NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Maia Kobabe鈥檚 graphic memoir 鈥淕ender Queer鈥� continues its troubled run as the country鈥檚 most controversial book, topping 鈥渃hallenged books鈥� list for a third straight year.
Kobabe鈥檚 coming-of-age story was published in 2019, and received the library association鈥檚 Alex Award for best young adult literature. But it has since been at the heart of debates over library content, with conservative organizations such as contending that parents should have more power to determine what books are available. Politicians have condemned 鈥淕ender Queer鈥� and school systems in Florida, Texas and elsewhere have banned it. Last December, police in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, responded to a complaint from a custodian about the book by
The ALA released its list Monday, along with its annual State of America鈥檚 Libraries Report.
鈥淎 few advocacy groups have made 'Gender Queer' a lightning rod,鈥� says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. 鈥漃eople are trying to shut down conversation about gender identity."
Many books on the ALA鈥檚 top 10 snapshot had LGBTQ themes, including the four works immediately following 鈥淕ender Queer鈥�: George M. Johnson鈥檚 鈥淎ll Boys Aren鈥檛 Blue,鈥� Juno Dawson鈥檚 鈥淭his Book is Gay,鈥� Stephen Chbosky鈥檚 鈥淭he Perks of Being a Wallflower鈥� and Mike Curato鈥檚 鈥淔lamer.鈥� The list鈥檚 other five books all were cited for being sexually explicit: Toni Morrison鈥檚 鈥淭he Bluest Eye,鈥� Ellen Hopkins鈥� 鈥淭ricks,鈥� Jesse Andrews 鈥淢e and Earl and the Dying Girl,鈥� Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan鈥檚 鈥淟et鈥檚 Talk About It鈥� and Patricia McCormick鈥檚 鈥淪old.鈥�
鈥淭hese books are beyond the pale for some people simply because they touch upon sex,鈥� Caldwell-Stone says.
In March, that bans and attempted bans in 2023 again reached record highs since the association began tracking complaints in the early 2000s. More than 4,240 works in school and public libraries were targeted, compared to a then-record
Many of the books challenged 鈥� 47% 鈥� have LGBTQ and racial themes.
The ALA defines a challenge as a 鈥渇ormal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.鈥� The association bases its findings on media accounts and reports from librarians but has long believed that many challenges go uncounted, or that some books are pulled by librarians in anticipation of protests.
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
