“I never knew a girl who was ruined by a book.” — Nadine Gordimer |
10 Most Challenged Books of 2008
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1. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches. Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint and unsuited to age group. |
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2. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman The Golden Compass The Subtle Knife The Amber Spyglass Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North. Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint and violence. |
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3. ttyl, ttfn and l8r, g8r Series by Lauren Myracle Chronicles, in IM format, the day-to-day experiences, feelings and plans of three friends, Zoe, Maddie and Angela. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit and unsuited to age group. |
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4. Scary Stories Series by Alvin Schwartz Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark More Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones Stories of ghosts and witches, "jump" stories, scary songs and modern-day scary stories. Reasons: religious viewpoint. |
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5. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya A young Chicano's journeys in rural New Mexico in the 1940s with a curandera who explores good and evil, magic and spirituality. Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit and violence. |
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6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie is navigating through the strange worlds of love, drugs, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and dealing with the loss of a good friend and his favorite aunt. Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide and unsuited to age group. |
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7. Gossip Girl Series |
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8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding |
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9. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Traces the unlikely friendship of a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son in a tale that spans the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of the present day. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit and unsuited to age group. |
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10. Flashcards of My Life by Charise Mericle Harper Emily's life in junior high school and at home is revealed as she uses the journaling flashcards her Aunt Chester sent as a birthday gift to help sort through changing friendships, possible boyfriends and her mother's obsession with nutty desserts. Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group. |
Source: American Library Association
Updated: August 19, 2009