T5W 10: Banned Books You’ve Read

Top 5 Banned Books You’ve Read

Hello lovely readers! This weeks topic is our top five banned or challenged books that we’ve read. Going over the resources and lists of frequently banned and challenged books, it turns out that I haven’t read that many banned or challenged books! I’m going to have to change that soon! Not all of the lists I got these from explained why or when the book was banned or challenged, so I’m just going to talk about the books instead!

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The Giver by Lois Lowry: This book is set in a world that at first glance seems like a utopia. However, it is not. The government in this book chooses everything for you, your job, your life partner, and they even give you your kids. This was such a good book, and I can’t wait to read more in this series. (My review for this book can be found here.)

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Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak follows a girl in high school who becomes a social pariah at school because she broke up a party by calling the cops. This book deals with very heavy subjects, and I really appreciate young adult novels that do this well. Speak is such a good book, and I would definitely recommend it. (Please note: Trigger warning for rape and depression.)

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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: In case, for whatever reason you do not know about this book, The Fault in Our Stars follows a terminal, teenage cancer patient named Hazel. Then she meets the handsome Augustus Waters and things are never the same. I really loved this book. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and John Green’s writing is fantastic.

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Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: I think everyone knows what Harry Potter is. It’s wonderful, and my childhood wrapped up in a book series. I’m going to tell you guys something about my brother. I have a younger brother, he recently turned nine, and is in the fourth grade this year. David recently wanted to start reading the Harry Potter books, and his teacher had to send a permission slip home for him to be able to do that. It turns out some parents weren’t very happy about their children reading a book about witchcraft. Needless to say, I think book censorship is ridiculous. This book series has so many wonderful lessons in it, and I cannot wait until I can share this with my brother.

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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 follows a fireman. However, in this world firemen are not the same as the firemen in our world. Instead of putting out fires, they find and burn all books. This is probably the only book I read for school, that I actually read 100% of. I absolutely loved this novel, and it is one of my favorite books. I find it extremely ironic that a book about book censorship is being banned and challenged in some areas of our country.

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What banned or challenged books are your favorites? Leave recommendations in the comments below, I need to add to this list!