Banned Books List 2025

1 month ago 3

What books are banned in 2025? Thousands of titles have been removed from public schools across the country.

PEN America has documented nearly 23,000 book bans in public schools nationwide since 2021, a number never before seen in the life of any living American. This censorship is being mobilized by groups espousing conservative viewpoints — and has spread to nearly every state— and predominantly targets books about race and racism or books featuring individuals of color and LGBTQ+ people and topics, as well those for older readers that have sexual references or discuss sexual violence.

In the 2024-2025 school year, PEN America recorded 6,870 instances of book bans affecting nearly 4,000 unique titles. For the third straight year, Florida was the No. 1 state for book bans, with 2,304 instances of bans, followed by Texas with 1,781 bans and Tennessee with 1,622. The 15 most banned books in the 2024-2025 school year, according to the PEN America Index of School Book Bans, include the Anthony Burgess classic A Clockwork Orange, two books in the Sarah J. Maas Court of Thorns and Roses series, and bestselling novelist Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes, about the unfolding of a school shooting.For more on what kinds of bans are happening and where, read Banned in the U.S.A.: The Normalization of Book Banning.

**1. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess, 23 bans**

Anthony Burgess’ influential dystopian satire depicts a world where teen protagonist Alex creates mayhem before undergoing aversion therapy to curb his violent tendencies. Publisher W.W. Norton calls it “a frightening fable about good and evil and the meaning of human freedom.”

Time magazine 100 best books of the last century

**2 (tie). Breathless, by Jennifer Niven, 20 bans**

In this coming-of-age love story, Claudine Henry is coping with her parents’ divorce and getting ready for college when she meets a local trail guide with a mysterious past.

#1 New York Times bestselling author

**2 (tie). Sold, by Patricia McCormick, 20 bans**

McCormick tells the story of Lakshmi, a 13-year-old girl in Nepal who is sold into prostitution. “The powerful, poignant, bestselling National Book Award Finalist gives voice to a young girl robbed of her childhood yet determined to find the strength to triumph.”

National Book Award finalist
Publishers Weekly and NPR Best Books of the Year

**4. Last Night at the Telegraph Club, by Malinda Lo, 19 bans**

This National Book Award-winning novel is set in 1954, at the height of the Red Scare, when 17-year-old Lily Hu visits a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.

National Book Award winner
New York Times bestseller
Stonewall Book Award winner

**5. A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas, 18 bans**

Sarah J. Maas, who skyrocketed to fame with the help of BookTok, was the third most frequently banned author of the 2024-25 school year, according to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans. This follow-up to A Court of Thorns and Roses offers romance, fantasy, magic, and political intrigue.

#1 bestseller
Goodreads Choice Award winner

**6 (tie). Crank, by Ellen Hopkins, 17 bans**

“Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. Then, Kristina meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul–her life.”

#1 New York Times bestseller

**6 (tie). Forever…, by Judy Blume, 17 bans**

**6 (tie). The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, 17 bans**

In this coming-of-age novel, “wallflower” Charlie deals with the complexities of high school, from young love to the pain of losing loved ones.

#1 New York Times bestseller
American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and Best Book for Reluctant Readers
Major motion picture

**6 (tie). Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire, 17 bans**

The bestselling reimagined prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz launched one of the highest grossing Broadway musicals of all time and a two-part movie sensation.

#1 New York Times bestseller
Tony Award-winning Broadway musical
Golden Globe-winning movie

**10 (tie). All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson, 16 bans**

“In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue explores their childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia.”

New York Times bestseller
Goodreads Choice Award winner
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020

**10 (tie). A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas, 16 bans**

The first book in the Court of Thorns and Roses series introduces 19-year-old huntress Feyre as she is dragged to a magical land of faeries and finds herself developing feelings for her captor.

#1 New York Times bestselling series

**10 (tie). Damsel, by Elana K. Arnold, 16 bans**

In this dark fairy tale, a damsel who is rescued from a fierce dragon by a handsome prince discovers that all is not what it seems.

Michael L. Printz Award honor book

10 (tie). The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend, by Kody Keplinger, 16 bans

Bianca discovers that a boy has given her a devastating nickname – the DUFF, or Designated Ugly Fat Friend – and finds herself in an enemies-with-benefits relationship.

New York Times bestseller
Major motion picture

10 (tie). Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult, 16 bans

Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of My Sister’s Keeper and Small Great Things, writes about the moments leading up to and the devastating aftermath of a school shooting.

#1 New York Times bestseller
Award-winning author
American Library Association Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners

**10 (tie). Storm and Fury, by Jennifer L. Armentrout, 16 bans**

In bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Storm and Fury, 18-year-old Trinity Marrow is protected by shape-shifting Wardens from evil demons. When a supernatural war is unleashed, she has to trust an outsider with secrets of his own.