Nineteen Minutes was the most banned book during the 2023-2024 US school year, being banned in 98 school districts.  [1]

Nineteen Minutes is about a school shooting, however was banned due to being classified as "porn" due to a date rape scene which uses anatomically correct words for the human body, it is not gratuitous or salacious in any way.

Picoult has come out stating that: "In fact, hundreds of students have told me Nineteen Minutes stopped them from committing a school shooting or showed them they were not alone in feeling isolated. The book did not harm them. It gave them tools to deal with an increasingly divided and different world.  That's what books do. They help kids see themselves in a different way. They help kids see the world in a different way." [3]

Jodi Picoult is an award-winning author.  [1] 

Looking for Alaska is John Green's debut novel and was banned in 97 school districts in 2023-2024 for sexually explicit content. [1]

Sex in Looking for Alaska is not salacious, and is written in "somewhat medical language" to represent how meaningless sex is not good for the characters. Comprehensive sex education, especially in fiction, helps teenagers rather than hurt them. "Trying to ban Looking for Alaska has a great deal of irony behind it and if the people who want it out of school shelves took a second look at the book, they would understand why." [4]

Looking for Alaska is a:
- Michael L. Printz Award winner
- New York Timesbestseller
- NPR’s Top Ten Best-Ever Teen Novels
- TIME magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Novels of All Time
- TV miniseries [1]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was banned in 85 school districts in 2023-2024 [1] for sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, and profanity [5].

Chbosky has spoken about how he has received thousands of letters from kids all over the world, including many who had suicidal ideations which changed from reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower. "For many kids, the book helped end a sense of isolation. It ended the idea that they were all alone in what they were going through, whether they were gay and they thought they were going to be punished for that, or if they were struggling with mental illness or depression and they thought that it never gets better. Charlie’s struggles, and his friends’ struggles, speak directly to those experiences. I feel that because the book—and movie—ends in a cathartic way, I think it gives a sense of hope, which is what I wanted it to do." [6]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a:
- New York Times bestseller
- American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and Best Book for Reluctant Readers
- Major motion picture [1]

Sold by Patricia McCormick was banned in 85 school districts in 2023-2024 [1]  for sexually explicit content and discussing rape. [7]

In 2004, American journalist McCormick got a tip-off about child trafficking in Nepal and India. She interviewed tracking victims and perpetrators by sneaking into jails and brothels in Kathmandu, Nepal. She went on to write Sold in 2006 about a girl who is trafficked by her own step father, retelling many of the stories of the girls she met.  Her audience is students, reflecting the age of her character in the story. McCormick had a methodical approach to her word choice and writes the book with simple language that a child her age would use. While many deemed the rape scene as well as the topic of the book inappropriate, McCormick found it to be crucial for children to read about these experiences. [8]

Sold is a National Book Award finalist [1] 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher was banned in 76 school districts in 2023-2024. [1] Thirteen Reasons Why, which was released in 2007, is a frequently banned book, being the most banned book in 2017 due to depictions of suicide, and was in the top 10 list in 2012 for drug and alcohol use, sexual content, suicide, and being unsuited for age group. [9]

Many of the 2017 bans were tied to the popularity of the Netflix adaptation which deviated from the book and the depictions of suicide, and drug and alcohol use were much more graphic. [9]

Thirteen Reasons Why is a:
- New York Times bestseller
- Netflix series [1] 

The Crank series by Ellen Hopkins was banned in 76 school districts in 2023-2024 [1] for its depiction of drug abuse, inappropriate language, and sexual content. [10]

Hopkins wrote in a blog post: "Some of the characters are queer, of color, and/or spiritually seeking, but the favored excuse is “sexual explicitness.” I have four novels for adult readers that could be termed steamy. My YA novels never approach that level, though they do have sexual situations, including assault and abuse, as well as young love. I write where my readers live, and teens experience those things every day. I write truthfully because I respect their intellect, curiosity, and sophistication. My goals, always, have been to bring broader perspective to their relatively narrow view. To show possible outcomes to choices they’ll likely face and help them make more informed decisions. And, for those who’ve already taken wrong turns, or had all choice stolen from them, to bring hope and give them a voice." [11]
 

Crank is a New York Times bestseller [1] 

Identical by Ellen Hopkins was banned in 74 school districts in 2023-2024 [1] for reasons including drug use, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, and violence. [10]

Hopkins stated in a blog post: "Tricks, Identical, and Crank were among the most banned books in this country last year, despite the myriad readers who need them. It’s unthinkable that a handful of people have been allowed to remove any books from library shelves, to decide for everyone else what is or isn’t appropriate reading material. As for protecting our kids, I often say ignorance is no armor. Knowledge is their absolute best weapon, and books are among the safest spaces to gather information."  [11] 

Ellen Hopkins is a New York Times bestselling author [1] 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was banned in 73 school districts in 2023-2024 [1] due to violence against children, and child sexual abuse. [10]

Hosseini has said: "But banning books like The Kite Runner doesn’t ‘protect’ students at all. It betrays them. It robs them of the chance that we as parents and instructors owe them, the chance to broaden their human community, to let them walk the world in another’s shoes for a while, to foster empathy for others, to be challenged by the experience and perhaps take a small step toward becoming fuller, richer versions of themselves.” [12]

The Kite Runner is a:
- No. 1 New York Times bestselling novel
- New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century [1] 

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood was banned in 67 school districts in 2023-2024 [1] due to obscene and graphic content in relation to sexuality. [10]

The Handmaid's Tale was originally challenged in 2006 when a parent complained it's sexually explicit content was "offensive to Christians". [10] Student Asfi Tias wrote in a blog: "A woman is seen as an object. In fact, rape of women used to be considered a property crime against the father of the victim. I cannot say where the belief of women being objects has stemmed from, however, I do know this: Every person needs to pick up a copy of The Handmaid’s Tale to understand our current society and women’s place in it." [13]

The Handmaid's Tale is a:
- Modern classic
- TV series  [1] 

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was banned in 66 school districts in 2023-2024 [1] due to depictions of sexually explicit content, including sexual performances and detailed counts of sexual acts. [10]

Critics of Water for Elephants argue that the themes of violence, animal cruelty, and sexual content make it unsuitable for younger readers, while supporters commend the book for its nuanced portrayal of complex human relationships and moral dilemmas. [14]
 

Water for Elephants is:
- a No. 1 New York Times Bestseller
- the basis of a movie
- the basis of a Broadway show [1]