Banned Books Week

Launched in 1982, Banned Books Week seeks to celebrate freedom of expression even when it results in provocative or challenging conversations. Many of the books in this collection—including Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and Beloved by Toni Morrison—are considered modern classics, but none have been without controversy.

Publication year 2019

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, History: World


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Crime / Legal, Race / Racism, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ, Social Justice

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives (2017) is a work of narrative nonfiction by Dashka Slater, a journalist and children’s book author. The book covers an event that happened on November 4, 2013, when two high school students were riding the same city bus and one set the other on fire.The interaction between these two teenagers lasts just a matter of minutes, but the events... Read The 57 Bus Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Masculinity, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Race / Racism, Poverty, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Grief / Death, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a young adult novel by Sherman Alexie, published in 2007 with art by Ellen Forney. Alexie, a Spokane/Cour d’Alene Indian (a term he prefers to “Native American”), began the book as a memoir inspired by experiences he had growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, and attending the predominantly white Reardan High School in Reardan, Washington. The book received much praise and many... Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Summary


Publication year 2

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Life/Time: Midlife, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity

Tags Lyric Poem, Romance, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Ancient Rome, Didacticism, Love / Sexuality, Philosophy, Arts / Culture, History: European, Gender / Feminism, Relationships, Philosophy, Classical Period, History: World, Fantasy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1899

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Gender / Feminism, Classic Fiction, American Literature, Depression / Suicide, Naturalism, Education, Education, History: World, Historical Fiction

The Awakening is Kate Chopin’s second novel. It was first published in 1899 and is considered one of the first examples of feminist fiction.The novel opens in the 1890s Louisiana, at Grand Isle, a summer holiday resort popular among wealthy Creoles who live in nearby New Orleans. Edna Pontellier, her husband, Léonce, and their two children are vacationing at the cottages of Madame Lebrun. Léonce is a kind and devoted husband, but he is often... Read The Awakening Summary


Publication year 1970

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags American Literature, Existentialism, Race / Racism, Education, Education, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

The Bluest Eye is the first novel of Nobel-Prize winning writer Toni Morrison. It was published in 1970. Set in Lorain, Ohio in 1941, the novel traces how Pecola Breedlove, the dark-skinned daughter of a poor African American family, came to be pregnant with her father's child and lost her sanity after the baby died.Morrison prefaces the novel with a Foreword in which she explains several of her choices in writing the novel. The novel... Read The Bluest Eye Summary


Publication year 1951

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, American Literature, Depression / Suicide, Education, Education, Classic Fiction

J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, published in 1951, is an American classic widely heralded as one of the best novels of the 20th century. This coming-of-age novel captures the alienation that teenagers experienced in the years following World War II, and its popularity as an assigned text in US schools has led to its enduring relevance in American literature (and notoriety, as it frequently faced challenges or censorship from concerned parents).Content Warning: This... Read The Catcher in the Rye Summary


Publication year 1974

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Identity: Masculinity, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Bullying, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, first published in 1974, is a novel that delves into the dark aspects of adolescence, authority, and conformity. Set in an all-boys Catholic high school called Trinity, the story centers around Jerry Renault, a freshman who defies the school’s two most powerful forces–the secret student group known as the Vigils, and acting Headmaster Brother Leon–by refusing to participate in the annual chocolate sale. Jerry’s act of defiance exposes the... Read The Chocolate War Summary


Publication year 1982

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Colonialism

Tags Gender / Feminism, American Literature, African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Race / Racism, History: World, LGBTQ

The Color Purple is an epistolary novel—a novel told in letter form—in which Alice Walker traces the gradual liberation of Celie, a poor, Black woman who must overcome abuse and separation from her beloved sister Nettie. Set in the South and an unnamed African country during the 1930 to 1940s, the novel is a study in the ways in which Black women use their faith, relationships, and creativity to survive racial and sexual oppression. Several... Read The Color Purple Summary


Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Disability, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Animals, Disability, British Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Psychology, Classic Fiction

Book DetailsIn the mystery novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher Boone, a brilliant teenage boy, sets out to solve the murder of his neighbor’s dog. While it is not explicitly stated in the novel, critics and professional medical reviewers generally agree that Christopher has autism. Written by Mark Haddon and published in 2003, the book won the Whitbread Book Award for best Novel and Book of the Year and the... Read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Summary


Publication year 1984

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: War, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Military / War, American Revolution, History: World

The Fighting Ground, a novel by children’s writer Avi, tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who runs away from home to join the American Revolution. The book gives a minute-by-minute account of one day in the boy’s life and the hard lessons he learns about war. First published in 1984, the novel won several honors, including the Scott O’Dell Award, but it was also challenged or banned in some school districts for its use... Read The Fighting Ground Summary


Publication year 1999

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Education, Relationships: Family, Identity: Language

Tags Education, Education, Inspirational, Biography

The Freedom Writers Diary is a nonfiction book that collects the stories of English teacher Erin Gruwell and her students at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, as they move from their freshman to senior years from 1994-1998. The book is divided into eight major sections, one for the fall and spring of each year, as well as a forward and epilogue. Each major section begins with an introductory entry from Ms. Gruwell, followed... Read The Freedom Writers Diary Summary


Publication year 2005

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags American Literature, Education, Education, Biography, Classic Fiction

The Glass Castle is a nonfiction memoir published by American journalist Jeannette Walls. Published in 2005, book chronicles Walls and her three siblings’ nomadic and impoverished upbringing by their severely maladjusted parents. In recounting her childhood, Walls explores themes like Letting Go of Childhood Illusions, The Struggle to Understand a Parent’s Poor Choices, The Destructiveness of Codependent Relationships, and The Connection Between Poverty and Abuse.A critical and popular success, The Glass Castle remained on the... Read The Glass Castle Summary


Publication year 1931

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Natural World: Environment, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Natural World: Place, Society: Community

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, History: Asian, Education, Education, History: World, Chinese Literature

A measure of the quality, prescience, and veracity of Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth is that, nearly a century after its first publication, the book remains required reading in literature, world history, and social science courses. The novel is a simple, straightforward narrative about 50 years in the life of Wang Lung, an uneducated farmer in eastern China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While this era period was one of continual... Read The Good Earth Summary


Publication year 1925

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags The Lost Generation, Music, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Modernism, American Literature, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance

The Great Gatsby is a fiction novel published in 1925 by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Inspired by Fitzgerald’s experiences during the Jazz Age of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby captures the prosperity and the hedonism of the era through a cast of characters who reside in the fictional Long Island towns of West Egg and East Egg. Despite a cold reaction from critics and audiences upon its release, many modern scholars include The... Read The Great Gatsby Summary


Publication year 1978

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Classic Fiction

The Great Gilly Hopkins is a children's novel by Katherine Paterson. It is a work of realistic fiction and was published in 1978. The novel won the US National Book Award in 1979 and was named a Newberry Honor Book. The edition used in this guide is the Harper Trophy edition published by Harper Collins in 1978.Plot SummaryThis book is set in Thompson Park, Maryland in the 1970s. The protagonist is Gilly Hopkins, an 11-year-old... Read The Great Gilly Hopkins Summary


Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Gender / Feminism, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

First published in 1985, Margaret Atwood’s sixth novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, has received numerous accolades and prizes and remains widely critically celebrated. Set in what used to be the United States but is now a repressive theocracy called the Republic of Gilead, the dystopian novel is narrated by the protagonist, Offred, who recounts her daily experiences intercut with memories of her life before the revolution and during her training to become a “Handmaid.” Atwood is an... Read The Handmaid's Tale Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Realistic Fiction, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction

The Hate U Give is a young adult novel published in 2017 by the American author Angie Thomas. The book’s protagonist is a 16-year-old Black girl who witnesses a white police officer kill her friend. A New York Times bestseller, The Hate U Give won several awards, including the American Library Association’s William C. Morris Award for best debut novel and the Coretta Scott King Award for the best children’s novel by an African American... Read The Hate U Give Summary


Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Action / Adventure

The Hunger Games is a best-selling young adult dystopian novel, the first in Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy. It details the life of teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen as she fights to the death for the entertainment of her fascist government. Since its publication in 2008, the trilogy has sold more than 65 million copies in the United States alone and, in 2019, was listed as one of 100 most influential novels by BBC News. The... Read The Hunger Games Summary


Publication year 1937

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race

Tags Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Historical Fiction, African American Literature, American Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction

Zora Neale Hurston, a writer and anthropologist associated with the Harlem Renaissance, published her second and most famous novel Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1937. Set in Central and South Florida, the novel follows protagonist Janie Crawford’s evolution from impressionable, idealistic girl to self-confident woman.Famed for her work as an ethnographer and an author, Hurston chronicled contemporary issues in the Black community with honesty. While somewhat unrecognized in her time, Hurston’s writing came to... Read Their Eyes Were Watching God Summary