Framingham - Banned Books | Lexington Cary Memorial Library

1) A court of thorns and roses

Author

Series

Court of thorns and roses volume 1

Notes

Banned and/or challenged for being sexually explicit. A Court of Mist and Fury was removed from Virginia Beach City Public School (VA) libraries after a school board member challenged it. Following its removal from the school district, petitions seeking to bar the sale of A Court of Mist and Fury and Gender Queer on grounds they were obscene progressed to the Circuit Court for the City of Virginia Beach.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle, Large Print, Playaway Audiobook, Spoken CD

Description

Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from stories, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin, a High Lord of the faeries. As her feelings toward him transform from hostility to a firey passion, the threats against the faerie lands grow. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose Tamlin forever"--‡cProvided by publisher.

Author

Series

Bad Kitty (Picture books) volume 1

Notes

Banned and/or challenged because it briefly refers to a lesbian couple.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, Juv Readalong

Description

When a kitty discovers there is no cat food in the house, she decides to become very, very bad. From the creator of the New York Times bestseller Boing! comes the riotous story of a cat gone berserk--four times over in alphabetical order. Kitty is not happy when she's told that her favorite foods are all gone and all that's left are asparagus, beets, cauliflower, dill, and 22 other equally unappealing vegetables. So she ate my homework, bit grandma,...

3) Out from Boneville

Author

Series

Bone (Jeff Smith) volume 1

Notes

Banned and/or challenged for violence, racism and political viewpoint.

Description

Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone are run out of their home, Boneville, and become separated in the wilds, but better fortune begins when the three cousins reunite at a farmstead in a deep forested valley, where Fone meets a young girl named Thorn. In Out From Boneville, volume 1 of this 9-book epic, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their...

Author

Series

Crank trilogy volume 1

Notes

Although Crank has been received with praise, it has also faced a significant amount of controversy. According to the American Library Association, the book has frequently been banned and challenged in the United States because of drugs, offensive language, and being sexually explicit.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter, gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina. Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul - her life.

Author

Notes

Common reasons for challenging the book include its sexual references and conflict with "traditional family structure," with some saying schools and libraries should not "put books in a child's hand that require discussion." It ultimately became the fifth-most banned book between 2010 and 2020.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

"When people look at Melissa, they think they see a boy named George. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl. Melissa thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. Melissa really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part ... because she's a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, Melissa...

6) Say cheese and die!

Author

Series

Goosebumps. Original series volume 4

Notes

All Goosebumps - parents who felt that the books were too graphic and scary for their children.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle, Playaway Audiobook

Description

Strange things happen when Greg starts using the camera he and his friends found.

Author

Satrapi, Marjane

Notes

The reasons for the ban were initially unclear, which led the district CEO to send an email claiming that the book was intended to be removed only from classrooms due to “graphic language and images that are not appropriate for general use.” Fortunately, the book was approved for grade 11 classrooms.

Description

An intelligent and outspoken only child, Satrapi--the daughter of radical Marxists and the great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor--bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Author

Series

Notes

There were seven Florida districts that banned the book, along with one Georgia district. Published in 2009, the book focuses on five teenagers - including one gay teen - through their drug use and subsequent human trafficking. Books authored by Hopkins were banned 43 times.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

Five troubled teenagers fall into prostitution as they search for freedom, safety, community, family, and love.

9) The awakening: a novel

Author

Series

Melville House classics

Notes

Banned and/or challenged for because of its vivid portrayal of a family during the Great Depression, the novel is often used in American literature and history classrooms. The book has been banned and challenged for "vulgar" language. Parents have also objected to "inappropriate sexual references."

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle, Large Print, Playaway Audiobook, Spoken CD

Description

The Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on...

10) Push: a novel

Author

Notes

One of eight books recently banned in Seminole County. The story is about an African-American girl who suffers from physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Description

A self-portrait of a black teenage girl, big, fat, unloved, with a father who rapes her and a jealous mother who screams abuse. For Precious, as she is called, hope appears when a courageous teacher, a young black woman, bullies, cajoles and inspires her to learn to read. By the author of American Dreams.

11) Strega Nona: an original tale

Author

Series

Classic board book

Notes

Strega Nona has the distinction of being a challenged and banned book. It was banned from a number of children's libraries in the United States for depicting magic, witches, and witchcraft in a positive light.

Formats:

Book, Juv Readalong

Description

When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works.

12) The wonderful wizard of Oz

Author

Series

The Wizard of Oz series volume 1

Notes

Was banned from libraries on the basis that it had "no value" for children and supported "negativism", also Caused controversy in 1957, in Detroit, Michigan.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Playaway Audiobook, Spoken CD

Description

"When a tornado hits Dorothy's home in the Kansas prairies, she and her dog, Toto, are whisked away to the magical Land of Oz. To return home, Dorothy must follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and seek help from the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. So, accompanied by the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy sets out on a wild and magical adventure. This classic children's novel has been described as the first American...

13) Thirteen Reasons Why

Author

Notes

An elementary school in Florida banned the book from campus, even for personal reading, arguing that students weren't mature enough to handle the depiction of suicide, profanity, sexual content, and drug use. The book was also pulled from middle school classrooms in Anderson County, Kentucky.

Formats:

eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle, Spoken CD

Description

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
**THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL, NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES**

“Eerie, beautiful, and devastating.” —Chicago Tribune

“A stealthy hit with staying power. . . . thriller-like pacing.” —The New York Times

“Thirteen Reasons Why will leave you with chills long after you have...

14) This book is gay

Author

Notes

“This Book is Gay” is one of the most banned books of 2022, according to the American Library Association. But an Iowa City School District committee concluded the book should remain at its junior high.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

"There's a long-running joke that, after coming out as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex person, you should receive a membership card and instruction manual. THIS IS THAT INSTRUCTION MANUAL. You're welcome. Inside this revised and updated edition, you'll find the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask: from sex to politics, hooking up to stereotypes, coming out and more. This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration...

15) To kill a mockingbird

Author

Series

To kill a mockingbird volume 1

Notes

The novel by Harper Lee, published in 1960, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, but was also banned from some schools because characters use racist language and the plot centers on an allegation of rape.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle, Large Print, Spoken CD

Description

One of the most cherished stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views...

16) Two boys kissing

Author

Levithan, David

Notes

People have tried to ban the book because of homosexual and sexually-explicit content and because the book condones public displays of affection. It has been on the American Library Association's Top 10 List of Challenged Books three times (2015, 2016, 2018)

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

The based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are no longer a couple yet are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record -- all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS. While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term...

Author

Series

Modern Library 100 Best Novels

Notes

Has been banned and/or challenged because it Includes sexual descriptions which prompted a ban against the book in 1920.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle, Playaway Audiobook, Spoken CD

Description

"Ulysses, one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, has had a profound influence on modern fiction. In a series of episodes covering the course of a single day, 16 June 1904, the novel traces the movements of Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus through the streets of Dublin. Each episode has its own literary style, and the epic journey of Odysseus is only one of many correspondencies that add layers of meaning to the text. Today critical...

18) Uncle Bobby's wedding

Author

Brannen, Sarah S

Notes

Parent's complaint that it “advocates an illegal activity” — same-sex marriage. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, written and illustrated by Sarah S.

Description

Chloe loves, loves, LOVES her special uncle Bobby. So when she learns that Uncle Bobby is going to be getting married to his boyfriend Jamie she's not at all pleased. What if Uncle Bobby doesn't have time to play with Chloe anymore? But after spending a fun-filled day with Bobby and Jamie, she soon realises she's not losing an uncle, but gaining a whole new one! An uplifting celebration of love in all its forms, this book is perfect for any child...

19) What my mother doesn't know

Author

Notes

Banned. 2004 - Texas - Challenged at the Bonnette Junior High School library in Deer park for language and ***. 2007 - Wisconsin - Available on to 7th and 8th graders of Spring Hill School library after a parent complained about sexual themes and wanted it removed.

Description

Sophie describes her relationships with a series of boys as she searches for Mr. Right.

20) Where the wild things are

Author

Sendak, Maurice

Series

Weston Woods read-along CD

Notes

Adults found it problematic that Max was punished by being sent to bed without dinner and also bristled at the book's supernatural themes.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, Juv Readalong

Description

Max, a naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king.