20 Banned Books That Have Changed Us

… and why we need to keep reading, and rereading them, RIGHT NOW.

Sep 04, 2026

September Theme: The Stories We Carry

Big Question: Why do certain stories stay with us?

Week 1: The Books That Changed Us

This week, we’ve been exploring the books that have changed us, and I can’t think of a stack of books that have changed us more than the books on this list, which include books that have been contested and debated for decades, regularly pulled from schools and libraries, considered ‘dangerous,’ and have generated too many conversations about censorship and individual liberties to count.

There is a reason certain books face the fiercest resistance, especially when they hold a mirror up to our flaws, challenge our comfort zones, and demand that we think for ourselves. And right now, we are witnessing a massive, organized surge in censorship.

According to data from the American Library Association (ALA):

ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second highest ever documented by ALA. The highest ever documented was 4,240 in 2023.
Of the unique titles challenged in 2025, 1,671 (39%) represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color.
ALA documented 713 attempts to censor library materials and services, 487 of which targeted books.
In 2025, 92% of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision makers, up from 72% in 2024. Less than 3% of challenges originated from individual parents.
OIF documented 5,668 books banned from libraries (66% of the total challenged) in 2025. An additional 920 books were censored through access restrictions such as relocation or requiring parental permission. This is both the highest number of titles censored in one year and the highest rate of challenges resulting in censorship from 1990–2025.

However, the good news is that while coordinated censorship efforts want to restrict access to certain books (many of which are never even read by the groups targeting them), contemporary academic research reveals a powerful ‘spotlight effect,’ where book banning efforts actually put a spotlight on those exact books special interest groups want to ban, making them garner more attention and popularity.

A landmark study published by INFORMS Marketing Science discovered that banning a book actually increases its library circulation by an average of 12% in neighboring, unrestricted areas. And a study published by Stetson University found that reading banned books does not correlate with negative behaviors, but instead actually predicts increased civic engagement and social responsibility among youth.

Overall, these banned books are steadily becoming an active form of civic engagement and censorship resistance, which is further evolving how we view reading and literature as a society, especially when it comes to our youth and what they’re reading.

So, by identifying and examining 20 of these works, why they’re being banned, and why we need to read them, we’ll uncover a greater understanding of how they have and continue to change us… and why this is a good thing.

Quick Note: To get my final thoughts on this week’s book club pick, Station Eleven, please join the Buddy Read in Storygraph, or the chat in Substack. I can’t wait to talk about this book with you!

What follows are 20 books that have changed us, and the details behind the efforts to get them banned, and the powerful arguments, data, and legal precedents for why they must never be banned.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

The Cultural Shift: This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel fundamentally altered the American conversation on systemic racism and legal injustice in the Jim Crow South, advancing the Civil Rights dialogue in schools and beyond.

The Ban Context: Ironically challenged for its use of racial slurs and adult themes, it remains a frequent target in school curricula.

The Data: It has sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Despite frequent challenges documented by the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, the book is regularly recognized as an American favorite by the National Endowment for the Arts, and PBS’s ‘The Great American Read’ list and survey ranked it as the #1 book that has most profoundly touched American lives.

Why Read It Now: It confronts systemic racism and legal injustice head-on. In a world still wrestling with racial inequality, its lessons on empathy and understanding persistent structural and institutional racial bias remain urgent.

The Case Against the Ban: Free speech advocates and educators point out that removing the book sanitizes history rather than teaching it. Studies from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) also emphasize that reading discomforting historical settings under academic guidance helps students develop critical thinking and anti-racist frameworks, which are lost when the text is stripped away from their reading lists.

2. 1984 by George Orwell (1949)

The Cultural Shift: Orwell redefined political discourse and created our modern language for privacy and surveillance by introducing concepts like ‘Big Brother’, ‘Doublethink’ and ‘Thoughtcrime’ into the global vernacular.

The Ban Context: Banned globally by communist regimes for being anti-authoritarian and simultaneously challenged in Western nations for being pro-communist or sexually explicit.

The Data: According to The Guardian, sales of 1984 routinely skyrocket during periods of political surveillance anxiety, surging by 9,500% in 2017 alone following shifts in U.S. political rhetoric.

Why Read It Now: ‘Doublethink’ and total surveillance aren’t just sci-fi tropes anymore. Instead, they are everyday realities. This book is the ultimate defense manual to expose modern political misinformation and manipulation.

The Case Against the Ban: Legal and educational experts argue that 1984 serves as a critical defense manual for democracy. Banning it removes a vital cultural vaccine against totalitarian tactics, language corruption, and government overreach. Literacy groups also argue that restricting Orwell’s warning makes citizens more vulnerable to the exact propaganda the book exposes.

3. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951)

The Cultural Shift: Salinger gave a definitive voice to teenage alienation, identity, and mental health struggles, mainstreaming public conversations about adolescent psychology.

The Ban Context: Between 1961 and 1982, it was the most frequently banned book in U.S. public high schools due to vulgarity and anti-social behavior.

The Data: Despite decades of censorship (including a Tulsa teacher who was fired in 1960 for assigning it), it has sold over 65 million copies. It is preserved as a cornerstone text in the Library of Congress’s “Books That Shaped America“ collection.

Why Read It Now: Concerns around youths’ mental health, isolation, and the struggle for an authentic identity are at an all-time high. Salinger’s raw look directly validates the isolation modern youth’s feel, and identity struggles today, which many adults can relate to, as well.

The Case Against the Ban: Mental health advocates and adolescent psychologists argue that Holden Caulfield’s struggles mirror real-world teenage depression. Data from adolescent health studies also show that when young people see their internal struggles articulated in literature, it reduces feelings of isolation and suicide ideation. Erasing the book silences necessary dialogues about adolescent mental health, and mental health in general.

4. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

The Cultural Shift: This dystopian classic famously turned book burning and the suppression of ideas into a universal metaphor and enduring symbol for the preservation of intellectual freedom.

The Ban Context: In a profound display of irony, it has been heavily censored, redacted, or banned by schools for profanity and its depictions of anti-authoritarianism.

The Data: Tracked heavily by PEN America, this title frequently cycles back into active ban lists. It acts as the flagship icon for the annual national Banned Books Week initiative, as well.

Why Read It Now: A cautionary tale about a society that burns books to keep people compliant, reading it right now stands as the ultimate act of defiance against real-world censorship.

The Case Against the Ban: The core argument against banning Fahrenheit 451 is its self-fulfilling prophecy: banning a book about book banning proves the very authoritarian dangers Bradbury warned against. ‘Freedom to Read’ coalitions also emphasize that restricting this book directly dismantles the exact intellectual curiosity required to maintain a free and open democracy.

5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)

The Cultural Shift: Angelou’s autobiography revolutionized the literary world by shedding light on the intersection of racism, sexism, and childhood trauma through highly poetic prose, pioneering intersectional Black feminist autobiography as a formidable genre.

The Ban Context: Challenged continuously across decades for graphic descriptions of childhood sexual abuse and themes.

The Data: It spent years on the ALA’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books list. Even recently, it was targeted, along with hundreds of other books, for removal from U.S. military base libraries, generating national lawsuits documented by the ACLU.

Why Read It Now: Angelou’s masterpiece is a masterclass in resilience. It champions resilient, marginalized voices that others want to silence, reminding us that they cannot be erased.

The Case Against the Ban: Advocacy groups like the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) argue that banning Angelou’s work effectively erases the survival stories of victims of childhood trauma and sexual violence. Data and studies also show that reading about trauma survival equips young people with critical emotional resilience and helps victims realize they are not alone, making the ban a harmful erasure of real lived experiences.

6. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)

The Cultural Shift: Atwood’s chilling exploration of state-enforced reproductive control and religious fundamentalism became a global touchstone, shaping our modern vocabulary for women’s reproductive autonomy.

The Ban Context: Ban campaigns focus on its anti-religious tones, vulgarity, and explicit sexual violence.

The Data: In the wake of political shifts concerning reproductive rights, PEN America documented its complete removal from public school libraries in multiple states, including five Florida school districts.

Why Read It Now: As battles over reproductive autonomy and state control over bodies dominate the headlines, Atwood’s dystopian vision serves as a stark, vital warning about how quickly bodily and civil rights can vanish for women, as well as other citizens.

The Case Against the Ban: Civil liberties defenders emphasize that Atwood explicitly restricted her writing to events that have already happened in real human history, as she discusses this regularly in interviews. Banning the novel does not protect students from graphic themes but instead prevents them from analyzing the historical and political pathways that allow authoritarian regimes to dismantle human rights, especially women’s rights, like what the Taliban is currently doing in Afghanistan.

7. Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)

The Cultural Shift: Joyce entirely transformed twentieth-century literature by mastering the stream-of-consciousness narrative style, while its legal journey fundamentally reshaped First Amendment law.

The Ban Context: The book was actively seized and burned by U.S. Post Office authorities for over a decade under the Comstock Act due to alleged obscenity and sexual explicitness.

The Data: The ban was lifted by the landmark federal court ruling United States v. One Book Called “Ulysses” (1933), establishing the legal precedent that a book must be evaluated as a whole rather than judged on isolated, explicit excerpts.

Why Read It Now: Beyond its brilliant style, its legal history proves that art must be judged as a whole, not by its isolated, ‘offensive’ parts that people want to ban. It is a monument to total creative freedom.

The Case Against the Ban: The historical legal fight against banning Ulysses forms the absolute bedrock of modern free speech. The landmark 1933 ruling established that literary merit cannot be determined by cherry-picking isolated words out of context, protecting generations of authors from arbitrary censorship.

8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970)

The Cultural Shift: Morrison’s seminal work exposed the deep, damaging psychological toll of internalized racism and white beauty standards on young Black girls.

The Ban Context: Eradicated from numerous library shelves due to its raw depictions of incest, sexual assault, and race-based trauma.

The Data: Data from PEN America’s “Banned in the USA“ report consistently places Morrison among the most heavily targeted authors of the 21st century, despite her status as a Nobel Laureate.

Why Read It Now: This novel forces us to have uncomfortable but deeply necessary conversations about race. It challenges rigid cultural standards and demands that we protect deep, inherent self-worth.

The Case Against the Ban: Literary scholars and human rights defenders note that Morrison’s depictions of abuse are not gratuitous but are essential to exposing how systemic racism breaks down familial and personal safety. Banning the book targets the victim’s narrative, effectively shielding the reader from uncomfortable realities while silencing the vital pursuit of empathy for marginalized communities.

9. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)

The Cultural Shift: Steinbeck humanized the devastation of the Great Depression, generating widespread empathy for migrant workers that directly spurred federal congressional reform for migrant labor.

The Ban Context: Banned by local boards (including Kern County, California, where the book was set) for foul language, allegedly misrepresenting regional residents, and socialist themes.

The Data: Famously burned in public squares upon release, the book won the Pulitzer Prize and its mass exposure ultimately pushed Congress to hold hearings on farm labor standards and migrant camp reforms.

Why Read It Now: Economic disparity and the displacement of workers are defining issues of our generation. Steinbeck humanizes the struggle of the working class and reminds us of our collective social responsibility.

The Case Against the Ban: Labor historians point out that banning The Grapes of Wrath historically served to protect corporate agricultural monopolies from public scrutiny. Keeping the book accessible ensures that citizens can critically evaluate economic policies, workers’ rights, and the ethical treatment of displaced populations.

10. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (2019)

The Cultural Shift: This graphic novel became the focal point of the modern cultural dialogue regarding gender identity, providing vital representation and igniting contemporary constitutional debates over library access.

The Ban Context: Targeted aggressively by organized political pressure groups for its graphic novel illustrations of sexuality.

The Data: According to the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, it secured the top spot as the #1 Most Banned and Challenged Book in America for multiple consecutive years, serving as the primary catalyst for modern parental rights legislation.

Why Read It Now: Currently one of the most targeted books in the country, it protects vital, life-saving representation for nonbinary and queer youth. Reading it stands as a direct rejection of attempts to erase LGBTQIA+ narratives.

The Case Against the Ban: LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups and pediatric health organizations emphasize that memoirs like Kobabe’s are literal lifelines. Peer-reviewed data and surveys show that access to representative literature directly correlates with lower suicide attempts among LGBTQIA+ youth, proving that banning these books has dangerous, real-world consequences for youth mental health.

11. Maus by Art Spiegelman (1980-1991)

The Cultural Shift: This groundbreaking graphic novel, originally serialized in magazines, completely changed how the world processes historical trauma and won a Pulitzer Prize. By depicting Jews as mice and Nazis as cats, it bypassed traditional narrative barriers to expose the raw horror of the Holocaust.

The Ban Context: Banned comprehensively by school boards for “profanity and nudity,” referring to a small, stylized cartoon illustration of a mouse.

The Data: When a Tennessee school district unanimously banned it, the decision triggered a massive nationwide backlash. According to data tracked by industry reporters, sales of Maus exploded exponentially, launching the book back to the #1 spot on Amazon’s bestseller list decades after its publication.

Why Read It Now: As antisemitism and historical revisionism surge globally, Maus remains a vital, unvarnished look at how trauma ripples across generations.

The Case Against the Ban: Holocaust education organizations argue that using minor profanity or a stylized animal drawing as an excuse to ban Maus trivializes the reality of real-world genocide. The book is heavily defended because its graphic format makes the staggering, abstract data of the Holocaust accessible and deeply human to younger readers who might otherwise tune out text-heavy histories.

12. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)

The Cultural Shift: Walker’s epistolary masterpiece gave a voice to Black women enduring intersectional domestic and racial trauma in the rural South. It redefined contemporary literature’s capacity for healing, sisterhood, and spiritual resilience.

The Ban Context: A constant target on school curricula due to its explicit descriptions of domestic violence, sexuality, and challenges to traditional religious structures.

The Data: It won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, yet it has spent nearly four decades as a permanent fixture on the ALA’s Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books lists.

Why Read It Now: It serves as a necessary blueprint for finding joy, agency, and self-definition in the face of structural oppression.

The Case Against the Ban: Defenders of Walker’s work argue that attempting to scrub the book from libraries acts as a double-victimization of Black women, whose historical struggles with domestic abuse and racial segregation are being suppressed under the guise of protecting readers from ‘adult content.’ The book is celebrated for demonstrating how individuals triumph over trauma, which is a vital lesson for students.

13. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017)

The Cultural Shift: Thomas humanized the headlines of the Black Lives Matter movement for an entire generation of readers, exploring the complex intersections of police accountability, systemic trauma, and community identity.

The Ban Context: Stripped from hundreds of school libraries across the country under the accusation of promoting an “anti-police agenda” and containing profanity.

The Data: PEN America’s index of school book bans documents The Hate U Give as one of the most consistently targeted titles in multiple state districts over the last five years, despite debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and staying there for over 80 weeks.

Why Read It Now: In an era of intense social polarization, it underscores the vital importance of finding, protecting, and amplifying your own voice to challenge injustice.

The Case Against the Ban: Civil rights advocates and school counselors argue that banning Thomas’s novel isolates Black students who navigate these exact anxieties daily. Rather than inciting division, data from educational forums demonstrates that the book fosters constructive, peaceful classroom discussions regarding civic duty, racial equity, and community policing.

14. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

The Cultural Shift: Alongside 1984, Huxley shaped the modern collective imagination regarding technocratic dystopias, predicting a world subdued not by pain, but by shallow pleasures, algorithmic complacency, and state-engineered conformity.

The Ban Context: Censored for decades across schools and nations for its themes of sexual liberation, drug use, and perceived anti-family values.

The Data: Long documented by the ALA as a historically heavily challenged classic, it was completely removed from the required reading lists of multiple school districts across the U.S. for its ‘subversive’ psychological themes.

Why Read It Now: As society grapples with the ethical boundaries of AI, algorithmically driven echo chambers, and commercialized dopamine loops, Huxley’s warning is more accurate than ever.

The Case Against the Ban: Sociologists and technology ethicists assert that Brave New World should never be restricted because it is the preeminent text for identifying how consumerism can blind a populace to the loss of their civil liberties. Banning it keeps students unaware of how easily comfort can be weaponized against critical thinking and true independence.

15. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (2020)

The Cultural Shift: This ‘memoir-manifesto’ provided a crucial, honest space for queer Black youth, chronicling the trials and triumphs of growing up at the intersection of marginalized identities.

The Ban Context: Targeted aggressively by organized pressure groups for its honest, non-fictional discussions of adolescence and sexuality.

The Data: According to formal reports from the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, it spent years in the #2 and #3 spots behind Gender Queer, but actually climbed to #1 on the American Library Association’s (ALA) Most Banned and Challenged Books list recently, and is currently one of the most contested books. It is also facing bans across more than 25 separate school districts.

Why Read It Now: It stands at the absolute epicenter of the modern battle against LGBTQIA+ erasure in public spaces.

The Case Against the Ban: Human rights coalitions and library associations emphasize that pulling Johnson’s memoir heavily infringes on Title IX and First Amendment protections by selectively targeting minority voices. Opponents of the ban show that removing non-fiction accounts of queer youth directly tells marginalized students that their real-world identities are inherently shameful or inappropriate.

16. Looking for Alaska by John Green (2005)

The Cultural Shift: Green revolutionized modern young adult fiction by dealing honestly with adolescent grief, mental health, and the devastating realization that the people we love are beautifully fractured.

The Ban Context: Challenged continuously for profanity, depictions of teenage drinking, and sexual references.

The Data: Year-end data compiled by PEN America consistently ranks it as one of the single most frequently banned books of the entire 2020s decade so far, swept up in mass statewide legislation.

Why Read It Now: It highlights the dangers of sanitizing the real, messy emotional lives of young people instead of providing them with the literary tools to navigate grief.

The Case Against the Ban: Author John Green and various literacy boards have repeatedly pointed out that the sexual and rebellious behaviors criticized by book-banners are presented as flaws that lead to deep consequences within the plot. Banning the novel deprives teenagers of an essential artistic workspace to safely process severe grief, suicide, and peer accountability.

17. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (2007)

The Cultural Shift: Picoult crafted a devastatingly empathetic look into the anatomy of a small town shattered by a school shooting, forcing readers to examine the toxic culture of bullying and social isolation.

The Ban Context: Actively removed from shelves across multiple states due to its mature themes and depictions of violence.

The Data: During recent school library sweeps, this title was part of a mass extraction where 20 separate Jodi Picoult novels were banned simultaneously in a single Florida school district.

Why Read It Now: In a grim display of real-world timing, this book was banned in a Wisconsin school district the exact same week a school shooting occurred one town over. Reading it is essential to understanding the roots of community violence, especially when youth are involved.

The Case Against the Ban: Gun violence prevention advocates and school safety researchers argue that banning Nineteen Minutes suppresses the very conversations required to stop school violence. The novel unpacks the severe warning signs of extreme bullying and student isolation and shielding communities from these fictional pages leaves them less equipped to notice and understand the warning signs in real life.

18. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003)

The Cultural Shift: Hosseini humanized the complex history of Afghanistan for a global audience, weaving an unforgettable tale of guilt, redemption, and the enduring bond of friendship across political collapse.

The Ban Context: Challenged consistently in high schools for language, depictions of sexual violence, and its honest portrayal of religious and ethnic conflicts.

The Data: Despite being printed in 38 languages and selling millions of copies, it remains a frequent fixture on the ALA’s challenged list and was pulled from high school curricula across multiple districts in the American South.

Why Read It Now: It serves as a masterclass in empathy, bridging the gap between Western readers and the lived realities of refugees surviving global displacement.

The Case Against the Ban: International cultural organizations voice that banning The Kite Runner contributes to a dangerous isolationism. By scrubbing Hosseini’s work, school boards remove the primary literary text that introduces students to Middle Eastern history and Islamic culture from an internal perspective, drastically damaging global cultural literacy.

19. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (2000)

The Cultural Shift: This graphic memoir gave the world an intimate, funny, and heartbreaking look at growing up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution, challenging monolithic Western views of Iranian culture.

The Ban Context: Heavily restricted and challenged by major school systems for its depictions of state-sanctioned violence and political resistance.

The Data: Famously, the Chicago Public Schools administration ordered its complete physical removal from all 7th-grade classrooms, causing widespread student protests and a media backlash documented extensively by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC).

Why Read It Now: As global struggles for women’s autonomy and freedom from religious fundamentalism dominate current geopolitics, Satrapi’s story of a young girl’s rebellion is deeply relevant.

The Case Against the Ban: Educators championing the book highlight that Persepolis teaches students to stand against religious extremism while still loving their cultural heritage. Erasing the book strips students of a masterclass in civic courage and visual literacy, which is precisely why Chicago students protested to put the book back on shelves.

20. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999)

The Cultural Shift: Chbosky created a modern classic that served as a lifeline for millions of teens, dealing with introversion, trauma recovery, and the life-saving power of finding your ‘tribe.’

The Ban Context: A permanent fixture on ban lists due to its depictions of drug use, LGBTQIA+ themes, and adolescent sexuality.

The Data: It has spent over two decades cycling through the ALA’s most challenged books lists, continuously targeted by challenge groups led by parents despite its status as a widely taught coming-of-age text.

Why Read It Now: It reminds us that literature’s highest calling is to make the lonely, traumatized, or isolated individual feel seen and ‘infinite.’

The Case Against the Ban: Counselors and youth workers stress that the book shouldn’t be banned because it breaks down the paralyzing stigma surrounding sexual abuse recovery. Data shows that Charlie’s journey encourages real teenagers to break their silence and seek professional help for hidden abuse, meaning that locking this book away directly shields abusers and harms victims.

🔥 The Bottom Line

Don’t let someone else decide what you’re allowed to read… or think. Pick up a banned or challenged book, support your local libraries, and protect the freedom to read for all.

What is the one book that completely changed how you see the world? Let’s talk about it in the comments below. 👇

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Join Our Book Club Discussions

What are your thoughts on Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel?

Check out the discussion questions and or drafting and dialoging prompts in Tuesday’s post, Reading Notes: Station Eleven, to get your wheels rolling if you want. Then join our Buddy Read on Storygraph at any time this month to discuss this book with us. We’re starting a new book next week, but discussions for this September book club pick will still be up when you want to join them in the future.

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📗Our Next Book Club Read

For week two, which starts tomorrow, the Daily Drafts & Dialogues Book Club is reading our Real World Application Pick, Educated by Tara Westover, a memoir that explores the complicated relationship between memory, family, identity, education, and the stories we inherit about ourselves.

As always, you can read at your own pace throughout the month, but here’s what you’ll want to know if you plan to follow The Weekly Buddy Read Schedule for Tuesday Reading Notes and Check-Ins:

Daily Target: September 5–11 — approximately 53 pages/day to finish in one week.

Tuesday Check-In Post: September 8: This week’s post will dive into Memory & Storytelling. We’ll explore how memory shapes memoirs, how our understanding of the past can change over time, and what happens when different people remember the same history or events differently.

Join the Educated Buddy Read

ICYMI: See the Complete September Book Club Pick Lineup with Customizable Reading Schedules

Whether you join a chat, one of our Buddy Reads in Storygraph, or lay it all out in the comments, I look forward to hearing more about your thoughts on our book club picks this month as we continue to discuss The Stories We Carry!