March Book Madness 2022

Starting March 7, pickup a free copy of one of the featured books Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10 am - 4 pm, Tuesday 9 am-11 am, Thursday 9 am- 2 pm in 2120 Tawes Hall.

2022's bracket theme is censored books, focusing on controversial literature over the years. Each book listed below includes information about where it was censored, when, and why. The goal of this year's March Book Madness bracket is to showcase the embeddedness of controversy over the ideas presented in books. We encourage our social media followers to vote for their favorites throughout the month of March.

Included in this list are banned books from UMD English alumni Jason Reynolds, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Reginald Dwayne Betts.

Banned Books Featured

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess    
Banned from 2010-2019; #80 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for obscene language.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Banned 2010-2019 and listed among ALA's most banned/challenged books in the US. Banned for coarse language, racial stereotypes, and use of racial slurs.

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein    
Banned in 1993 in Florida for violence and encouraging disobedience; mentions of supernatural themes, including demons, devils, and ghosts.

As I lay Dying by William Faulkner    
Banned in the 1980s-90s in schools in Kentucky and Maryland for profanity, abortion, and questioning the existence of God.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle    
In top 100 most banned or challenged books from 1990-2009 (ALA) in the US for supernatural and religious themes.

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds, Brendan Kiely
Banned in South Carolina for profanity, drugs, anti-police views, and divisiveness.

A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison by Reginald Dwayne Betts    
Banned in 2020 from Virginia State Prisons.

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank    
ALA's most banned/challenged books. Banned in schools in Virginia and Michigan for discussions of puberty, teenage sexuality, and homosexual themes.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily Pan    
Banned in 2020; included on ALA's 2020 most challenged/banned list for suicide content.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin    
Banned from 2010-2019; #82 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for sexual content.

Beloved by Toni Morrison   
Banned in 2007 and 2010-2019; #45 most banned or challenged book (ALA)   in Kentucky and Virginia for depictions of slavery, bestiality, infanticide, sex, rape, and violence.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates   
Banned in 2020 in Ohio for "anti-cop, black suffrage, and Black Lives Matter views."

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison    
The #10 most banned or challenged book (ALA ranking). Banned in 1999, 2013 2022 in Oregon, Ohio, and Missouri, and challenged other places including Montgomery County, Maryland. Banned for themes of racism, incest, child sexual abuse, and "an underlying socialist-communist agenda."

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley    
Banned from 2010-2019; #26 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for anti-religion, anti-family themes, and sexual content.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh    
Banned in 2005 in Alabama for LGBT content, alcoholism, and infidelity.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson    
Banned from 1986-2002 in Nebraska, Connecticutt, Pennsylvania, Texas, Kansas, and Maine. Bans included allegations that the book promotes secular humanism, New Age religion, occultism, and Satanism.

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger    
Banned from 2010-2019; #49 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for offensive language, and sexually explicit content.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller   
Banned in the 1970s and in 2020 in Ohio, Texas, Washington State, and Alaska for obscene language, violence, sexual references.

Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey  
Banned from 2010-2019; #2 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for offensive language, unsuited for age group, and violence.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo    
Banned in 2020/21 in Pennsylvania  for  sexual content addressing sexual violence and misogyny.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker    
Banned from 2010-2019; #50 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for offensive language, and sexually explicit content.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Banned from 2010-2019; #51 most banned or challenged book (ALA rank)    US    Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other ("profanity and atheism").

Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina García    
Banned from 2010-2019; #64 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for sexual content and nude drawings of Adam and Eve.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer   
Banned in 2011, 2016; 2010-2019; #55 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in Illinois, Washington for profanity, sex, and descriptions of violence.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury    
Banned in 1992 (California) and 2006 (Texas) for language, anti-christian themes, and references to smoking, drinking, and violence.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley    
Banned in 1955 in South Africa for objectionable content and obscenity.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel    
Banned from 2010-2019 and in 2022 in South Carolina and Missouri; #31 most banned or challenged book (ALA) for promoting a gay/lesbian lifestyle and pornography.

The Giver by Lois Lowry    
Banned from 2010-2019; #64 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for obscene language, sexual content, and violence.

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck    
Banned in 1939; 1953; 1973;  and 80s-2022 in Kansas, California, Illinois, New York, Ireland, and Turkey. Banned for language, sexual violence, anti-religious ("uses Lord's name in vain") and anti-state propaganda.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald    
Banned in 2020 in Alaska for language and sexual references.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood    
Banned from 2010-2019; #29 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for sexuality, profanity, suicide, violence, and anti-religious themes.

The Hate U Give by  Angie Thomas   
Banned in 2017 in Texas  for promoting an anti-police message and its use of profanity.

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende    
Banned from 2010-2019; #71 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for sexual content.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou    
Banned in 2020 (Alaska) and in 2010-2019 (US) #88 most banned/challenged book (ALA) for “anti-white messaging” and sexual violence/incest.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison    
Banned in 2020 in Alaska for obscene language, rape and incest.

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl    
Banned from 1980s-90s in Texas, Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia, and Ohio for supernatural themes, references to drug use, possibly sexual content, racism, curse words ("ass"). One Ohio book store owner claimed it was advocating communism.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair    
Censored; banned through the 20th century in various countries including the US, Nazi Germany, Yugoslavia, East Germany, and South Korea for "shocking content" and pro-socialist views.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini    
Banned from 2010-2019; #11 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for offensive language unsuited to age group, violence, and rape.

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence    
Banned from 1920s-1960s in the UK, Australia, US, Japan, and Canada for obscenity.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov    
Banned in the 1950s-60s and in 2006 in France, England, Argentine, New Zealand, and Florida for topics of pedophilia.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds     
On ALA's list of most challenged/banned for 2020 (in the US).

Looking for Alaska by John Green    
Banned in 2010-2019; #4 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for ffensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding    
Banned in 2021 (Ottawa, Canada) and in the 1970s-2000s (around the US and in Toronto, Canada) for outdated themes representing white male power structures, obscene language, violence, animal cruelty, racist language, and sexual content.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein    
Banned in 2001 in New Mexico for "Satanic, anti-christian" themes.

Maus by Art Spiegelman
Banned in 2022 in Tennessee for profane language and nudity.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult    
Banned in 2009 for drugs, suicide, violence, sexism, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, offensive language, and being sexually explicit.

The Odyssey by Homer    
Banned in 2020 in Massachusetts for violence and sexism.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey    
Banned from 2000-2009; #49 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for obscene language, violence, and references to mental illness.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck  
Banned in 2020 and in 2010-2019. #28 on the most banned or challenged book list (ALA) in the US for offensive language, racism, violence  and "promoting euthanasia", "condoning racial slurs", being "anti-business."

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky    
Banned from 2010-2019; #14 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, and sexually explicit content.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi    
Banned from 2010-2019; #40 most banned or challenged book (ALA); #2 banned book of 2014 in the US. Banned in Chicago, Illinois, Texas, and California for gambling, offensive language, political viewpoints, and "graphic depictions."

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo    
Banned in 2021 in Virginia for sexual content (addressing sexual violence & misogyny).

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor    
Banned in 2021 from California school curriculum for containing racist language.

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie    
Banned 1989-present in Iran, Pakistan, India; challenged in the UK. Challenged for "blasphemy against Islamic beliefs."

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut    
Banned from 2000-2009 and is the #46 most banned or challenged book (ALA)  in the US for sexual content, anti-religious content, and violence.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson    
Banned in 2007 in Canada and the US for sexual content.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
Banned in 2020-21 in New Jersey and Maryland for language and "divisive topics" including topics in anti-racism.

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway    
Banned in 1930; 1953; 1960 in Boston, MA; California; Ireland for sexual content and language.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston    
Banned in 1997, 2005 (challenged) in Virginia for political views; language, and sexual explicitness.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien    
Banned in 2003 and in 2021 in Missouri and Arkansas for sexual content and profanity.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee    
Banned from 2010-2019; #15 most banned or challenged book (ALA) in the US for offensive language, racism,  deemed unsuitable to some age groups.

Ugly Duckling by Lorinda Cauley, Hans Christian Anderson    
Banned in 2020 in the US (on the ALA most challenged/banned books 2020) for interpretations that the book promoting minority voices changing majority aesthetic values.

Ulysses by James Joyce    
Banned in the 1920s (UK, US) for content including masturbation and obscenity.