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Banned Books

Guide to Banned Books Week which celebrates the freedom to read and highlights frequently challenged or banned books.

Edgy cutout artwork of mutlicolored books with bold black cutout text "We read banned books"

Top Most Challenged Books of 2023

The American Library Association (ALA) documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship in 2023—a 65% surge over 2022 numbers—as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year, accounting for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023.

The top 10 titles targeted in 2023 are listed below. View more information, such as the number of documented challenges and the reasons for those challenges on the ALA's Top 10 Most Challenged Books webpage.

SOLD (2014)

Based on the eponymous bestselling book by Patricia McCormick, and a Top Challenged Book of 2023, SOLD (2014) is a film directed by Jeffrey D. Brown and tells the story of a girl who risks everything for freedom after being trafficked from her mountain village in Nepal to a brothel in India.