Attempts to ban books from school libraries in America are on track to rise again this school year, after reaching historic highs last year, a pair of national reports has found.
The most challenged book for the second year in a row was Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer,” a memoir about being gender nonbinary, the ALA found. Of the 10 most challenged titles, five feature LGBTQ content or characters and five feature protagonists of color.
It is almost impossible to know the exact numbers, said Friedman, because challenges often last for months on end and districts do not always announce the outcomes. And with the decline of local news outlets, there are few media organizations able to follow book banning efforts at the district level, he said. PEN America tried to follow up to determine the outcome in every case, but was often unable to find clear answers or received no replies.
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