Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)    I AM JAZZ by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas Challenge Reasons: Inaccurate, Homosexuality, Sex Education, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited for Age Group The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for trans kids everywhere. Jazz’s story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.   FIFTY SHADES OF GREY by E L James Challenge Reasons: Nudity, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited for Age Group When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidat­ing. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.   LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding Challenge Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Excessive Violence LORD OF THE FLIES remains as provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought and literature. Also during Banned  Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.  

Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)   THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by Anne Frank Challenge Reasons: Rebellion Against Parental Authority, Sexuality Anne Frank’s THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL is among the most endur­ing documents of the twentieth century. Since its publication in 1947, it has been a beloved and deeply admired monument to the indestructible nature of the human spirit, read by millions of people and translated into more than fifty-five languages. This definitive edition contains entries about Anne’s burgeoning sexuality and confrontations with her mother that were cut from  previous editions.   THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot Challenge Reason: Pornography Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more.  The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings.   ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred D. Taylor Challenge Reason: Offensive Language It takes the events of one turbulent year to show Cassie that having land of their own is the Logan family’s lifeblood. The Logans possess something no one can take away.  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.  It is also the story of 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 from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.   Also during Banned  Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.

Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)   ADVENTUERES OF HUCKELBERRY FINN by Mark Twain Challenge Reasons: Racism, Insensitivity, Offensive Language An incomparable adventure story, it is a vignette of a turbulent, yet hopeful epoch in American history, defining the experience of a nation in voices often satirical, but always authentic. The classic boyhood adventure tale is updated with a new introduction by noted Mark Twain scholar R. Kent Rasmussen and a foreword by Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Republic of Imagination.   NORWEGIAN WOOD by Haruki Murakami Challenge Reasons: Drugs, Sexually Explicit Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.   LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green Challenge Reasons: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuitable for Age Group Miles “Pudge” Halter falls in love with the gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.  LOOKING FOR ALASKA, #1 bestselling author John Green’s debut novel, brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another.   Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.

Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)   TWO BOYS KISSING by David Levithan Challenge Reasons: Homosexuality, Condoning Public Displays of Affection Based on true events—and narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS— TWO BOYS KISSING follows Harry and Craig, two seventeen-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guin­ness World Record. While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teens dealing with universal questions of love, identity, and belonging.   THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini Challenge Reasons: Offensive language, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.   THE FREEDOM WRITERS DIARY by Erin Gruwell Challenge Reasons: Racial slurs, Sexual Content As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust—only to be met by uncomprehending looks.   Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 – 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.  

Click here to enter for your chance to win a personalized Banned Books Box filled with ten of your favorite books and a special banned books mug courtesy of Out of Print Clothing (No purchase necessary. US residents, 18+. Ends 9/30/17. See Official Rules.)   1984 by George Orwell Challenge Reason: Pro-Communist More relevant than ever before, 1984 exposes the worst crimes imaginable—the destruction of truth, freedom, and individual­ity. The story of one man’s nightmare odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory, 1984 is a prophetic, haunting tale. A masterpiece of rebellion and imprisonment, where war is peace, freedom is slavery, and Big Brother is watching.   THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher Challenge Reason: Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited for Age Group After Hannah Baker commits suicide, she leaves behind 13 tapes explaining the reasons she decided to end her life. An intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.   CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon Challenge Reason: Offensive Language Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor’s dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened.   Also during Banned Books Week, head over to Out of Print Clothing to find out how you can contribute to hurricane relief efforts through book donations from Penguin Random House. For each piece of Banned Books merchandise sold on the Out of Print website during Banned Books Week, September 24 - 30, Penguin Random House will donate one book in support of hurricane relief efforts through First Book up to 10,000 books. Click here to start browsing and give back.