Banned Books Week - Mercer County Library System

Books unite us. Books encourage boundless exploration and allow readers to spread their wings. Stories give flight to new ideas and perspectives. Reading—especially books that set us free—expands our worldview. Censorship, on the other hand, locks away our freedom and divides us from humanity in our own cages.

Table of Contents

Events

Tween/Teen Banned Book Trivia
Monday, September 19, 7:15pm
Hightstown Memorial Library
Registration required prior to event.

I’m with the Banned — Book Discussion
Thursday, September 22, 3pm
Virtual Program
Please register to receive program’s link.

Banned Book Bash
Thursday, September 22, 6pm
Hickory Corner Branch
Registration is requested.

Tween/Teen Craft: Upcycled Book Campfire
Saturday, September 24, 3pm
Hightstown Memorial Library
Registration required prior to the event. Registration opens on Monday, September 19, 2022 at 9:30 am.

Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021

The American Library Association tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021. Of the 1,597 individual books that were challenged or banned in 2021, here are the top 10 most challenged. Click on the book covers below to find them in our library.

**Gender Queer**
*By Maia Kobabe*
**REASONS**: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images.

**Lawn Boy**
*By Jonathan Evison*
**REASONS**: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit

**All Boys Aren’t Blue**
*By George M. Johnson*
**REASONS**: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

**Out of Darkness**
*By Ashley Hope Perez*
**REASONS**: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

**The Hate U Give**
*By Angie Thomas*
**REASONS**: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda.

**The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian**
*By Sherman Alexie*
**REASONS**: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and use of a derogatory term.

**Me and Earl and the Dying Girl**
*By Jesse Andrews*
**REASONS**: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women.

**The Bluest Eye**
*By Toni Morrison*
**REASONS**: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit.

**This Book is Gay**
*By Juno Dawson*
**REASONS**: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.

**Beyond Magenta**
*By Susan Kuklin*
**REASONS**: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

Censorship by the Numbers

The who, what, where, and why of censorship. Download and share our Censorship by the Numbers graphics to spread the word about challenges to library and school materials and services.