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

"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."