Voidly · Verboten · United States
Banned and restricted books in United States
8,009 titles have been banned or restricted in United States, recorded across 22,941 dated, source-cited events, most often for immorality.
Titles
8,009
Ban events
22,941
Top reason
Immorality
Decades active
21
Most-restricted titles
| Title | Author | Year | Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| Looking for Alaska | John Green | 2005 | 147 |
| Nineteen Minutes | Jodi Picoult | 2007 | 142 |
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Stephen Chbosky | 1999 | 137 |
| Sold | Patricia McCormick | 2006 | 137 |
| Crank | Ellen Hopkins | 2004 | 129 |
| Thirteen Reasons Why | Jay Asher | 2007 | 128 |
| Tricks | Ellen Hopkins | 2009 | 118 |
| The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | 2003 | 117 |
| The Bluest Eye | Toni Morrison | 1970 | 115 |
| A Court of Mist and Fury | Sarah J. Maas | 2016 | 113 |
| Identical | Ellen Hopkins | 2008 | 110 |
| The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | 1985 | 108 |
| Water for Elephants | Sara Gruen | 2006 | 102 |
| All Boys Aren't Blue | George M. Johnson | 2020 | 101 |
| A Court of Thorns and Roses | Sarah J. Maas | 2015 | 101 |
| The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian | Sherman Alexie | 2007 | 100 |
| Empire of Storms | Sarah J. Maas | 2016 | 100 |
| Out of Darkness | Ashley Hope Perez | 2015 | 99 |
| A Court of Wings and Ruin | Sarah J. Maas | 2017 | 95 |
| Gender Queer: A Memoir | Maia Kobabe | 2019 | 93 |
| The Hate U Give | Angie Thomas | 2017 | 86 |
| Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | Jesse Andrews | 2012 | 86 |
| A Court of Frost and Starlight | Sarah J. Maas | 2020 | 86 |
| Tilt | Ellen Hopkins | 2012 | 84 |
| Lucky | Alice Sebold | 2000 | 83 |
| Perfect | Sara Shepard | 2006 | 82 |
| Beloved | Toni Morrison | 1987 | 78 |
| Forever | Maggie Stiefvater | 2011 | 76 |
| Living Dead Girl | Elizabeth Scott | 2008 | 72 |
| Damsel | Elana K. Arnold | 2018 | 71 |
Stated reasons
- Immorality
- 12,133
- Sexual content
- 9,989
- Violence
- 7,606
- LGBTQ+ content
- 7,050
- Race / colonialism
- 3,685
- Political content
- 2,546
- Offensive language
- 2,368
- Drugs / substance use
- 1,588
- Other
- 1,003
- Religious / blasphemy
- 978
By decade
1650s1
1730s1
1820s1
1830s2
1850s1
1870s2
1880s5
1890s1
1900s1
1910s4
1920s11
1930s10
1940s5
1950s20
1960s5
1970s14
1980s23
1990s33
2000s93
2010s189
2020s22,517
Documented bans
A sample of 50 of 23,105 recorded events, most severe and most recent first. Each links to its source where available.
Gender Identity (Teen Mental Health)2025
Gender Issues (Living with a Special Need)2025
Jack (Not Jackie)2025
Attack on Titan (Series, Title Not Specified)2025
Life During the Great Civilizations (Series, Title Not Specified)2025
Mythology (Eyewitness)2025
Forever2025
Violence in the Media2025
Weapons of Mass Destruction2025
Chainsaw Man2025
Children of the Sea2025
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure2025
Locke & Key2025
Man-Eaters2025
Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt2025
My Hero Academia2025
Ranma 1/22025
The Iliad2025
Ajin: Demi-Human2025
Black Clover2025
Forever2025
Noragami: Stray God2025
Not Your Idol2025
ONE PIECE2025
Pandora Hearts2025
Pokémon: Sun & Moon2025
Princess Jellyfish2025
Psyren2025
Riverdale: All-New Stories2025
RWBY: Official Manga Anthology2025
Shaolin Sisters2025
Sherlock Bones2025
Splatoon Squid Kids Comedy Show2025
The Earl & the Fairy2025
The Hardy Boys Graphic Novels: Undercover Brothers2025
Tilt2025
Van Von Hunter2025
A Thousand Splendid Suns2025
Blood of my Blood2025
Grim2025
Into the Garden2025
The Human Stain2025
Breathless2025
Heartstopper, Vol. 52025
Last Night at the Telegraph Club2025
Out of Darkness2025
Wander in the Dark2025
A Court of Frost and Starlight2025
A Court of Silver Flames2025
A Court of Wings and Ruin2025
Source: Verboten, built on the banned-books.org Open Censorship Core (CC BY 4.0). Verboten compilation CC BY 4.0.