NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 With Florida legislators barring even the mention of being gay in classrooms and similar restrictions under consideration in other states, a report released Monday says books with LGBTQ+ themes remain the most likely targets of bans or attempted bans at public schools and libraries around the country.
The announced that Maia Kobabe鈥檚 graphic memoir 鈥淕ender Queer鈥 was the most 鈥渃hallenged鈥 book of 2022, it has topped the list.
The ALA defines a challenge as a 鈥渇ormal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.鈥
Other books facing similar trials include George M. Johnson鈥檚 鈥淎ll Boys Aren鈥檛 Blue,鈥 Mike Curato鈥檚 鈥淔lamer,鈥 Stephen Chbosky鈥檚 鈥淭he Perks of Being a Wallflower,鈥 John Green鈥檚 鈥淟ooking for Alaska,鈥 Jonathan Evison鈥檚 鈥淟awn Boy鈥 and Juno Dawson鈥檚 鈥淭his Book Is Gay.鈥
鈥淎ll the challenges are openly saying that young people should not be exposed to LGBTQ materials,鈥 said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA鈥檚 Office for Intellectual Freedom.
The list also includes Toni Morrison鈥檚 first novel, the 1970 release 鈥淭he Bluest Eye,鈥 which has been criticized for its references to rape and incest; Sherman Alexie鈥檚 鈥淭he Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian鈥 (sexual content, profanity) and Sarah J. Maas鈥 鈥淎 Court of Mist and Fury鈥 (sexual content).
The ALA usually compiles a Top 10 list, but this year expanded it to 13 because the books ranked 10 to 13 were in a virtual tie.
鈥淚n the past, when it was that close, we would flip a coin to see who got in the list. This year, we got rid of the coin,鈥 Caldwell-Stone said.
The ALA last month reported there were more than 1,200 complaints in 2022 involving more than 2,500 different books, the highest totals since the association began compiling complaints 20 years ago. The number is likely much higher because the ALA relies on media reports and accounts from libraries.
In charts accompanying Monday鈥檚 announcement, the ALA reported the majority of complaints 鈥 nearly 60% 鈥 come from parents and library patrons. 鈥淧olitical/religious鈥 groups such as account for just 17% of complaints, but they object to a disproportionate number of books, according to Caldwell-Stone. Moms for Liberty, which advocates for parental rights in schools, objected to more than 1,000 books in 2022.
Caldwell-Stone cited the web site , a popular resource for conservatives to evaluate books that defines itself as “unaffiliated” with Moms for Liberty, but does “communicate with other individuals and groups with whom there is an intersection of mission and values.”
鈥淢any of the books on our most challenged list appear on booklooks,鈥 Caldwell-Stone said.
The ALA list followed last week鈥檚 report from PEN America, which found a continued rise in book bans at public schools during the first half of the 2022-2023 academic year.
According to PEN, there were 1,477 individual book bans affecting 874 different titles, up from 1,149 bans in the second half of 2021-2022. 鈥淕ender Queer鈥 and 鈥淔lamer鈥 tied at 15 for the most times banned during the more recent period, with other frequently banned books including 鈥淭he Bluest Eye," 鈥淎 Court of Mist and Fury鈥 and a graphic novel edition of Margaret Atwood's dystopian 鈥淭he Handmaid's Tale.鈥
