Banned books in schools have become a defining issue of our time. If you want to know what a society fears, look at who it bans. (Yes, I said who, not what.)
The United States is in the middle of a full-blown book panic. This moral crusade, disguised in school board meetings and parent complaints, targets not just what children read—but also who they are allowed to be.
Between 2020 and 2024, book bans have exploded, particularly in states with new education censorship laws. The targets? Books with LGBTQIA+ characters, books by authors of color, and books that name sexual abuse, racism, mental health, or systemic injustice.
In other words: the real stuff. The stuff that makes young people feel seen.
Below is a table of the the top 10 banned books in schools in 2024—complete with why people are challenging them, and what’s really at stake when we remove them. These titles are targeted not for being dangerous, but for being daringly honest.
📊 The 10 Most Challenged Books in the U.S. in 2024
| Rank | Title | Author | Challenges in 2024 | Primary Reasons for Challenges | What’s at Stake if Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All Boys Aren’t Blue | George M. Johnson | 39 | LGBTQIA+ content; claimed to be sexually explicit | Loss of representation for Black queer youth; reduces opportunities for identity affirmation and belonging (GLSEN, 2022) |
| 2 | Gender Queer: A Memoir | Maia Kobabe | 38 | LGBTQIA+ content; sexually explicit illustrations | Silences nonbinary voices; removes accessible narratives about identity (Kosciw et al., 2022) |
| 3 | The Bluest Eye | Toni Morrison | 35 | Depictions of sexual assault; themes of race and racism | Erases historical trauma and Black literary voices from the canon (Bishop, 1990) |
| 4 | The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Stephen Chbosky | 35 | LGBTQIA+ themes; sexual content; drug use | Cuts off exploration of grief, trauma, and mental health in ways teens understand (Koss & Teale, 2009) |
| 5 | Tricks | Ellen Hopkins | 33 | Sexually explicit content | Shuts down honest conversations about trafficking and survival (YALSA, 2023) |
| 6 | Looking for Alaska | John Green | 30 | Sexual content; profanity; teen suicide | Prevents safe literary engagement with death, suicide, and existential doubt (Tatum, 2021) |
| 7 | Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | Jesse Andrews | 30 | Sexual content; profanity | Undermines humor as a coping strategy for illness and grief (Nilsen & Nilsen, 2002) |
| 8 | Crank | Ellen Hopkins | 28 | Drug use; sexually explicit content | Blocks teens from cautionary, real-world narratives of addiction (Hopkins, 2004) |
| 9 | Sold | Patricia McCormick | 28 | Depictions of sex trafficking and rape | Risks erasing global human rights issues and empathy for survivors (UNICEF, 2019) |
| 10 | Out of Darkness | Ashley Hope Pérez | 50 | Depictions of abuse; considered sexually explicit | Suppresses narratives addressing racism and historical trauma; diminishes critical engagement with past injustices (PEN America, 2023) |
🧠 Why Banned Books in Schools Matter
Let’s be honest: we are not banning these books because they are harmful. We are banning them because they are honest.
They do not pretend kids live in a sanitized world. They reflect what is really out there—what many students are already living. Many of the banned books in schools are mirrors for students who rarely see themselves in traditional curricula. To ban them is to say: Your story does not belong here. Moreover, that is a form of erasure we should never accept in education.
🧑🏫 Parental Prerogative vs. Public Suppression
Let’s clear something up: allowing a book to exist in a school or library does not force anyone’s child to read it. However, banning a book also removes the choice for everyone else’s kids.
“That is not parental empowerment—that is censorship masquerading as concern.”
A 60 Minutes report on Beaufort County, South Carolina, captured this dynamic perfectly. The school district already had a policy allowing parents to opt their children out of specific books. Nevertheless, that was not enough for some activists who wanted 97 books removed entirely from school libraries (Whitaker, 2024).
“If they don’t like the book, they have every right to say that their child can’t check that book out,” said high school librarian Karen Gareis. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not appropriate for someone else’s child” (Whitaker, 2024).
The school board vice chair, Dick Geier, emphasized that the backlash went too far:
“Parents have the right to determine what their children are taught and what they’re allowed to read. No doubt about it. But what we’re having a problem with is parents that want to determine what other parents’ rights are” (Whitaker, 2024).
And let’s be real: many of these challenges do not originate locally. The 60 Minutes piece revealed that the list of books targeted in Beaufort County was pulled from a website called BookLooks, created by a former member of Moms for Liberty, a national political organization—not by teachers, librarians, or even concerned parents doing deep reading (Whitaker, 2024).
This incursion happens when a small group—often supported by outside pressure—tries to parent an entire public system. It is not okay. You should get to parent your kid, but not mine, and certainly not an entire school. The conversation about banned books in schools is not new, but the intensity—and the outside interference—is escalating.
🗺️ Where Are We Pulling Books Off the Shelves?
If you are wondering just how close this book-banning frenzy is to your own backyard, spoiler: it is probably closer than you think.
Thankfully, the folks at Little Free Library have created a brilliant interactive map that doesn’t just show where books are being challenged—it also points you to nearby book-sharing boxes where you can pick up some of the very titles being targeted (Little Free Library, 2024).
Access is power, and this map ensures it is still in the hands of readers. When we track banned books in schools, we’re really tracking which voices are being silenced—and whose stories are considered too inconvenient for shelves.
Book bans by state and county, alongside Little Free Library locations. Source: Little Free Library. Used under fair use for educational commentary.
🔘 Explore the Full Interactive Map Here🖋️ Final Thought from Levlyn
The rise of banned books in schools is not about protecting kids. It’s about protecting power. These stories are the lifelines. The ones that tell students: You are not alone.
So if you are a parent, teacher, librarian, or just someone who gives a damn—do not sit this one out.
Read the banned books. Recommend them. Defend them.
Because when you take away a student’s right to read, you take away their right to imagine, question, and hope.
That loss is the real danger.
✍️ Levlyn Emet Quill
Lead with heart. Speak the truth. Write the revolution.
📚 References
- American Library Association. (2024, April 7). Top 10 most challenged books of 2024. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10
- American Library Association. (2024, April 7). State of America’s Libraries Report 2024. https://www.ala.org/news/2024/04/state-americas-libraries-report-2024
- American Library Association. (n.d.). Book ban data and censorship trends. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data
- Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6(3).
- Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower. MTV Books.
- GLSEN. (2022). National School Climate Survey. https://www.glsen.org/research
- Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. Dutton Books.
- Hopkins, E. (2004). Crank. Margaret K. McElderry Books.
- Hopkins, E. (2009). Tricks. Margaret K. McElderry Books.
- Johnson, G. M. (2020). All boys aren’t blue: A memoir-manifesto. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Kobabe, M. (2019). Gender queer: A memoir. Oni Press.
- Kosciw, J. G., Clark, C. M., & Truong, N. L. (2022). The 2021 National School Climate Survey. GLSEN. https://www.glsen.org/research
- Koss, M. D., & Teale, W. H. (2009). What’s happening in YA literature? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(7), 563–572. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.7.1
- Little Free Library. (2024, September 4). Book Ban Map. https://littlefreelibrary.org/about/book-bans/book-ban-map/
- McCormick, P. (2006). Sold. Hyperion.
- Morrison, T. (1970). The bluest eye. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
- Nilsen, A. P., & Nilsen, D. L. F. (2002). Literature for today’s young adults. Allyn & Bacon.
- PEN America. (2023). Banned in the USA: State laws supercharge book suppression in schools. https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/
- Tatum, A. W. (2021). Teaching reading to Black adolescent males: Closing the achievement gap. Stenhouse Publishers.
- UNICEF. (2019). Ending child trafficking. https://www.unicef.org/protection/trafficking
- Whitaker, B. (Reporter). (2024, March 24). Books pulled from school shelves are being returned in South Carolina school district [Video]. 60 Minutes. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beaufort-south-carolina-schools-return-most-books-to-shelves-after-attempt-to-ban-97-60-minutes-transcript/
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