Banned Books Reading List
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Banned Books Week is held every year from September 22nd-28th to recognize books that have been banned and challenged across the country. The American Library Association explains, “the annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.” We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite banned books that we keep on our shelves year-round.
{{ product: 9780671027346 }}Chbosky gives us a window into the hilarity and hijinks of the hallowed halls of any given high school experience. It’s a gauntlet of love and lockers as Charlie attempts to make sense of — and hopefully make it through — the gruel of growing up.
The very first novel by the indelible Toni Morrison explores America’s unflinching obsession with beauty through the eyes of 11-year-old Pecola, who prays for blue eyes. Sharp and insightful, Morrison’s narratives always retain an almost prophetic cultural relevance, and Bluest Eye is no different.
The Color Purple is an iconic novel, and this exclusive edition in celebration of its 40th anniversary is stunning. Revisit the often tragic, always uplifting story of Celie and Nettie, separated sisters who carry on through letters. It delivers on so many emotional levels and is required reading for anyone.
This timeless tale of fathers and sons, class and wealth, and of the history and future of Afghanistan is told through the eyes of two boys, best friends against all odds. It’s a story of sin and redemption that asks the question, what can (and can’t) be redeemed?
A profound story of trauma, memory and community, Nineteen Minutes takes readers into the heart of a small town grappling with the aftermath of a senseless tragedy.
Set in the religious patriarchy of Gilead, The Handmaid’s Tale is a haunting narrative of what America could be. As the threat of Gilead looms ever closer, this seems less like a dystopian novel and more like a prescient warning. Read it before you live it.