Prince William County Public Schools Instructional Reading List

The ALA Office for Intellectual Liberty records attempts to remove books from libraries, schools, and universities. These titles are books on the Radcliffe Publishing Course Height 100 Novels of the 20th Century that have been banned or challenged.

If you take information about bans or challenges, please contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom. If you would like to support the office'due south piece of work in providing confidential support to libraries and schools that face censorship attempts, please consider making a donation.

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The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Challenged at the Baptist College in Charleston, SC (1987) because of "language and sexual references in the book.

The Catcher in the Rye, past JD Salinger

Since its publication, this title has been a favorite target of censors.

In 1960, a instructor in Tulsa, OK was fired for assigning the book to an eleventh grade English language course. The teacher appealed and was reinstated by the school lath, but the book was removed from use in the school.
In 1963, a delegation of parents of high school students in Columbus, OH, asked the school board to ban the novel for being "anti-white" and "obscene." The schoolhouse lath refused the request.
Removed from the Selinsgrove, PA suggested reading listing (1975). Based on parents' objections to the language and content of the book, the schoolhouse board voted 5-4 to ban the book. The book was afterward reinstated in the curriculum when the lath learned that the vote was illegal because they needed a 2-thirds vote for removal of the text.
Challenged as an assignment in an American literature class in Pittsgrove, NJ (1977). After months of controversy, the board ruled that the novel could be read in the Advanced Placement class, only they gave parents the right to make up one's mind whether or not their children would read it.
Removed from the Issaquah, WA optional High School reading list (1978).
Removed from the required reading list in Middleville, MI (1979).
Removed from the Jackson Milton school libraries in North Jackson, OH (1980).
Removed from 2 Anniston, AL Loftier school libraries (1982), but later reinstated on a restrictive basis.
Removed from the school libraries in Morris, Manitoba (1982) along with two other books considering they violate the committee's guidelines covering "excess vulgar language, sexual scenes, things concerning moral problems, excessive violence, and anything dealing with the occult."
Challenged at the Libby, MT High School (1983) due to the "volume's contents."
Banned from English classes at the Freeport High School in De Funiak Springs, FL (1985) because it is "unacceptable" and "obscene."
Removed from the required reading list of a Medicine Bow, WY Senior High School English form (1986) because of sexual references and profanity in the book.
Banned from a required sophomore English language reading listing at the Napoleon, ND High School (1987) after parents and the local Knights of Columbus chapter complained about its profanity and sexual references.
Challenged at the Linton-Stockton, IN High Schoolhouse (1988) because the volume is "blasphemous and undermines morality."
Banned from the classrooms in Boron, CA High School (1989) considering the volume contains profanity. Challenged at the Grayslake, IL Community High School (1991).
Challenged at the Jamaica High Schoolhouse in Sidell, IL (1992) because the book contains profanities and depicts premarital sexual activity, alcohol abuse, and prostitution.
Challenged in the Waterloo, IA schools (1992) and Duval County, FL public school libraries (1992) because of profanity, pulp passages most sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women, and the disabled.
Challenged at the Cumberland Valley High School in Carlisle, PA (1992) because of a parent's objections that information technology contains profanity and is immoral.
Challenged, merely retained, at the New Richmond, WI High School (1994) for use in some English language classes.
Challenged equally required reading in the Corona Norco, CA Unified School District (1993) considering it is "centered around negative activeness." The book was retained and teachers selected alternatives if students object to Salinger's novel.
Challenged as mandatory reading in the Goffstown, NH schools (1994) because of the vulgar words used and the sexual exploits experienced in the book.
Challenged at the St. Johns County Schools in St. Augustine, FL (1995).
Challenged at the Oxford Hills High School in Paris, ME (1996). A parent objected to the use of the 'F' word.
Challenged, just retained, at the Glynn Academy High School in Brunswick, GA (1997). A student objected to the novel'due south profanity and sexual references.
Removed because of profanity and sexual situations from the required reading curriculum of the Marysville, CA Joint Unified School District (1997). The school superintendent removed it to become it "out of the way so that we didn't have that polarization over a book."
Challenged, but retained on the shelves of Limestone County, AL school district (2000) despite objections almost the book's foul language.
Banned, but later on reinstated after customs protests at the Windsor Woods Loftier School in Savannah, GA (2000). The controversy began in early 1999 when a parent complained about sex, violence, and profanity in the book that was office of an Advanced Placement English course.
Removed by a Dorchester District 2 schoolhouse board member in Summerville, SC (2001) considering it "is a filthy, filthy volume."
Challenged by a Glynn County, GA (2001) school board member considering of profanity. The novel was retained.
Challenged in the Big Sky High School in Missoula, MT (2009).

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

Burned by the East St. Louis, IL Public Library (1939) and barred from the Buffalo, NY Public Library (1939) on the grounds that "vulgar words" were used. Banned in Kansas City, MO (1939).
Banned in Kern County CA, the scene of Steinbeck'southward novel (1939).
Banned in Republic of ireland (1953).
On Feb. 21, 1973, eleven Turkish book publishers went on trial before an Istanbul martial law tribunal on charges of publishing, possessing and selling books in violation of an society of the Istanbul martial police control. They faced possible sentences of between i calendar month's and six months' imprisonment "for spreading propaganda unfavorable to the country" and the confiscation of their books. Eight booksellers were likewise on trial with the publishers on the same charge involving The Grapes of Wrath.
Banned in Kanawha, IA Loftier School classes (1980).
Challenged in Vernon Verona Sherill, NY Schoolhouse District (1980).
Challenged as required reading for Richford, VT (1981) High Schoolhouse English students due to the book's language and portrayal of a former minister who recounts how he took advantage of a young adult female.
Banned in Morris, Manitoba, Canada (1982).
Removed from 2 Anniston, Ala. high school libraries (1982), but afterward reinstated on a restrictive footing.
Challenged at the Cummings High Schoolhouse in Burlington, NC (1986) as an optional reading assignment because the "book is full of filth. My son is being raised in a Christian habitation and this book takes the Lord's name in vain and has all kinds of profanity in information technology." Although the parent spoke to the press, a formal complaint with the schoolhouse demanding the book's removal was not filed.
Challenged at the Moore County school system in Carthage, NC (1986) considering the book contains the phase "God damn."
Challenged in the Greenville, SC schools (1991) because the book uses the proper noun of God and Jesus in a "vain and profane manner along with inappropriate sexual references."
Challenged in the Spousal relationship City, TN Loftier School classes (1993).

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Challenged in Eden Valley, MN (1977) and temporarily banned due to words "damn" and "whore lady" used in the novel.
Challenged in the Vernon Verona Sherill, NY School District (1980) equally a "filthy, trashy novel."
Challenged at the Warren, IN Township schools (1981) because the book does "psychological impairment to the positive integration process" and "represents institutionalized racism nether the guise of good literature." After unsuccessfully trying to ban Lee's novel, iii blackness parents resigned from the township human relations informational council.
Challenged in the Waukegan, IL Schoolhouse District (1984) because the novel uses the word "nigger."
Challenged in the Kansas City, MO junior high schools (1985). Challenged at the Park Colina, MO Junior High School (1985) because the novel "contains profanity and racial slurs." Retained on a supplemental eighth grade reading listing in the Casa Grande, AZ Elementary School District (1985), despite the protests by black parents and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who charged the book was unfit for junior high use.
Challenged at the Santa Cruz, CA Schools (1995) considering of its racial themes. Removed from the Southwood Loftier School Library in Caddo Parish, LA (1995) considering the book's language and content were objectionable.
Challenged at the Moss Point, MS Schoolhouse District (1996) because the novel contains a racial epithet. Banned from the Lindale, TX advanced placement English language reading listing (1996) considering the book "conflicted with the values of the community."
Challenged past a Glynn County, GA (2001) School Board member because of profanity. The novel was retained. Returned to the freshman reading listing at Muskogee, OK High Schoolhouse (2001) despite complaints over the years from black students and parents about racial slurs in the text.
Challenged in the Normal, IL Community High School's sophomore literature class (2003) as existence degrading to African Americans.
Challenged at the Stanford Middle School in Durham, NC (2004) because the 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel uses the word "nigger."
Challenged at the Brentwood, TN Heart Schoolhouse (2006) because the book contains "profanity" and "contains adult themes such as sexual intercourse, rape, and incest." The complainants as well contend that the book's use of racial slurs promotes "racial hatred, racial division, racial separation, and promotes white supremacy."
Retained in the English curriculum by the Scarlet Hill, NJ Board of Educational activity (2007). A resident had objected to the novel's delineation of how blacks are treated by members of a racist white community in an Alabama town during the Low. The resident feared the book would upset blackness children reading it.
Removed (2009) from the St. Edmund Campion Secondary School classrooms in Brampton Ontario, Canada because a parent objected to linguistic communication used in the novel, including the word "nigger."

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Challenged as appropriate reading for Oakland, CA Loftier School honors class (1984) due to the work's "sexual and social explicitness" and its "troubling ideas nigh race relations, man'south relationship to God, African history, and human sexuality." Afterwards 9 months of haggling and delays, a divided Oakland Board of Education gave formal approval for the book'due south utilize.
Rejected for purchase by the Hayward, CA school'south trustee (1985) because of "rough language" and "explicit sex scenes."
Removed from the open shelves of the Newport News, VA school library (1986) because of its "profanity and sexual references" and placed in a special section attainable just to students over the historic period of xviii or who accept written permission from a parent. Challenged at the public libraries of Saginaw, MI (1989) because information technology was "besides sexually graphic for a 12-year-old."
Challenged as a summer youth program reading assignment in Chattanooga, TN (1989) because of its language and "explicitness."
Challenged as an optional reading assigned in Ten Sleep, WY schools (1990).
Challenged as a reading consignment at the New Burn, NC High School (1992) because the main graphic symbol is raped by her stepfather.
Banned in the Souderton, PA Expanse Schoolhouse District (1992) as appropriate reading for 10th graders considering it is "smut." Challenged on the curricular reading listing at Pomperaug High Schoolhouse in Southbury, CT (1995) because sexually explicit passages aren't appropriate high school reading.
Retained every bit an English language course reading assignment in the Junction City, OR high school (1995) subsequently a challenge to Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel acquired months of controversy. Although an culling consignment was available, the book was challenged due to "inappropriate linguistic communication, graphic sexual scenes, and book's negative image of blackness men."
Challenged at the St. Johns County Schools in St. Augustine, FL (1995). Retained on the Circular Rock, TX Independent High School reading list (1996) afterwards a challenge that the book was too violent.
Challenged, merely retained, as function of the reading list for Advanced Placement English classes at Northwest High Schools in High Point, NC (1996). The book was challenged because it is "sexually graphic and fierce."
Removed from the Jackson Canton, WV schoolhouse libraries (1997) along with sixteen other titles. Challenged, merely retained as part of a supplemental reading list at the Shawnee School in Lima, OH (1999). Several parents described its content as vulgar and "X-rated."
Removed from the Ferguson High School library in Newport News, VA (1999). Students may request and borrow the book with parental approval.
Challenged, along with seventeen other titles in the Fairfax County, VA simple and secondary libraries (2002), by a group called Parents Against Bad Books in Schools. The group contends the books "incorporate profanity and descriptions of drug abuse, sexually explicit conduct, and torture."
Challenged in Burke Canton (2008) schools in Morganton, NC by parents concerned about the homosexuality, rape, and incest portrayed in the book.

Ulysses, by James Joyce

Burned in the U.S. (1918), Ireland (1922), Canada (1922), England (1923) and banned in England (1929).

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

Challenged at the St. Johns Canton Schools in St. Augustine, FL (1995). Retained on the Round Rock, TX Contained Loftier School reading list (1996) subsequently a challenge that the book was too violent.
Challenged past a fellow member of the Madawaska, ME School Commission (1997) because of the book's language. The 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning novel has been required reading for the advanced placement English language course for half dozen years.
Challenged in the Sarasota Canton, FL schools (1998) because of sexual fabric. Retained on the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 reading listing in Arlington Heights, IL (2006), along with eight other challenged titles. A lath member, elected among promises to bring her Christian beliefs into all board decision-making, raised the controversy based on excerpts from the books she'd found on the Internet.
Challenged in the Coeur d'Alene School District, ID (2007). Some parents say the volume, along with five others, should require parental permission for students to read them.
Pulled from the senior Advanced Placement (AP) English language form at Eastern High School in Louisville, KY (2007) because two parents complained that the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel near antebellum slavery depicted the inappropriate topics of bestiality, racism, and sex. The chief ordered teachers to start over with The Scarlet Alphabetic character by Nathaniel Hawthorne in preparation for upcoming AP exams.

The Lord of the Flies, past William Golding

Challenged at the Dallas, TX Independent School District high school libraries (1974).
Challenged at the Sully Buttes, SD High Schoolhouse (1981). Challenged at the Owen, NC High School (1981) considering the volume is "demoralizing inasmuch every bit it implies that man is little more than than an animate being."
Challenged at the Marana, AZ Loftier School (1983) equally an inappropriate reading assignment.
Challenged at the Olney, TX Independent School District (1984) because of "excessive violence and bad language." A committee of the Toronto, Canada Board of Education ruled on June 23, 1988, that the novel is "racist and recommended that information technology be removed from all schools." Parents and members of the blackness customs complained about a reference to "niggers" in the book and said it denigrates blacks.
Challenged in the Waterloo, IA schools (1992) because of profanity, lurid passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women and the disabled.
Challenged, merely retained on the ninth-grade accelerated English reading listing in Bloomfield, NY (2000).

1984, by George Orwell

Challenged in the Jackson County, FL (1981) because Orwell's novel is "pro-communist and contained explicit sexual matter."

Lolita, past Vladimir Nabokov

Banned as obscene in France (1956-1959), in England (1955-59), in Argentina (1959), and in New Zealand (1960). The South African Directorate of Publications appear on November 27, 1982, that Lolita has been taken off the banned list, viii years after a request for permission to market place the novel in paperback had been refused.
Challenged at the Marion-Levy Public Library System in Ocala, FL (2006). The Marion Canton commissioners voted to have the county attorney review the novel that addresses the themes of pedophilia and incest, to make up one's mind if information technology meets the state law'south definition of "unsuitable for minors."

Of Mice and Men, past John Steinbeck

Banned in Republic of ireland (1953); Syracuse, IN (1974); Oil City, PA (I977); Grand Blanc, MI (1979); Continental, OH (1980) and other communities.
Challenged in Greenville, SC (1977) by the Fourth Province of the Knights of the Ku Klux KIan; Vernon Verona Sherill, NY School Commune (1980); St. David, AZ (1981) and Tell Metropolis, IN (1982) due to "profanity and using God'due south proper name in vain."
Banned from classroom use at the Scottsboro, AL Skyline High School (1983) due to "profanity." The Knoxville, TN School Board chairman vowed to take "filthy books" removed from Knoxville'southward public schools (1984) and picked Steinbeck'south novel as the first target due to "its vulgar linguistic communication."
Reinstated at the Christian County, KY school libraries and English language classes (1987) afterward existence challenged equally vulgar and offensive.
Challenged in the Marion Canton, WV schools (1988), at the Wheaton Warrenville, IL Middle School (1988), and at the Berrien Springs, MI Loftier School (1988) because the volume contains profanity.
Removed from the Northside High School in Tuscaloosa, AL (1989) because the book "has profane use of God's name."
Challenged as a summertime youth program reading consignment in Chattanooga, TN (1989) because "Steinbeck is known to have had an anti business mental attitude." In addition, "he was very questionable every bit to his patriotism." Removed from all reading lists and collected at the White Chapel High School in Pino Barefaced, AR (1989) considering of objections to linguistic communication.
Challenged equally appropriate for loftier school reading lists in the Shelby County, TN school organization (1989) because the novel contains "offensive linguistic communication."
Challenged, but retained in a Salina, KS (1990) tenth form English language class despite concerns that information technology contains "profanity" and "takes the Lord's name in vain."
Challenged by a Fresno, CA (1991) parent every bit a tenth form English college preparatory curriculum assignment, citing profanity" and "racial slurs." The book was retained, and the child of the objecting parent was provided with an culling reading assignment. Challenged in the Rivera, TX schools (1990) because it contains profanity.
Challenged as curriculum material at the Ringgold High School in Carroll Township, PA (1991) because the novel contains terminology offensive to blacks. Removed and after returned to the Suwannee, FL High School library (1991) considering the book is "indecent"
Challenged at the Jacksboro, TN High School (1991) considering the novel contains "blasphemous" language, excessive blasphemous, and sexual overtones.
Challenged as required reading in the Buckingham Canton, VA schools (1991) considering of profanity. In 1992 a coalition of community members and clergy in Mobile, AL requested that local school officials form a special textbook screening commission to "weed out objectionable things." Steinbeck's novel was the get-go target because it contains "profanity" and "morbid and depressing themes."
Temporarily removed from the Hamilton, OH Loftier Schoolhouse reading listing (1992) after a parent complained about its vulgarity and racial slurs.
Challenged in the Waterloo, IA schools (1992) and the Duval County, FL public school libraries (1992) because of profanity, pulp passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women, and the disabled.
Challenged at the Modesto, CA High School as recommended reading (1992) considering of "offensive and racist language." The word "nigger" appears in the volume.
Challenged at the Oak Hill High School in Alexandria, LA (1992) because of profanity. Challenged as an appropriate English curriculum assignment at the Mingus, AZ Marriage High Schoolhouse (1993) because of "profane language, moral statement, treatment of the retarded, and the tearing ending."
Pulled from a classroom past the Putnam Canton, TN school superintendent (1994) "due to the language." Afterwards, afterwards discussions with the school district counsel, information technology was reinstated.
The book was challenged in the Loganville, GA High School (1994) because of its "vulgar linguistic communication throughout."
Challenged in the Galena, KS schoolhouse library (1995) because of the book'due south language and social implications.
Retained in the Bemidji, MN schools (1995) after challenges to the book's "objectionable" linguistic communication. Challenged at the Stephens County High Schoolhouse library in Toccoa, GA (I995) because of "expletive words." The book was retained.
Challenged, but retained in a Warm Springs, VA High School (1995) English class. Banned from the Washington Junior High School curriculum in Republic of peru, IL (1997) because it was deemed "historic period inappropriate."
Challenged, but retained, in the Louisville, OH high school English classes (1997) considering of profanity.
Removed, restored, restricted, and eventually retained at the Bay County schools in Panama Urban center, FL (1997). A citizen group, the 100 Black United, Inc., requested the novel'south removal and "any other inadmissible literary books that have racial slurs in them, such as the using of the word 'Nigger.'"
Challenged as a reading list assignment for a 9th grade literature class, only retained at the Sauk Rapids Rice High School in St. Cloud, MN (1997). A parent complained that the book'southward use of racist language led to racist behavior and racial harassment.
Challenged in O'Hara Park Middle School classrooms in Oakley, CA (1998) considering it contains racial epithets.
Challenged, simply retained, in the Bryant, AR school library (1998) because of a parent'south complaint that the book "takes God's name in vain 15 times and uses Jesus's proper noun lightly."
Challenged at the Barron, WI School District (1998). Challenged, but retained in the sophomore curriculum at West Middlesex, PA High School (1999) despite objections to the novel's profanity.
Challenged in the Tomah, WI School Commune (1999) because the novel is violent and contains obscenities.
Challenged as required reading at the high schoolhouse in Grandville, MI (2002) because the book "is full of racism, profanity, and foul language."
Banned from the George Canton, MS schools (2002) because of profanity. Challenged in the Normal, IL Customs Loftier Schools (2003) because the books contains "racial slurs, profanity, violence, and does not represent traditional values." An alternative book, Steinbeck's The Pearl, was offered only rejected by the family challenging the novel. The commission then recommended The House on Mango Street and The Way to Rainy Mountain as alternatives.
Retained in the Greencastle-Antrim, PA (2006) tenth-course English classes. A complaint was filed considering of "racial slurs" and profanity used throughout the novel. The book has been used in the loftier school for more than thirty years, and those who object to its content have the option of reading an culling reading.
Challenged at the Newton, IA High School (2007) considering of concerns nearly profanity and the portrayal of Jesus Christ. Newton Loftier School has required students to read the volume since at to the lowest degree the early 1980s. In neighboring Des Moines, it is on the recommended reading list for ninth-grade English, and it is used for some special educational activity students in the eleventh and 12th grades.
Retained in the Olathe, KS 9th grade curriculum (2007) despite a parent calling the novel a "worthless, profanity-riddled volume" which is "derogatory towards African Americans, women, and the developmentally disabled."

Catch-22, past Joseph Heller

Banned in Strongsville, OH (1972), just the school lath'due south action was overturned in 1976 by a U.S. District Courtroom in Minarcini v. Strongsville Urban center School District.
Challenged at the Dallas, TX Independent School District high school libraries (1974); in Snoqualmie, WA (1979) because of its several references to women every bit "whores."

Brave New Globe, by Aldous Huxley

Banned in Ireland (1932). Removed from classrooms in Miller, MO (1980), because information technology makes promiscuous sexual practice "expect like fun."
Challenged ofttimes throughout the The statesas required reading. Challenged equally required reading at the Yukon, OK Loftier School (1988) considering of "the book's language and moral content."
Challenged every bit required reading in the Corona-Norco, CA Unified School District (1993) because it is "centered around negative activity." Specifically, parents objected that the characters' sexual behavior directly opposed the health curriculum, which taught sexual abstinence until union. The book was retained, and teachers selected alternatives if students object to Huxley's novel.
Removed from the Foley, AL High School Library (2000) pending review, because a parent complained that its characters showed contempt for faith, matrimony, and family unit. The parent complained to the school and to Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.
Challenged, merely retained in the S Texas Independent School District in Mercedes, TX (2003). Parents objected to the adult themes—sexuality, drugs, suicide—that appeared in the novel. Huxley'southward volume was function of the summer Scientific discipline University curriculum. The lath voted to give parents more control over their children's choices by requiring principals to automatically offering an alternative to a challenged book.
Retained in the Coeur D'Alene, ID School Commune (2008) despite objections that the book has besides many references to sex and drug use.

Animal Subcontract, by George Orwell

A Wisconsin survey revealed in 1963 that the John Birch Lodge had challenged the novel's use; it objected to the words "masses will revolt." In 1968, the New York State English language Council's Committee on Defense Against Censorship conducted a comparable written report in New York State English classrooms. Its findings identified the novel on its list of "problem books"; the reason cited was that "Orwell was a communist."
Suppressed from being displayed at the 1977 Moscow, Russia International Book Fair.
A survey of censorship challenges in the schools, conducted in DeKalb County for the menstruum of 1979 to 1982, revealed that the novel had been objected to for its political theories.
Banned from Bay Canton'south four middle schools and three loftier schools in Panama Urban center, FL past the Bay County school superintendent in 1987. After 44 parents filed a arrange confronting the commune claiming that its instructional aids policy denies constitutional rights, the Bay County School Lath reinstated the book, along with sixty-iv others banned.
Banned from schools in the United Arab Emirates, along with 125 others in 2002. The Ministry building of Didactics banned it on the grounds that it contains written or illustrated material that contradicts Islamic and Arab values—in this text, pictures of alcoholic drinks, pigs, and other "indecent images."

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway

Banned in Boston, MA (1930), Ireland (1953), Riverside, CA (1960), San Jose, CA (1960).
Burned in Nazi bonfires in Germany (1933).

Equally I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner

Banned in the Graves County Schoolhouse District in Mayfield, KY (1986) because it contains "offensive and obscene passages referring to abortion and used God's name in vain." The decision was reversed a week later after intense pressure from the ACLU and considerable negative publicity.
Challenged as a required reading assignment in an advanced English class of Pulaski Canton Loftier School in Somerset, KY (1987) because the book contains "profanity and a segment about masturbation."
Challenged, but retained, in the Carroll County, Doc schools (1991). Two school board members were concerned about the book's coarse language and dialect. Banned at Primal High School in Louisville, KY (1994) temporarily because the book uses profanity and questions the being of God.

A Cheerio to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

The June 1929 issue of Scribner'southward Magazine, which ran Hemingway'south novel, was banned in Boston, MA (1929).
Banned in Italy (1929) because of its painfully accurate account of the Italian retreat from Caporetto, Italy.
Burned by the Nazis in Federal republic of germany (1933).
Banned in Ireland (1939). Challenged at the Dallas, TX Independent School Commune high school libraries (1974).
Challenged at the Vernon-Verona-Sherill, NY School District (1980) as a "sex novel."

Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

Challenged for sexual explicitness, but retained on the Stonewall Jackson High School's academically advanced reading list in Brentsville, VA (1997). A parent objected to the novel's language and sexual explicitness.

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

Excerpts banned in Butler, PA (1975).
Removed from the high school English reading list in St. Francis, WI (1975).
Retained in the Yakima, WA schools (1994) later on a 5-month dispute over what advanced loftier school students should read in the classroom. Two parents raised concerns nigh profanity and images of violence and sexuality in the book and requested that information technology be removed from the reading list.

Song of Solomon, past Toni Morrison

Challenged, but retained, in the Columbus, OH schools (1993). The complainant believed that the book contains language degrading to blacks, and is sexually explicit.
Removed from required reading lists and library shelves in the Richmond County, GA. School District (1994) after a parent complained that passages from the book are "filthy and inappropriate."
Challenged at the St. Johns County Schools in St. Augustine, FL (1995). Removed from the St. Mary'south County, Md schools' approved text list (1998) by the superintendent, overruling a kinesthesia committee recommendation. Complainants referred to the novel as "filth," "trash," and "repulsive."
Reinstated in the Shelby, MI schoolhouse Advanced Placement English curriculum (2009), but parents are to be informed in writing and at a meeting near the book'due south content. Students non wanting to read the book can choose an alternative without academic penalty. The superintendent had suspended the volume from the curriculum.

Gone with the Air current, past Margaret Mitchell

Banned from Anaheim, CA Wedlock High Schoolhouse District English classrooms (1978).
Challenged in Waukegan, IL Schoolhouse Commune (1984) because the novel uses the word "nigger."

Native Son, past Richard Wright

Challenged in Goffstown, NH (1978); Elmwood Park, NJ (1978) due to "objectionable" language; and North Adams, MA (1981) due to the book's "violence, sex, and profanity."
Challenged at the Berrian Springs, MI High School in classrooms and libraries (1988) because the novel is "vulgar, profane, and sexually explicit."
Retained in the Yakima, WA schools (1994) after a five-month dispute over what avant-garde loftier school students should read in the classroom. Two parents raised concerns near profanity and images of violence and sexuality in the book and requested that it be removed from the reading listing.
Challenged as office of the reading listing for Avant-garde Placement English classes at Northwest High Schoolhouse in Loftier Point, NC (1996). The book was challenged because it is "sexually graphic and violent."
Removed from Irvington High School in Fremont, CA (1998) after a few parents complained the book was unnecessarily violent and sexually explicit.
Challenged in the Hamilton High School curriculum in Fort Wayne, IN (1998) because of the novel's graphic linguistic communication and sexual content.

1 Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, past Ken Kesey

Challenged in the Greeley, CO public schoolhouse district (1971) as a non-required American Civilisation reading.
In 1974, five residents of Strongsville, OH, sued the board of instruction to remove the novel. Labeling it "pornographic," they charged the novel "glorifies criminal activity, has a trend to corrupt juveniles and contains descriptions of animality, bizarre violence, and torture, dismemberment, death, and human elimination."
Removed from public school libraries in Randolph, NY, and Alton, OK (1975).
Removed from the required reading list in Westport, MA (1977).
Banned from the St. Anthony, ID Freemont High School classrooms (1978) and the instructor fired. The instructor sued. A conclusion in the case—Fogarty v. Atchley—was never published.
Challenged at the Merrimack, NH High School (1982).
Challenged as role of the curriculum in an Aberdeen, WA High Schoolhouse honors English class (1986) because the volume promotes "secular humanism." The school board voted to retain the title.
Challenged at the Placentia-Yorba Linda, CA Unified School District (2000) afterwards complaints by parents stated that teachers "tin can choose the best books, just they keep choosing this garbage over and over over again."

Abattoir Five, past Kurt Vonnegut

Challenged in many communities, only burned in Drake, ND (1973).
Banned in Rochester, MI because the novel "contains and makes references to religious matters" and thus fell within the ban of the establishment clause. An appellate courtroom upheld its usage in the school in Todd v Rochester Customs Schools, 41 Mich. App. 320, 200 North. W 2d 90 (1972).
Banned in Levittown, NY (1975), North Jackson, OH (1979), and Lakeland, FL (1982) because of the "book'south explicit sexual scenes, violence, and obscene language."
Barred from purchase at the Washington Park High School in Racine, WI (1984) by the commune administrative banana for instructional services.
Challenged at the Owensboro, KY Loftier School library (1985) because of "foul language, a section depicting a motion picture of an act of bestiality, a reference to 'Magic Fingers' attached to the protagonist'due south bed to help him slumber, and the sentence: 'The gun made a ripping audio like the opening of the fly of God Omnipotent."'
Restricted to students who have parental permission at the four Racine, WI Unified District high school libraries (1986) considering of "language used in the volume, depictions of torture, ethnic slurs, and negative portrayals of women."
Challenged at the LaRue County, KY High School library (1987) because "the book contains foul language and promotes deviant sexual behavior."
Banned from the Fitzgerald, GA schools (1987) because it was filled with profanity and full of explicit sexual references:' Challenged in the Billy Rouge, LA public high school libraries (1988) because the volume is "vulgar and offensive:'
Challenged in the Monroe, MI public schools (1989) as required reading in a modem novel grade for loftier school juniors and seniors because of the book's language and the way women are portrayed.
Retained on the Round Rock, TX Independent High Schoolhouse reading list (1996) after a claiming that the book was too violent.
Challenged equally an eleventh grade summertime reading option in Prince William County, VA (1998) because the book "was rife with profanity and explicit sex:"
Removed as required reading for sophomores at the Coventry, RI Loftier Schoolhouse (2000) after a parent complained that information technology contains vulgar language, violent imagery, and sexual content.
Retained on the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 reading list in Arlington Heights, IL (2006), along with eight other challenged titles. A board member, elected among promises to bring her Christian behavior into all board conclusion-making, raised the controversy based on excerpts from the books she'd found on the internet.
Challenged in the Howell, MI Loftier Schoolhouse (2007) because of the book'due south strong sexual content. In response to a request from the president of the Livingston Organization for Values in Pedagogy, or Love, the county's top police enforcement official reviewed the books to run across whether laws against distribution of sexually explicit materials to minors had been broken. "After reading the books in question, it is clear that the explicit passages illustrated a larger literary, artistic or political message and were not included solely to appeal to the prurient interests of minors," the canton prosecutor wrote. "Whether these materials are appropriate for minors is a conclusion to be made by the school lath, but I notice that they are not in violation of criminal laws."

For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway

Declared non-mailable by the U.S. Post Office (1940). On February. 21, 1973, eleven Turkish volume publishers went on trial before an Istanbul martial law tribunal on charges of publishing, possessing, and selling books in violation of an order of the Istanbul martial law control. They faced possible sentences of between one month'southward and six months' imprisonment "for spreading propaganda unfavorable to the state" and the confiscation of their books. 8 booksellers too were on trial with the publishers on the aforementioned charge involving For Whom the Bong Tolls.

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

Banned in Italia (1929), Yugoslavia (1929), and burned in Nazi bonfires (1933).

Get Tell Information technology on the Mount, by James Baldwin

Challenged as required reading in the Hudson Falls, NY schools (1994) considering the book has recurring themes of rape, masturbation, violence, and degrading treatment of women.
Challenged as a ninth-form summer reading option in Prince William County, VA (1988) because the volume is "rife with profanity and explicit sex."

All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren

Challenged at the Dallas, TX Independent Schoolhouse District high school libraries (1974).

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Burned in Alamagordo, NM (2001) exterior Christ Community Church building along with other Tolkien novels equally satanic.

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair

Banned from public libraries in Yugoslavia (1929). Burned in the Nazi bonfires considering of Sinclair'due south socialist views (1933).
Banned in E Germany (1956) equally inimical to communism.
Banned in Republic of korea (1985).

Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence

Banned past U.S. Customs (1929).
Banned in Ireland (1932), Poland (1932), Australia (1959), Nihon (1959), India (1959).
Banned in Canada (1960) until 1962.
Broadcasting of Lawrence'due south novel has been stopped in China (1987) because the book "volition corrupt the minds of young people and is also confronting the Chinese tradition."

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

In 1973 a bookseller in Orem, UT was arrested for selling the novel. Charges were later dropped, but the book seller was forced to close the store and relocate to another city.
Removed from Aurora, CO high school (1976) due to "objectionable" language and from high school classrooms in Westport, MA (1977) because of "objectionable" language.
Removed from ii Anniston, AL Loftier school libraries (1982), just later on reinstated on a restricted basis.

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin

Retained on the Northwestern Suburban Loftier School District 214 reading list in Arlington Heights, IL along with eight other challenged titles in 2006. A board member, elected amid promises to bring her Christian beliefs into all lath decision-making, raised the controversy based on excerpts from the books she'd found on the Internet.
Start published in 1899, this novel so disturbed critics and the public that it was banished for decades later on.

In Cold Claret, by Truman Capote

Banned, merely later reinstated after community protests at the Windsor Forest Loftier School in Savannah, GA (2000). The controversy began in early 1999 when a parent complained virtually sex, violence, and profanity in the book that was part of an Advanced Placement English Grade.

Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie

Banned in Pakistan, Kingdom of saudi arabia, Arab republic of egypt, Somalia, Sudan, People's republic of bangladesh, Malaysia, Quatar, Indonesia, S Africa, and India because of its criticism of Islam.
Burned in West Yorkshire, England (1989) and temporarily withdrawn from two bookstores on the advice of police who took threats to staff and holding seriously.
In Pakistan five people died in riots against the book. Another human died a day later in Kashmir.
Ayatollah Khomeni issued a fatwa or religious edict, stating, "I inform the proud Muslim people of the earth that the author of the Satanic Verses, which is against Islam, the prophet, and the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who were aware of its content, have been sentenced to expiry."
Challenged at the Wichita, KS Public Library (1989) because the volume is "blasphemous to the prophet Mohammed."
In Venezuela, owning or reading it was alleged a crime under penalty of xv months' imprisonment.
In Japan, the sale of the English-linguistic communication edition was banned under the threat of fines.
The governments of Republic of bulgaria and Poland too restricted its distribution.
In 1991, in separate incidents, Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator, was stabbed to death and its Italian translator, Ettore Capriolo, was seriously wounded. In 1993 William Nygaard, its Norwegian publisher, was shot and seriously injured.

Sophie's Choice, past William Styron

Banned in Due south Africa in 1979.
Returned to La Mirada Loftier School library (CA) in 2002 after a complaint about its sexual content prompted the school to pull the award-winning novel about a tormented Holocaust survivor.

Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence

In 1961 an Oklahoma City group called Mothers United for Decency hired a trailer, dubbed information technology "smutmobile," and displayed books accounted objectionable, including Lawrence's novel.

True cat'southward Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

The Strongsville, Ohio School Board (1972) voted to withdraw this title from the school library; this action was overturned in 1976 by a U.South. District Courtroom in Minarcini five. Strongsville City Schoolhouse Commune, 541 F. 2d 577 (sixth Cir. 1976).
Challenged at Merrimack, NH High School (1982).

A Separate Peace, by John Knowles

Challenged in Vernon-Verona-Sherill, NY School Commune (1980) equally a "filthy, trashy sex novel."
Challenged at the Fannett-Metal High Schoolhouse in Shippensburg, PA (1985) because of its allegedly offensive language.
Challenged equally appropriate for high school reading lists in the Shelby County, TN school system (1989) because the novel contains "offensive language."
Challenged, but retained in the Champaign, IL high school English classes (1991) despite claims that "unsuitable language" makes it inappropriate.
Challenged by the parent of a loftier school student in Troy, IL (1991) citing profanity and negative attitudes. Students were offered alternative assignments while the school board took the matter under advisement, only no further activeness was taken on the complaint.
Challenged at the McDowell County, NC schools (1996) because of "graphic language."

Naked Lunch, by William South. Burroughs

Establish obscene in Boston, MA Superior Court (1965). The finding was reversed by the Land Supreme Court the following year.

Brideshead Revisited, past Evelyn Waugh

Alabama Representative Gerald Allen (R-Cottondale) proposed legislation that would prohibit the use of public funds for the "purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality every bit an acceptable lifestyle." The beak also proposed that novels with gay protagonists and college textbooks that propose homosexuality is natural would have to exist removed from library shelves and destroyed. The bill would impact all Alabama school, public, and university libraries. While it would ban books likeHeather Has 2 Mommies, it could also include classic and popular novels with gay characters such asBrideshead Revisited,The Color Purple orThe Picture of Dorian Grayness (2005).

Women in Love, by DH Lawrence

Seized by John Summers of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and declared obscene (1922).

The Naked and the Dead, past Norman Mailer

Banned in Canada (1949) and Australia (1949).

Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller

Banned from U.Southward. Customs (1934).
The U.S. Supreme Court found the novel non obscene (1964). Banned in Turkey (1986).

An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser

Banned in Boston, MA (1927) and burned by the Nazis in Germany (1933) considering it "deals with low love affairs."

Rabbit, Run, by John Updike

Banned in Republic of ireland in 1962 because the Irish Board of Censors institute the work "obscene" and "indecent," objecting specially to the author'due south handling of the characters' sexuality, the "explicit sex activity acts" and "promiscuity." The work was officially banned from sales in Ireland until the introduction of the revised Censorship Publications Neb in 1967.
Restricted to high school students with parental permission in the vi Aroostock County, ME community loftier school libraries (1976) because of passages in the volume dealing with sex and an extramarital affair.
Removed from the required reading list for English grade at the Medicine Bow, WY Junior Loftier Schoolhouse (1986) because of sexual references and profanity in the book.

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Source: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics