additional questions, you can contact a librarian through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You can also call us at 412-622-3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org
A poor young boy growing up on an American Indian reservation decides to attend an all-white school and change his destiny. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
Eric Bittle loves three things: skating, baking pies, and vlogging. Somehow, that combination has landed him a scholarship at Massachusetts’ Samwell University, where he joins the ice hockey team. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
The transformation of a teenage girl from happy high school junior to miserable drug addict is told in this novel-in-verse. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby, in eAudio on Libby, and in eAudio on Hoopla.
Callie rides an emotional roller coaster while serving on the stage crew for a middle school production of Moon over Mississippi. You can also check out this title as eBook on Overdrive/Libby or as eBook Spanish edition on Overdrive/Libby.
An artist’s drawing of a star begins the creation of an entire universe around him as each successive pictured object requests that he draw more.
Why it was banned/challenged: includes a depiction of a naked man and woman
Tells the story of one transformative week of Boy Scout camp, in which chubby, awkward Filipino American Aiden wrestles with the growing realization that he’s gay. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
Two motherless boys grow up in Kabul in the early days of the Soviet invasion. Amir is the son of a wealthy businessman. Hassan is the son of Amir’s household servant. Despite their differences, they are friends. When Amir betrays Hassan, the childhood hurt causes lasting devastation that will haunt Amir through the years.
For Mike Muñoz, life has been a whole lot of waiting for something to happen. Not too many years out of high school and still doing menial work–and just fired from his latest gig as a lawn boy on a landscaping crew–he’s smart enough to know that he’s got to be the one to shake things up if he’s ever going to change his life. But how?
After a car crash resulting in the death of a close friend, Miles thinks over the events leading up to it in his first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby and in eAudio on Libby.
Tiến is fluent in English, but his Vietnamese refugee parents are not, leaving Tiến struggling to figure out how to tell his parents he’s gay–but he finds hope in their shared language of fairy tales, which they read together to help his parents improve their English. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
Greg skips around social cliques without ever becoming real friends with anyone except his best friend Earl, until his mother makes him befriend a girl with leukemia he once knew as a child. This title is also available for checkout in eAudio on Libby, as a eBook on Libby (2022 edition), a eBook on Libby (2015 edition), a eBook on Hoopla (2012 edition), and a eBook on Hoopla (2015 edition).
Lots of things can happen in nineteen minutes, but for Sterling, New Hampshire, a particularly tragic and violent nineteen minutes is consuming their community as the residents search for justice and a sense of closure. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby, in eAudio on Libby, in Spanish language eAudio on Hoopla, and in Spanish language eAudio on Libby.
Claire is a rich 11th grader in Shanghai; Dani is a scholarship student at a private school in Southern California who helps her mother clean houses. When Claire is parachuted into America to finish high school and Dani’s mother needs the income from a border, they become unlikely housemates. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
Fifteen-year-old Charlie begins his high school career with no friends, no confidence, and a dark family secret. But he soon meets some fellow students who offer him friendship and fun.
Ruby King’s mother is murdered and the police aren’t bothering to investigate. She’s left with her violent father, a pastor, who tries to stop Ruby’s best friend Layla from seeing her. But Layla is determined to save Ruby. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Hoopla, an eBook on Overdrive/Libby, in eAudio on Hoopla, and in eAudio on Overdrive/Libby.
Every summer “since…like…forever,” Rose and her parents take a trip to a house on Awago Beach to escape the humdrum of city living. But this summer isn’t like all the others. Rose’s parents are fighting, and her mother is battling a bout with depression that Rose just can’t seem to understand. Luckily Rose’s best friend Windy is there to help distract her
The differences and similarities of life now and decades ago for gay teens is beautifully illuminated by a chorus of men whose death was caused by the AIDS virus. In the middle of their observations is a couple who aims to break the world record for kissing. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby and in eAudio on Libby.
