Quiz

BuzzFeed Staff

Books

You might know which books have caused trouble, but do you know WHY? (Based on American Library Association information, found <a href="http://www.ala.org/bbooks/banned" target="_blank">here</a>.)

You might know which books have caused trouble, but do you know WHY? (Based on American Library Association information, found here.)

How Well Do You Know Your Banned Books?

In 2002, residents of Cromwell, CT, called the book "satanic" and "a danger to our children" and asked that it be banned from middle school libraries. Other censors have pointed to the protagonist Jess' use of "Lord" as an expletive, Leslie's refusal to go to church, and their indulgence in a fantasy world as promotion of secular humanism or the occult.

"Bridge To Terabithia" 

Reasoning? Take your pick: It was challenged on a Tampa, FL reading list in 2013 because “it deals with 
sexual situations and drug use"; in New York, in 2011, for "deal[ing] graphically with teenage sex, 
homosexuality, and bestiality"; or, in Roanoke, VA, its "explicit descriptions... of suicide and masturbation."

"The Perks Of Being A Wallflower"

The series about four friends and their shared pair of pants is squeaky clean enough to have pleased censors, readers, and readers' parents, unlike "Twilight", "Gossip Girl", and "ttyl" (among which there wasn't only sex, but also "offensive language," "violence," and "religious viewpoints.")

"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"

The image, from the 1987 debut, of a topless sunbather being startled with some water was enough to get the book (and subsequent volumes) banned from school libraries across the country. The biggest problem? If you look closely at the side boob — which measures 1/16" in the actual book, so get real close — it apparently looks like a small black dot is an erect nipple.

Side boob!

Barbara Ehrenreich's look at low-wage America was unsuccessfully challenged after it was placed on an AP English reading list in Easton, PA for being “faddish,” of “no moral value,” and “obscene.”

"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America"

With its offensive language (the villain is called "Mean Old Mr. Krupp," plus there are multiple references to underwear), partial nudity (again, the underpants), violence (against robots), and anti-authoritarian misbehavior (that one's right on the money), it's no wonder parents have been in an uproar over this graphic series for the past two years.

"Captain Underpants"

Nope, it wasn't a "religious viewpoint" that made this children's classic one of the ten most-challenged books in 2004 — it was claims of its nudity, offensive language, and sex.

"In The Night Kitchen"

Duh. It's sex education! (And, depending on the book, it's homosexuality, nudity, abortion, or discussion of sexual content.) What's it doing in a place of education, like, you know, school?

All of the above

The trilogy was especially problematic in 2011, with challenges claiming it wasn't just anti-ethnic and anti-family, but also that promoted insensitivity, offensive language, the occult, and violence. In 2010, one parent in Goffstown, NH even stated that it could "numb other students to the effects of violence."

"The Hunger Games"

Hemingway's authored three frequently-challenged classics ("The Sun Also Rises", "A Farewell To Arms", and "For Whom The Bell Tolls") but Steinbeck, Morrison, and Vonnegut aren't far behind with two books each.

Ernest Hemingway

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How Well Do You Know Your Banned Books?

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