Special Collections

ALA's Most Frequently Challenged Books of the 21st Century

Description: Explore the list of American Library Association's Most Frequently Challenged Books. Some titles are challenged multiple years. To learn more about challenges to books, visit ALA's website: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10 #teens


Showing 76 through 89 of 89 results
 

Detour for Emmy (True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High)

by Marilyn Reynolds

Emmy, who once had a bright future, struggles with being a teen mother without support from her boyfriend or family.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2005

Whale Talk

by Chris Crutcher

A varsity letter jacket: it's exclusive, nearly unattainable, revered . . . and everything that's screwed up about Cutter High, as far as T. J. Jones is concerned.

That's why T. J. is determined to have the Cutter All Night Mermen--the unlikeliest swim team a high school has ever seen--earn letter jackets of their own. It won't be easy.

For one thing, they don't even have a pool. They will fight for their dignity, they will fight with each other, and sometimes they will just fight. And then they will realize that a single moment can bring lifelong heartache or lifelong friendship.

For T. J. and his crew of misfits, the quest may be far more valuable than the reward.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2005

Forever . . .

by Judy Blume

A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021). Over 4 million copies sold! Judy Blume&’s groundbreaking novel about first relationships, first love, and…the first time—now with a stunning new look!The bed is brass, covered with a patchwork quilt, and &“nice and firm,&” Michael says, &“in case you&’re interested.&” Katherine is interested. Katherine and Michael are ready—for each other, for love. Katherine is ready for her first time. They are both ready for this to be forever. They are perfect together, inseparable. Until the summer separates them, and Katherine meets Theo. But she and Michael are truly in love. That means forever. Right? Is this really the love of a lifetime, or the very beginning of a lifetime of love?

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2005

In the Night Kitchen

by Maurice Sendak

Classic dreamlike children's tale of a boy's nighttime cooking adventures.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2004

Arming America

by Michael A. Bellesiles

Bellesiles (history, Emory U. ) explodes a number of myths about the role of guns in American history. Examining probate records, correspondence of militia commanders, and a number of other sources he finds that gun ownership among average Americans wasn't widespread until as late as the Civil War. He also argues that from the very beginning of European settlement, guns were highly regulated by authorities and that guns were viewed as having a special status as being ultimately at the disposal of government.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2004

Fallen Angels

by Walter Dean Myers

On a jungle battlefront where one misplaced step could be any soldier's last, every move can mean the difference between death and survival. Perry, Lobel, Johnson, Brunner, and Peewee are in Vietnam, all hoping to make it out alive.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2004

Bridge to Terabithia

by Katherine Paterson and Donna Diamond

All summer, Jess pushed himself to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade, and when the year's first school-yard race was run, he was going to win.

But his victory was stolen by a newcomer, by a girl, one who didn't even know enough to stay on the girls' side of the playground.

Then, unexpectedly, Jess finds himself sticking up for Leslie, for the girl who breaks rules and wins races.

The friendship between the two grows as Jess guides the city girl through the pitfalls of life in their small, rural town, and Leslie draws him into the world of imaginations world of magic and ceremony called Terabithia.

Here, Leslie and Jess rule supreme among the oaks and evergreens, safe from the bullies and ridicule of the mundane world. Safe until an unforeseen tragedy forces Jess to reign in Terabithia alone, and both worlds are forever changed.

In this poignant, beautifully rendered novel, Katherine Paterson weaves a powerful story of friendship and courage.

Newbery Medal Winner

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2003

We All Fall Down

by Robert Cormier

They entered the house at 9:02 P.M. and trashed their way through the Cape Cod cottage. At 9:46 P.M. Karen Jerome made the mistake of arriving home early. Thrown down the basement stairs, Karen slips into a coma. The trashers slip away.But The Avenger has seen it all.From the Paperback edition.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2003

Go Ask Alice

by Anonymous

A teen plunges into a downward spiral of addiction in this classic cautionary tale.January 24th After you&’ve had it, there isn't even life without drugs… It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth—and ultimately her life. Read her diary. Enter her world. You will never forget her. For thirty-five years, the acclaimed, bestselling first-person account of a teenage girl&’s harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. As powerful—and as timely—today as ever, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2003

Julie of the Wolves

by Jean Craighead George and John Schoenherr

Jean Craighead George's Newbery Medal-winning classic about an Eskimo girl lost on the Alaskan tundra now features bonus content. This edition, perfect for classroom or home use, includes John Schoenherr's original scratchboard illustrations throughout, as well as extra materials such as an introduction written by Jean Craighead George's children, the author's Newbery acceptance speech, selections from her field notebooks, a discussion guide, and a further reading guide.Julie of the Wolves is a staple in the canon of children's literature and the first in the Julie trilogy. The survival theme makes it a good pick for readers of other wilderness stories such as My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, or Island of the Blue Dolphins.To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away, only to find herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness.Miyax tries to survive by copying the ways of a pack of wolves and soon grows to love her new wolf family. Life in the wilderness is a struggle, but when she finds her way back to civilization, Miyax is torn between her old and new lives. Is she Miyax of the Eskimos--or Julie of the wolves?

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2002

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

by Mildred D. Taylor

Winner of the Newbery Medal, this remarkably moving novel has impressed the hearts and minds of millions of readers. Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And it is also Cassie's story--Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.* "[A] vivid story.... Entirely through its own internal development, the novel shows the rich inner rewards of black pride, love, and independence."--Booklist, starred review

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2002

Taming the Star Runner

by S. E. Hinton

Travis is the epitome of cool, especially when he's in trouble. But when he's sent to stay at his uncle's ranch, he finds that his tough attitude doesn't make him any friends and his city survival skills are no match for the unforgiving land.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2002

Blood and Chocolate

by Annette Curtis Klause

Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf? Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would. Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate? From the Paperback edition.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2001

Summer of My German Soldier

by Bette Greene

In Bette Greene's award-winning debut novel, a young Jewish girl in the postwar South finds herself drawn to a German prisoner of war

When the Army delivers a batch of Nazi prisoners of war to an internment camp in Jenkinsville, Arkansas, Patty Bergen is as anxious as any of her neighbors to get a glimpse of the monsters. The eldest child in the town's sole Jewish family, Patty is lonely and isolated, spending most of her time in the company of Ruth, her parents' black housekeeper. Then she meets Anton Reiker, an inmate in the camp. Even though he fought against the Allies, Anton seems to understand Patty in a way even her parents never have. When Anton escapes from the camp, Patty risks everything to keep him safe--but following her heart may come at a terrible price. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Bette Greene including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's personal collection.

Date Added: 04/03/2019


Year: 2001


Showing 76 through 89 of 89 results