"Lady Chatterley's Lover" Is Among These Iconic Books That Have Been Banned

From its first publication in the late 1920s, D.H. Lawrence's novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover" ($6) faced frequent censorship and bowdlerization. The novel, which centers on an aristocratic woman's affair with a gamekeeper after her husband's war injury, even led to a landmark obscenity case against publisher Penguin Books in the UK in 1960, which Penguin won. It also has been banned at various times in other countries, including the US, for profanity and sexual content. In fact, the court opinion that eventually allowed the book to be published in the US first set the "redeeming social or literary value" defense against obscenity charges.

Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir "Fun Home" ($13, originally $18) has earned plenty of acclaim since its 2007 publication, and it's even been turned into a Tony-winning Broadway musical. Its frank depictions of topics including sexuality and LGBTQ+ identity, abuse, and suicide have also made it a highly challenged book. In 2015, it made the American Library Association's (ALA) Top 10 list for most frequently challenged books, and as recently as 2022, it has been banned — even, occasionally, against the recommendations of review boards — in districts in Missouri and South Dakota.

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" ($14, originally $18) by Maya Angelou is an undisputed literary classic. Angelou's autobiographical coming-of-age tale depicts her childhood growing up with the trauma of racism and sexual abuse. With its frank depictions of those topics, however, it has long been a target for challenges, particularly over sexually explicit passages, profanity, and irreverence toward religion. The American Library Association ranked it sixth on its list of the most-banned and challenged books of the 2000s.

George M. Johnson's "All Boys Aren't Blue" ($14) was the third-most-challenged book of 2021, according to the American Library Association. Written for an audience of high-school-aged teens and older, Johnson's book focuses on their experiences of growing up Black and queer, telling stories from their real life and helping others feel less alone. The book's depiction of LGBTQ+ experiences, race, profanity, and sexuality has led to it being challenged and banned by numerous libraries and school boards across several states.

"Speak" ($7, originally $11) by Laurie Halse Anderson was a staple of so many Millennials' reading experiences growing up. The 1999 YA novel, however, has been a popular target for book bans since its publication. The story centers on Melinda, a high school freshman dealing with ostracization after calling the police from a party, and her slow processing of the traumatic event that happened that night. As recently as 2020, however, it has been banned, according to the American Library Assocation, for its depictions of rape and profanity, as well as because it "was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students."

Given how many of us remember reading it in high school, it may be hard to believe that "The Great Gatsby" ($6) by F. Scott Fitzgerald has a history of being banned. Its depictions of hedonistic, adulterous socialites in Prohibition-era New York apparently have ruffled some feathers — and it's not all in the past, either! As recently as 2020, a school board in Alaska voted to remove "Gatsby" from the curriculum over "language and sexual references."

John Green's 2005 novel "Looking For Alaska" ($9, originally $13) has been a YA favorite for years, but it's also faced its fair share of challenges and bans. The book centers on themes of grief and the search for meaning, following a teenage boy, his quest to learn the last words of a famous Renaissance man, and the joys and sorrows he shares with his quirky friend group before and after a tragedy strikes. Because of its inclusion of profanity, drug and alcohol use, and sex, the book was the fourth-most-challenged and -banned book of the 2010s, according to the American Library Association.

A devastating story of life and betrayal in Afghanistan, "The Kite Runner" ($14, originally $17) by Khaled Hosseini became a bestseller and modern classic after its 2003 publication. It follows Amir, a young man who witnesses major events in Afghanistan from childhood through adulthood, and who spends years trying to make amends for failing to help a friend. In addition to spurring controversy over its depictions of groups within Afghanistan, the book also became a top target of book bans for its language and for a scene of rape.

It became a bestseller and spawned a series of blockbuster films, but "The Hunger Games" ($13, originally $15) by Suzanne Collins hasn't had an entirely smooth road to success. The popular YA series, set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic North America, follows a teenage girl who is forced to participate in a brutal, televised death match. As you might suspect from the subject matter, the series landed on the 2010s' most-challenged list, too, for complaints over violence, as well as being antireligion and occult (despite there being no significant mentions of either religion or the supernatural in the trilogy).

"Out of Darkness" ($13) by Ashley Hope Pérez is a YA historical fiction novel set in 1937 Texas. It tells the story of a doomed romance between a Mexican-American girl and a Black boy in 1937 Texas, surrounded by racism, classism, and a town tragedy that has everyone looking for a scapegoat. In 2021, it became the fourth-most-challenged book of the year, according to the ALA, over its depictions of abuse, profanity, and sexuality.

Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials ($14, originally $27) has faced plenty of controversy over the years. Set in a complex, magical alternate universe, the novels tell a sprawling story of a society ruled by a religious authority willing to do anything for power and to eradicate what they believe to be the source of sin, and a pair of preteen heroes who set out to stop them. With such a clear religious allegory, it's not surprising at all that the books have been challenged and banned frequently, often on accusations of being antireligion.

Art Spiegelman's 1986 graphic novel "Maus" ($10, originally $17), a Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Holocaust, has been in the spotlight recently as a frequent target of book bans. Depicting the Holocaust through animal illustrations (Jewish characters are drawn as mice, while Nazis are cats), the book has been banned for use of profanity and for a single illustration of a woman in a bathtub during a particularly tragic scene. One Tennesse school board member, according to PBS, also objected to the book's depictions of the horrors of the Holocaust, complaining that schools shouldn't "promote this stuff."

If there were an award for the most ironic book ban, Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" ($8, originally $17) would be a major contender. The dystopian novel, written during the "Red Scare" era and McCarthyism, depicts a future America where books are banned because they cause people to become confused and question their lives, and "firemen" burn any forbidden books that are found. Its real-life bans have typically focused on its use of profanity.

Written as an autobiographical graphic novel/memoir, "Gender Queer" ($18, originally $20) by Maia Kobabe has been both highly praised for its discussions of gender identity and targeted for those same topics. Its LGBTQ+ content and its depictions of sexuality have been at the center of its controversy. Although it is categorized as adult/general autobiography and graphic memoir, not a children's or YA book, the book's challenges resulted in it being named the most-challenged book of 2021 by the ALA.

"Slaughterhouse Five" ($14, originally $17) by Kurt Vonnegut has the weight of being a modern classic behind it, but that hasn't stopped the challenges from coming. The sci-fi antiwar novel follows a young American soldier's traumatic experiences in World War II and beyond, with time travel adding twists to the plot. It has been banned over the decades for numerous reasons: profanity, depictions of sex, accusations of being antireligion or anti-Christian, and more.

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell ($7, originally $10) is a book so controversial, they didn't even want to publish it. Orwell's allegorical tale is meant to critique the Stalin era of the Soviet Union, but publishers were wary about releasing the book in 1945 out of fear of upsetting the alliance between the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union. The book uses farm animals rebelling against their farmer in an attempt to create a society in which all animals are equal to show the dangers of trusting leaders who only have their best interest in mind. If you like communism taught through piggies, this is for you.

Do you hear that? It's yourself from 10 years ago gasping in shock that "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer ($1) of all things is banned. The book that follows Bella Swan's journey through Forks, WA, and the vampire/werewolf company she seems to attract is often banned in schools due to its explicit sexual content and because it goes against certain religious beliefs. Though the book seemed to be on every shelf, t-shirt, and notebook back in the day, it's oddly hard for some to get their hands on.

Though it won a Pulitzer Prize for its groundbreaking writing about racism and slavery in 1800s America, schools often ban "Beloved" by Toni Morrison ($9, originally $17) due to references to sex and graphic scenes of violence. The book is undoubtedly worth a read to understand Sethe's journey, one in which she is born a slave and experiences tragedy after tragedy in pursuit of freedom. The book is an especially honorable read given the recent passing of its author in 2019. Fans of poetry will find what they love between these pages.

One of the more recently published books on this list, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower "by Stephen Chbosky ($13, originally $16) follows introvert Charlie as he tries to make it through the trials of high school. Readers find themselves inside Charlie's mind, which, though just a freshman in high school, does not shy away from the tough questions about drugs, sexuality, masturbation, and mental health. This is precisely what got the book banned from school districts, particularly in 2009, when it was one of the most challenged of that year.

Lois Lowry's young adult novel "The Giver" ($8, originally $10) shows what happens when what appears to be a utopia is actually a dystopia. In an attempt to get rid of pain, 12-year-old Jonah's community has gotten rid of emotions and has chosen "sameness" as the rules in their world that is without color, memory, or even climate. When he is chosen to be the holder of memories before this era of sameness, Jonah is confused by the lessons of emotion and the good/bad that comes from them. It is often banned because it's seen as unsuited for the young adult age group due to violence and sex.

"Go the F*ck to Sleep" by Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortés ($12, originally $16) is a bedtime story for frustrated parents that has been banned for explicit language. "Seriously, Just Go to Sleep" is the children's book version of the original forbidden-word-clad tale, but many turned their noses up at "Go the F*ck to Sleep" when they thought it was meant to be a genuine bedtime story for kids, not a parody for parents. It's a short read if you need a banned book to put you to sleep quickly.

Published in 1928, Radclyffe Hall's "The Well of Loneliness" ($5, originally $7) seemed to set the world on fire for its plot about a lesbian relationship. Though the novel has no erotic moments, it was banned for obscenity upon being published. The book follows Stephen, a woman, and her life as a war hero and bestselling writer who just so happens to love women. If you're looking for a book that really rocked the world and challenged social norms during the time period, this novel is for you.

Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" ($15) is as iconic as a novel can be. It has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the National Book Award for fiction, and it's also been made into both a movie and a Broadway musical. The novel is centered on sisterhood and the trials of racism and poverty in 1930s Georgia, but it is often banned for being too sexually and socially explicit. Banned books often feature what is explicit because it's what's real, and that's why this one is worth a read.

Mary McCarthy's "The Group" ($10, originally $18) follows eight young women in 1933 who have just graduated from Vassar College and are about to navigate the world postgraduation. The group face financial strife, sexism at work, childbirth, sexual relationships, and so on. For its attempt to remain honest on the lives of women, the book was banned for mention of content like birth control and socialism.

Graphic-novel fans need not fret about being unable to find a banned book in their favorite genre. "This One Summer" by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki ($12, originally $19) follows two friends, Rose and Windy, navigating the transition out of childhood as they confront feelings about boys and more mature matters in the world around them. The book has been censored for including profanity and mature themes, making it one of the most challenged books of 2018.

"Always Running: La Vida Loca Gang Days in LA" by Luis J. Rodríguez ($10, originally $18) describes the life of a young Chicano gang member who's trying to survive the often-dangerous East Los Angeles neighborhoods. The autobiographical book was published in 1993, and it was often banned because of graphic content, but the book offers a truthful, first-hand account of the dangers of gang life.

"Forever . . ." by Judy Blume ($11, originally $13) shows an incredibly honest portrayal of teenagedom for its 1975 publishing year. Not only does main character Katherine lose her virginity, but she is also on birth control and is the granddaughter of a huge Planned Parenthood advocate. The book also follows a side story of discovering sexuality for Katherine's friend Artie, who is gay. For these reasons, the book was banned by many religious groups. The book is a quick read, but it captures young love in an honest way.

Jane Rule's "Desert of the Heart" ($18) follows a woman who, in the process of trying to divorce her husband, falls into a passionate love with another woman. Released in 1964, the book was met with fear from viewers, though it has evolved into one of the most iconic works of lesbian fiction.

If you were already hooked on the TV series, you ought to give this banned book a read. Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" ($12, originally $16) follows narrator Kate, who exists only for sexual servitude and reproducing. Though one might think a dystopian world in which women are diminished to only being defined by their bodies and what they can do with them could be a positive read for schools to understand sexism, this book is often banned for explicitness about sex and being offensive to Christians. Nonetheless, it's a suspenseful read.

Angie Thomas's novel "The Hate U Give" ($13, originally $21) is so wildly popular that it was published in 2017 and was already a feature film in 2018. The book follows Starr Carter after she witnesses an act of police brutality take the life of one of her best friends, Khalil. The incident sparks controversy in the city Starr lives in, as the black members of the community are outraged and the white members don't seem to understand what truly happened to the unarmed boy driving his friend home from a party. The plot is modern and relevant, but the book has been banned in Texas before for "inappropriate language."