Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2015 :: ALA

Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2015

American Library Association: April 2016

Top ten frequently challenged books of 2015 has been released as part of the 2016 State of America's Library Report.

The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. This event is typically observed during the last week of September of each year. See Banned Books Week for information and resources for getting your library or organization involved in this event!

BANNED BOOKS WEEK 2016: September 25-October 1.

The top ten most frequently challenged books of 2015 are:

1.Looking for Alaska, by John Green

 Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

2.Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James

 Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”).

3.I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings

 Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group.

4.Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin

 Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”).

5.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

 Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”).

6.The Holy Bible

 Reasons: Religious viewpoint.

7.Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel

 Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”).

8.Habibi, by Craig Thompson

 Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

9.Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter

 Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence.

10.Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan

 Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”).