Each year the American Library Association (ALA) posts its list of those books that were the most frequently challenged of the year. The list is created from books banned or attempted to be banned in school, academic and public libraries, or challenged as part of curriculum.
This list is “compiled annually by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). OIF collects reports on book challenges from librarians, teachers, concerned individuals and press reports. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness. In 2012, OIF received 464 reports on attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves. This is an increase from 2011 totals, which stood at 326 attempts.”
Below is the ALA’s list of those most frequently cited.
10 Most Frequently Challenged Library Books of 2012
1. Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska by John Green
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
8. Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved by Toni Morrison
Reasons: sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence
