2025 US book bans – what’s happening and why does it matter?

Book bans are on the rise in 2025. Thousands of titles have been pulled from schools and libraries across the US. Most bans target works dealing with race, gender, sexuality, and social justice, anything that challenges the status quo.

Texas: Ground Zero for Bans

This year, Texas’s Lamar Consolidated Independent School District pulled nearly 300 books from classrooms and libraries. Another 450 titles are on hold. The removals hit everything from Toni Morrison’s Beloved to children’s books like Pinkalicious.

Works addressing LGBTQ+ themes were at the top of the list. Even a depiction of the Roman goddess Virtus on Virginia’s state flag was considered “too explicit.”

Click here to find the list of books removed.

According to PEN America, over 10,000 book bans were recorded nationwide in 2023-2024. 72% of bans came from organized groups and government officials, not parents. The American Library Association reports that most challenges focus on books about LGBTQ+ identities and race.

Dive into the data here.

Banned Books Week 2025

October 5-11, 2025

Theme: Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights

Honorary Chair: George Takei

This annual event, hosted by the American Library Association and Banned Books Week Coalition, celebrates banned books and reminds us that reading is an act of resistance. George Orwell’s 1984 serves a “prescient warning about the dangers of censorship. This year’s theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights.”

Learn more about Banned Books Week 2025 here.

12 Banned Books You Should Read

Here’s your essential banned book list, complete with quick reasons why they were censored (and why you should read them anyway).

1. The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
   • Banned for depictions of sexual violence; essential for its piercing look at beauty, race, and trauma.
2. Beloved – Toni Morrison
   • Pulled for graphic content; a haunting story of slavery’s legacy that refuses to be forgotten.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
   • Banned for racial slurs and themes; still one of the most powerful novels about justice in America.
4. The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
   • Challenged for profanity and police brutality themes; a modern classic on race and resistance.
5. 1984 – George Orwell
   • Censored for political content; eerily relevant in today’s era of surveillance and propaganda.
6. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
   • Banned for sexual and drug references; a must-read on consumerism and control
7. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
   • Targeted for racial slurs and violence; still a devastating story of friendship and the American Dream.
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
   • Challenged for sexuality, drugs, and profanity; a tender exploration of adolescence and identity.
9. Gender Queer: A Memoir – Maia Kobabe
   • The most banned book in America for LGBTQ+ themes; a vital memoir about self-discovery.
10. All Boys Aren’t Blue – George M. Johnson
    • Pulled for “explicit” content; a raw and inspiring story of growing up Black and queer.
11. Looking for Alaska – John Green
    • Challenged for sexual references; a bittersweet story of love, loss, and growing up.
12. Out of Darkness – Ashley Hope Pérez
    • Frequently banned for depictions of racism, sexual content, and abuse; a powerful novel about love and injustice in 1930s Texas.

When a book is banned, it’s usually because it touches a nerve. These stories deal with power, identity, history, and truth, the very ideas some people want to silence. Reading a banned book is an act of defiance. It’s choosing curiosity over censorship.

What are some of your favorite commonly banned books?