Banned Books Week is October 1-7 this year, and as we ring in the month, we encourage our young readers to explore titles that have been challenged, censored, or banned in the past. Check out this list of teen fiction titles to broaden your horizon this Banned Books Week!
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After witnessing her friend’s death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter’s life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.
This title is also available for checkout as an eAudio on Libby and an eBook on Hoopla.
Why it was banned/challenged: for discussions of racism and anti-police views
Sixteen-year-old Katniss poaches food for her widowed mother and little sister from the forest outside the legal perimeter of District 12, the poorest of the dozen districts constituting Panem, the North American dystopic state that has replaced the U.S. in the not-too-distant future. Her hunting and tracking skills serve her well when she is then cast into the nation’s annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death where contestants must battle harsh terrain, artificially concocted weather conditions, and two teenaged contestants from each of Panem’s districts. (Booklist)
Why it was banned: deemed “anti-ethic,” “anti-family,” and “occult/satanic” alongside depictions of violence
This title is available as an ebook and an audiobook on Libby and as an audiobook on Hoopla.
Julia’s older sister, Olga, was always polite, respected her parents, and eagerly took up the Mexican traditions her mother insisted upon. After Olga dies in a car accident, Julia is thrust into a spotlight she’s not ready for. She’s too angry, too unappreciative, too American, which results in her mother shutting out her social and love life. Then Julia discovers Olga’s trove of secrets, which hint at a hidden life. As Julia pursues the mystery of the real Olga, she begins to find out that more than one of her family members has secrets. (Booklist)
Why it was banned: challenged for profanity and “negative portrayal of religious faith”
This title is available as an ebook and an audiobook on Libby.
Felicity is haunted by the ghost of her dead girlfriend, Alex. She’s equally haunted by her research on the Dalloway Five, students of Dalloway School who mysteriously died in impossible circumstances on the grounds of Godwin House, where Felicity has returned to finish senior year–amid rumors that she murdered Alex. Felicity captures the attention of writing prodigy Ellis Haley, who is working on a novel inspired by the Five. Ellis wants Felicity’s help; she’s a strict method writer interested in proving to Felicity that murder is the work of a psychopath, not the dark magic Felicity believes is woven into the fabric of Dalloway. (Booklist)
Why it was banned: challenged in one district as being “patently offensive in the description or depiction of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sadomasochistic abuse, or excretion”
This title is available as an ebook and an audiobook on Libby.
After enduring his father’s suicide, his own suicide attempt, broken friendships and more in the Bronx projects, Aaron Soto, sixteen, is already considering the Leteo Institute’s memory-alteration procedure when his new friendship with Thomas turns to unrequited love.
This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.
Why it was banned/challenged: sexual Content, LGBTQIA+, language
(This book is) a powerful work of historical fiction set in New London, Texas, that revolves around events leading up to the horrific 1937 school explosion that killed close to 300 people. This gripping story centers on high-school senior Naomi, a Mexican American girl who recently arrived from San Antonio with her half siblings, twins Beto and Cari, and their father, oil-field worker Henry. Naomi’s struggle to learn how to take care of the household chores is complicated by her dark past with Henry and the overt racism she faces in the segregated town. (Booklist)
Why it was banned: deemed “sexually explicit” and challenged for depictions of abuse
This title is available as an ebook and an audiobook on Libby and as an ebook on Hoopla.
In his letters to a never-identified person, 15-year-old Charlie’s freshman high-school year and coming-of-age ring fresh and true. (…) Intellectually precocious, Charlie seems a tad too naive in many other ways, yet his reflections on his family interactions, first date, drug experimentation, first sexual encounter, and regular participation in Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings are compelling. (..) Eventually, he discovers that to be a whole person who knows how to be a real friend rather than a patsy, he must confront his past–and remember what his beloved, deceased Aunt Helen did to him. (Booklist)
Why it was banned: challenged for depictions of teenage sexuality and drug use
This title is available as an ebook and an audiobook on Libby.
Having broken up an end-of-summer party by calling the police, high-school freshman Melinda Sordino begins the school year as a social outcast. She’s the only person who knows the real reason behind her call: she was raped at the party by Andy Evans, a popular senior at her school. Slowly, with the help of an eccentric and understanding art teacher, she begins to recover from the trauma, only to find Andy threatening her again. (Booklist)
Why it was banned: challenged for violence and profanity and deemed to have an “anti-male political agenda”
This title is available as an ebook and an audiobook on Libby.