As book challenges skyrocket, these are the books Hoosiers tried to ban last year

The number of books being challenged in libraries across the country has skyrocketed.

A report Monday by the America Library Association revealed more than 900 attempts were made last year to remove 4,240 different books from school and public libraries in the United States — the highest levels ever documented by the ALA, according to the organization.

Such efforts, the ALA said, are a far cry from where censorship attempts were roughly a decade ago.

In 2014, the ALA logged 183 challenged book titles. Since 2021, the United States has witnessed a surge in calls to ban or challenge books orchestrated largely by conservative groups such as Moms for Liberty and aided by Republican lawmakers.

Last year in Fishers, members of the Hamilton East Public Library board removed "The Fault in Our Stars," by Indianapolis author John Green — including scores of other books — from the library's teen section due to a policy labeling Green's novel as not "age appropriate."

"The Fault in Our Stars" was returned later to the library's teen section after intense public backlash and what one HEPL board member blamed as a misinterpretation of the board's new relocation policy.

"These are not ordinary times," said Emily Drabinski, president of the American Library Association, in Monday's report. "The unprecedented wave of organized censorship intensifies, particularly in our public libraries."

Public libraries in 2023 experienced a 92% increase in the number of books targeted for relocation or removal from the previous year, according to the ALA.

The organization emphasized that its data is a snapshot of book censorship compiled by librarians and from news stories published throughout the U.S. The actual number of challenges, it said, may in fact be higher.

The ALA reported that groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, "often dozens or hundreds of books at a time," drove last year's surge. Nearly half the books challenged — 47%, the organization said — were stories about people of color, Black and LGBTQ+ Americans.

“Each demand to ban a book is a demand to deny each person’s constitutionally protected right to choose and read books that raise important issues and lift up the voices of those who are often silenced,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom Director, in an earlier news release.

Here's what we know about the books being challenged around the country.

The Top Ten most challenged books of 2023 in the United States

The most frequently challenged books of 2023 in the U.S., according to the ALA, are:

1. “Gender Queer,” by Maia Kobabe (Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit)

2. “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George M. Johnson (Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit)

3. “This Book is Gay,” by Juno Dawson (Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit)

4. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky (Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, profanity)

5. “Flamer,” by Mike Curato (Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit)

6. “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison (Reasons: Rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) content)

7. (TIE) “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” by Jesse Andrews (Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity)

8. (TIE) “Tricks,” by Ellen Hopkins (Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQIA+ content)

9. “Let's Talk About It,” by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan (Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education, LGBTQIA+ content)

10. “Sold,” by Patricia McCormick (Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, rape)

OPINION: Why you should read these 51 banned books now

What states are challenging the most books?

The ALA revealed that 17 U.S. states challenged more than 100 book titles last year. Florida and Texas, by far, challenged the most books in 2023 with a combined total of more than 4,000 titles.

The breakdown of challenges, in which access to each book could be restricted or revoked at a school or public library, is as follows:

• Colorado (12 challenges issued; 142 books targeted)

• Connecticut (17 challenges issued; 113 books targeted)

• Florida (33 challenges issued; 2,672 books targeted)

• Idaho (18 challenges issued; 165 books targeted)

• Illinois (69 challenges issued; 204 books targeted)

• Iowa (16 challenges issued; 259 books targeted)

• Kentucky (11 challenges issued; 448 books targeted)

• Maryland (13 challenges issued; 148 books targeted)

• Missouri (17 challenges issued; 126 books targeted)

• North Carolina (47 challenges issued; 229 books targeted)

• Ohio (40 challenges issued; 235 books targeted)

• Pennsylvania (52 challenges issued; 218 books targeted)

• Tennessee (21 challenges issued; 350 books targeted)

• Texas (49 challenges issued; 1,470 books targeted)

• Utah (21 challenges issued; 152 books targeted)

• Virginia (25 challenges issued; 387 books targeted)

• Wisconsin (27 challenges issued; 448 books targeted)

A full map of what U.S. states are challenging books can be found online at the ALA's official website.

Others are reading: What's behind the national surge in book bans? A low-tech website tied to Moms for Liberty

What books did Hoosiers in Indiana challenge in 2023?

Indiana challenged fewer books in 2023 compared to neighboring states like Illinois and Ohio, according to data the ALA provided to IndyStar.

Hoosiers filed at least 16 challenges at Indiana libraries last year, according to the ALA, targeting up to 24 books. Among the most challenged book titles was John Green's 2006 debut novel, "Looking for Alaska," a story that follows a boy who leaves home for boarding school and meets a girl named Alaska Young.

Claims that Green's novel is sexually explicit and has LGBTQ+ content has consistently put it in the crosshairs of those who want it removed or relocated off the library shelves. "Looking for Alaska" was listed among the ALA's most banned books of 2022.

Indiana's top ten most challenged books in 2023, according the ALA, are as follows:

1. "Looking for Alaska," by John Green.

2. "It's Perfectly Normal," by Robie H. Harris.

3. "The Goats," by Brock Cole.

4. “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” by Maia Kobabe.

5. "Crank," by Ellen Hopkins.

6. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," by Sherman Alexie.

7. "Jesus Land: A Memoir," by Julia Scheeres.

8. “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison.

9. "The Glass Castle," by Jeannette Walls.

10. "Water for Elephants," by Sara Gruen.

Since 2020, the ALA has documented at least 87 challenges to books from Hoosiers in Indiana, the sum of which vexes officials like Caldwell-Stone.

“Each challenge, each demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the life we choose, and an attack on libraries as community institutions that reflect the rich diversity of our nation," Caldwell-Stone said in a news release Monday. "When we tolerate censorship, we risk losing all of this."

Project 317: Indy's SoBro neighborhood has 'little bit of everything'

John Tufts covers trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @JTuftsReports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: People in Indiana tried banning these 10 books in 2023