Banned Books Week 2025: Adult NonfictionLike this list

43 items

• A Child Called "It"

  One Child's Courage to Survive

  Pelzer, David J.

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  Banned for descriptions of child abuse.

• Art History

  Stokstad, Marilyn, 1929-2016

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  Challenged for being “political and too provocative.”

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X

  X, Malcolm, 1925-1965

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  Banned for racism and violence; described as a "how-to-manual" for crime and decried for its “anti-white statements.”

• Black Boy

  (American Hunger) : a Record of Childhood and Youth

  Wright, Richard, 1908-1960

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  Banned and criticized for being anti-American, anti-Semitic, and anti-Christian,

• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

  An Indian History of the American West : the Illustrated Edition

  Brown, Dee, 1908-2002

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  Banned; perceived as divisive and the district wanted to avoid controversy. "If there's a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it."

• The Crucible

  a Play in Four Acts

  Miller, Arthur, 1915-2005

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  Challenged for religious themes and inappropriate content for children.

• Friday Night Lights

  a Town, a Team, and a Dream

  Bissinger, Buzz, 1954-

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  Banned for a single racial slur.

• Fun Home

  a Family Tragicomic

  Bechdel, Alison, 1960-

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  Banned/Challenged for book’s alleged drug use, graphic sexual violence, and anti-religious sentiments.

• Gender Queer

  a Memoir

  Kobabe, Maia,

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  Banned/Challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images.

• Girl, Interrupted

  Kaysen, Susanna, 1948-

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  Challenged for strong language and vivid descriptions.

• Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts

  the Subversive Folklore of Childhood

  Sherman, Josepha

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  Challenged for inappropriate content for children.

• In Cold Blood

  a True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences

  Capote, Truman, 1924-1984

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  Banned because a parent complained about sex, violence, and profanity in the book.

• Nickel and Dimed

  on (not) Getting by in America

  Ehrenreich, Barbara

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  Challenged for the “book’s profanity, offensive references to Christianity, and biased portrayal of capitalism.”

• Romeo and Juliet

  Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616

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  Challenged for inappropriate sexual content for children.

• Running With Scissors

  a Memoir

  Burroughs, Augusten

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  Challenged for strong sexual content.

• The Freedom Writers Diary

  How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them

  Freedom Writers

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  Banned for sexual content and racial slurs.

• The Glass Castle

  a Memoir

  Walls, Jeannette

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  Challenged for being “racist and sexually explicit.”; profanity, criticisms of Christianity, and accounts of sexual abuse and prostitution.

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

  Skloot, Rebecca, 1972-

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  Challenged for pornographic content.

• Cuando era puertorriqueña

  Santiago, Esmeralda

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  "When I was Puerto Rican" challenged for "profanity, descriptions of drug abuse, sexually explicit conduct, and torture."

• Women on Top

  How Real Life Has Changed Women's Sexual Fantasies

  Friday, Nancy

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  Challenged for being "pornographic and obscene."