Banned Books

Do you like a bit of dangerous reading? Do you want to test your moral fibre? Then check out these titles that have, for some reason or other, been banned at some stage.

Catcher in the Rye   J.D Salinger

“I don't even know what I was running for - I guess I just felt like it.”

Holden Caulfield gets expelled from school yet another prestigious prep school.  He decides to spend three days in a New York hotel before he has to tell his parents.
Banned for: Being antichristian, reference to suicide, profanity, vulgarity and occultism

The Bermudez Triangle   Maureen Johnson

“Nothing really ever changed in her life - things just got bigger, longer, and increasingly complicated.”

Nina, Melanie and Avery are the Bermudez Triangle and spend all their time with each other. One summer Nina goes away, when she returns everything has changed and she is suddenly an outsider.
Banned for: No moral fibre, lesbian content, underage sex and drinking

Harriet the Spy    Louise Fitzhugh

"I want to know everything, everything!"

11 year old Harriet M. Welsch aspires to be a writer and a spy. She observes her friends and neighbours and writes about them in her secret notebooks. Things fall apart when her notebooks become public.
Banned for: Considered dangerous because it teaches children to lie, spy, back-talk and curse.

How to eat Fried Worms    Thomas Rockwell

A ten year old boy is dared to eat fifteen worms in fifteen days, if he succeeds he wins $50. If he fails he will be called chicken…for the rest of his life.
Banned for: Encouraging inappropriate behavior in children, socially unacceptable activities and gambling.

Bridge to Terabithia     Katherine Paterson

“He believed her because here in the shadowy light of the stronghold everything seemed possible.”

Jesse is the fastest runner at Lake creek elementary, when he loses a race to Leslie, a girl, they become unlikely friends. Together they create the secret kingdom of Terabithia.
Banned for: Offensive language, promoting Satanism and suggestions of witchcraft.

Gossip Girl     Cecily Von Ziegesar

“Ever wondered what the lives of the chosen ones are really like?”

Follows the lives of a group of spoilt, elite teens living in Manhattan. The anonymous website gossip girl reveals the convoluted happenings of their lives and causes great angst.
Banned for:  Homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language.

Looking for Alaska    John Green

“In the dark beside me she smelled of sweat and sunshine and vanilla…”

Miles Halter leaves for boarding school seeking the “Great Perhaps”. He meets The Colonel, Takumi and Alaska Young and gets pulled into their world of pranking and rule breaking. 
Banned for: Pushing pornography and endangering children.