Banned Books Week (in 2023, the week spans from October 1–7) is an important time here at Powell’s. We believe in everyone’s freedom to read and to seek out and express ideas. When a book is threatened, our community is threatened.
This year, we are donating 20% of the sales on Powells.com of the 20 titles listed below, all of which are frequently banned or challenged books, to American Booksellers for Free Expression. ABFE's programming and advocacy work ensures that bookstores have the resources they need to support everyone’s right to read.
The promotion applies only to online sales of the selected editions/titles below. We have included the reasons the ALA has listed for why each title has been banned and/or challenged.
Read on for more info on these great books. And remember: if you purchase one (or many!) of these titles, 20% from the sale of that book will go toward ABFE.
Gender Queer
by Maia Kobabe
"Vulnerable and honest….Highly recommended reading for those on their own journey of exploration or those supporting the explorers in their own lives." — Booklist (Starred Review)
Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images.
by Mike Curato
"This is a story that will be read and reread, and for some, it will be the defining book of their adolescence." — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
The Bluest Eye
by Toni Morrison
“So precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry.” — The New York Times
Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit.
All Boys Aren’t Blue
by George M. Johnson
"This title opens new doors, as the author insists that we don't have to anchor stories such as his to tragic ends...A critical, captivating, merciful mirror for growing up black and queer today." — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
“The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally — and hilariously and triumphantly — bent in this novel.” — Horn Book (Starred Review)
Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and use of a derogatory term.
by John Green
"What sings and soars in this gorgeously told tale is Green's mastery of language and the sweet, rough edges of Pudge's voice." — Kirkus Reviews
Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
by Stephen Chbosky
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a timeless story for every young person who needs to understand that they are not alone. A bright light in what can be a dark time. And just for the record, I saw the movie adaptation four times. Read the book first. You'll never forget it." — Judy Blume
Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, depiction of sexual abuse, and claims that it is sexually explicit.
Lawn Boy
by Jonathan Evison
"A triumph from the ground up....Lawn Boy takes us into the heart, mind and body of Mike Muñoz as he makes a coming of age trek from landscaping crew to navigating the dead American dream — all the way to reimagining a future on his own terms." — Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Book of Joan
Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
Out of Darkness
by Ashley Hope Perez
"A powerful, layered tale of forbidden love in times of unrelenting racism." — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
by Sarah J. Maas
"Fiercely romantic, irresistibly sexy and hypnotically magical. A veritable feast for the senses." — USA Today
Challenged for claims that it is sexually explicit.
by Ellen Hopkins
“Hypnotic and jagged free verse wrenchingly chronicles 16-year-old Kristina’s addiction to crank…Powerful and unsettling.” — Kirkus Reviews
Challenged for drug use and claims that it is sexually explicit.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
by Jesse Andrews
“Though this novel begs inevitable thematic comparisons to John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, it stands on its own in inventiveness, humor, and heart.” — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women.
This Book is Gay
by Juno Dawson
“The book every LGBT person would have killed for as a teenager, told in the voice of a wise best friend. Frank, warm, funny, USEFUL.” — Patrick Ness, New York Times bestselling author
Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.
This One Summer
by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
"Read this and remember that time. Read this and feel the innocence and the intimate, wrestling out at the beach. Read this and keep it like a secret, or let it run wild like a bonfire night. Read this for the joy and the grit, the tears and the sunburn, what you can't remember and what you'll never forget. Read This One Summer and swear you were there." — Daniel Handler
Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and certain illustrations.
Don't miss Mariko and Jillian at their upcoming events at Powell's! They'll be at Powell's City of Books on October 19 for their newest book, Roaming.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
This is an amazing book to add to your antiracist library. Written for young adults, this book is wonderfully comprehensive and perfect for a classroom setting. Empower young people with the knowledge of their history to forge an antiracist future. — Rin S.
Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.
The Satanic Verses
by Salman Rushdie
"A novel of metamorphoses, hauntings, memories, hallucinations, revelations, advertising jingles, and jokes. Rushdie has the power of description, and we succumb." — The Times (London)
Banned and challenged because of its criticism of Islam.
The Complete Maus
by Art Spiegelman
"Maus is a book that cannot be put down, truly, even to sleep. When two of the mice speak of love, you are moved, when they suffer, you weep. Slowly through this little tale comprised of suffering, humor and life's daily trials, you are captivated by the language of an old Eastern European family, and drawn into the gentle and mesmerizing rhythm, and when you finish Maus, you are unhappy to have left that magical world." — Umberto Eco
Banned and challenged for unnecessary use of nudity, profanity, depiction of violence and suicide.
by Jerry Craft
“This engaging story offers an authentic secondary cast and captures the high jinks of middle schoolers and the tensions that come with being a person of color in a traditionally white space.” — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Challenged because it allegedly contains harmful content related to the teaching of critical race theory.
by John Steinbeck
“Of Mice and Men is a thriller, a gripping tale running to novelette length that you will not set down until it is finished. It is more than that; but it is that…In sure, raucous, vulgar Americanism, Steinbeck has touched the quick in his little story." — The New York Times
Challenged because of profanity, depressing themes, and the author is accused of having an “anti-business attitude.”
by Amanda Gorman
"I couldn't understand a reason for rendering this piece as inappropriate for elementary school students...When I wrote The Hill We Climb, it was so important for me that young people would see themselves represented in a significant moment in our democratic history, and that the reality of that, in that moment, would be erased for young people who deserve to see themselves at a place and station like that, that was just really disappointing," — Amanda Gorman on CBS Mornings
Restricted after a parent in a Miami school district alleged that it "is not educational, has indirect hate messages and indoctrinates students."
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For more resources, you can go to our
Banned Books resource page.