The DC Public Library, as a First Amendment institution, is dedicated to safeguarding freedom of speech, assembly, and association. From Oct. 5 - 11, DC Public Library is celebrating your freedom to read with Banned Books Week. Unfortunately, this freedom is not guaranteed. In 2024, the American Library Association recorded the third-highest number of book challenges since tracking began in 1990.
DC Public Library is proud to be a space where you are free to find your story. Stop by your neighborhood library this week to check out a banned book, join in on a discussion at an event, learn more about the history and impact of censorship and more.
Penguin Random House Banned Wagon Comes to DC Public Library
Sunday, Oct. 5, 1 - 5 p.m. | West End Library
The Banned Wagon hits the road for its 3rd annual tour to celebrate the freedom to read and express ideas, highlight the value of free and open access to information, and confront the harms of censorship.
At each stop, the Banned Wagon will showcase a selection of 30 books—from picture books to novels—that are currently being banned and challenged across the country and distribute free copies (while supplies last) to event attendees.
Most Banned Books of 2024
1. "All Boys Aren’t Blue" by George M. Johnson
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia
Number of Challenges
39
Reasons for Challenge
LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
2. "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe
Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity--what it means and how to think about it--for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere
Number of Challenges
38
Reasons for Challenge
LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
3. (tie) "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
Pecola Breedlove, a young eleven-year-old black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in. Yet as her dreams grow more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity.
Number of Challenges
35
Reasons for Challenge
Depiction of sexual assault, depiction of incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content
3. (tie) "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.
Number of Challenges
30
Reasons for Challenge
Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity
5. "Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins
Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching...for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons.
Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story -- a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?"
A brilliant achievement from New York Times best-selling author Ellen Hopkins -- who has been called "the bestselling living poet in the country" by mediabistro.com -- Tricks is a book that turns you on and repels you at the same time. Just like so much of life.
Number of Challenges
33
Reasons for Challenge
Claimed to be sexually explicit
6. (tie) "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words—and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet François Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.
Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A modern classic, this stunning debut marked #1 bestselling author John Green’s arrival as a groundbreaking new voice in contemporary fiction.
Number of Challenges
30
Reasons for Challenge
Claimed to be Sexually Explicit
6. (tie) "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews
This is the funniest book you'll ever read about death.
It is a universally acknowledged truth that high school sucks. But on the first day of his senior year, Greg Gaines thinks he's figured it out. The answer to the basic existential question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? His strategy: remain at the periphery at all times. Keep an insanely low profile. Make mediocre films with the one person who is even sort of his friend, Earl.
This plan works for exactly eight hours. Then Greg's mom forces him to become friends with a girl who has cancer. This brings about the destruction of Greg's entire life.
Fiercely funny, honest, heart-breaking--this is an unforgettable novel from a bright talent, now also a film that critics are calling "a touchstone for its generation" and "an instant classic."
Number of Challenges
30
Reasons for Challenge
Profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
8. (tie) "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins
Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, she meets a boy who introduces her to crank. At first she finds it freeing, but soon Kristina's personality disappears inside the drug. What began as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul, and her life.
Number of challenges
28
Reasons for Challenged
Claimed to be sexually explicit, depiction of drug use.
8. (Tie) "Sold" by Patricia McCormick
He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at "Happiness House" full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution. An old woman named Mumtaz rules the brothel with cruelty and cunning. She tells Lakshmi that she is trapped there until she can pay off her family's debt-then cheats Lakshmi of her meager earnings so that she can never leave. Lakshmi's life becomes a nightmare from which she cannot escape. Still, she lives by her mother's words--Simply to endure is to triumph-- and gradually, she forms friendships with the other girls that enable her to survive in this terrifying new world. Then the day comes when she must make a decision: will she risk everything for a chance to reclaim her life?
Written in spare and evocative vignettes by the co-author of I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition), this powerful novel renders a world that is as unimaginable as it is real, and a girl who not only survives but triumphs.
10. "Flamer" by Mike Curato
It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going though changes--but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance. Award-winning author, artst, and Eagle Scout Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in his debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love.
Number of Challenges
27
Reasons for Challenge
LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit .
Books for Children and Families
Books for Teens
Books for Adults
Banned Books Week Author Talks Streaming on Demand
Stream recorded conversations with banned and challenged authors and journalists who discuss their work, grapple with what it means to lose intellectual freedom and how they are raising awareness of the importance of access to diverse stories.