Beth Wareham@giantsweettart
Banned Books

Read banned books. There is something inside you need to know.

Beth's manifesto

A banned book is a door someone wants to keep locked. My job is to hand readers the key.

Censorship does not begin with a bonfire. It begins with a whisper that says, “This story is not for you,” or “This idea is too dangerous,” or “Trust us to decide what your family may read.”

Censorship does not begin with a bonfire. It begins with a whisper.

I do not believe in dangerous books. I believe in dangerous silence. The books that get challenged are almost always the ones that tell us something true about power, identity, history, or love. They are the books that make readers feel seen, and the books that make the comfortable feel unsettled.

I do not believe in dangerous books. I believe in dangerous silence.

This page is where I will keep my evolving thoughts on the freedom to read, the statistics that tell the real story, and the remarkable books that refuse to be erased. Stay with me.

Browse Beth's banned book list

Monitor the most recent bans and fight against them

  • ALA.org

    The American Library Association tracks challenged titles and defends the freedom to read nationwide.

  • Pen.org

    The writer's advocacy group protecting free expression and supporting authors whose voices are under threat.

The numbers

Censorship is not history. It is happening now.

1,600+
Books challenged in 2024

The highest number ever recorded by the American Library Association.

4,000+
Titles targeted for removal

In a single year, communities fought over what readers could access.

72%
Authored by women, people of color, or LGBTQ+ writers

Banned books are rarely random. They reflect whose voices make some people uncomfortable.

Every day
A book is challenged somewhere

Censorship is not history. It is happening now, in school boards and library meetings.

Case in point

The most banned book in America.

It used to be taught in American schools.

It is about a girl sold into sexual slavery by her father in Nepal.

Sold by Patricia McCormick is a National Book Award finalist. It is also one of the most frequently challenged books in the United States. The reason is not the quality of the writing. It is the uncomfortable truth it refuses to look away from.

Book cover of Sold by Patricia McCormick
Cover of Sold by Patricia McCormick, a National Book Award finalist.
A cross-reference

Banned Books: Nazi Germany & The United States

Justification

Truth about war

Nazi Germany

All Quiet on the Western Front

Anti-German, pacifist

United States

All Quiet on the Western Front

Obscenity (Boston, Chicago)

Justification

Modernist sexuality

Nazi Germany

Ulysses

Degenerate, un-German

United States

Ulysses

Obscenity. USPS burned copies in the 1920s

Justification

Labor & class

Nazi Germany

The Grapes of Wrath

Socialist sympathies

United States

The Grapes of Wrath

Burned in East St. Louis, barred in Buffalo (1939)

Justification

State control

Nazi Germany

Brave New World

Moral corruption, sexual content

United States

Brave New World

"Makes sex look like fun" — Miller, MO (1980)

Justification

Anti-war / anti-nationalist

Nazi Germany

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Anti-fascist, un-German

United States

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Violence and sexual content, multiple states

Justification

Political dissent

Nazi Germany

Helen Keller's works

Socialist, pacifist. Burned May 10, 1933

United States

Helen Keller's works

Challenged in schools for socialist views

Same books. Completely different reasons. The through-line is not the threat. It is the fear.

Currently challenged

Banned books in the United States.

These are the titles currently under challenge, restriction, or removal across American schools and libraries. They are listed here so readers can find them, discuss them, and decide for themselves.

Children's

YA

LGBTQ+ (YA/Children's)

Adult

Obama books

In the United States, every book ban goes through the same three plays:

  1. 1

    One complaint, no reading required.

    A person or group (most often politically driven) flags a title — often from a list circulating online, not from having read the book.

  2. 2

    Review board bypassed or stacked.

    Formal review committees get skipped, overridden, or packed with sympathetic members so the outcome is decided before the process starts.

  3. 3

    Pulled "pending review," never returns.

    The book comes off shelves "temporarily." No timeline. No reinstatement. The pause becomes permanent.

How to stop a book ban

How to catch it:

  1. Find your school district or public library's board website
  2. Find their "Agendas" page — boards meet monthly, agendas post days ahead — subscribe to email alerts if offered
  3. Watch for any agenda item naming a book, "reconsideration," or "challenged materials"
  4. Note the meeting date — that's your deadline

How to stop it:

  1. Read the actual agenda item to see what's being proposed
  2. Show up to that meeting, or submit written comment before the deadline if you can't
  3. Speak during public comment — say who you are, why the book should stay, keep it short and calm
  4. Rally others to do the same — numbers matter, one voice rarely swings a vote
  5. If it's on a review committee track, get your side represented there too, before it reaches the board
  6. If they vote to ban it anyway — contact PEN America or the ACLU