By Shawn Proctor, Annie Stockmal, Rebecca Amrick, and Jadyn Piotrowski

Happy Thursday, Wildcats! Curious Cat is thinking about challenged books in honor of Banned Book Week. So we asked Falvey patrons about the books that meant the most of them, since often those are the ones most frequently challenged.

Learn more about Banned Books Week: https://blog.library.villanova.edu/2023/10/03/dig-deeper-banned-books-week/

And consider which book had the biggest impact on you as well!

“All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven”
–Riley Murray CLAS ’25

“Wonder by R.J. Palacio.”
-Kayla Waples CON ’27

“The Great Gatsby.”
–Anna Kate Cooper CLAS ’26

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is a Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Annie Stockmal is a graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library. 

Rebecca Amrick is a first-year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

Jadyn Piotrowski ’26 VSB is a Communication & Marketing Student Assistant at Falvey Library.

American Library Association’s poster announcing Banned Books Week 2020.

Banned Books Week commenced on Sept. 18! Beginning in the early 1980s, the annual event, celebrated the last week of September, spotlights “current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools.” Show your support for “the freedom to read” and checkout these frequently challenged titles available at Falvey Memorial Library.

The titles listed below are featured in the “Top 10 Most Challenged Books” lists spanning from 2001-2021. “Lists are based on information from media stories and voluntary reports sent to the Office for Intellectual Freedom from communities across the U.S.”

Books are accessible through Falvey’s collection and Interlibrary Loan.

• 2001 (#6)
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (e-book)
• 2002 (#7)
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (e-book)
• 2003 (#3)
  • Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• 2004 (#9)
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• 2005 (#4)
  • The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
• 2006 (#9)
  • Beloved by Toni Morrison
• 2007 (#4)
  • The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
• 2008 (#9)
  • The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2004-05 Villanova University OneBook Selection)
• 2009 (#9)
  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• 2010 (#3)
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• 2011 (#10)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• 2012 (#9)
  • The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (2008-09 Villanova University OneBook Selection)
• 2013 (#5)
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• 2014 (#2)
  • Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• 2015 (#7)
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• 2016 (#10)
  • Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• 2017 (#2)
  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
    • Sherman Alexie: A Collection of Critical Essays
• 2018 (#4)
  • The Hate U Give written by Angie Thomas
• 2019 (#7)
  • The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• 2020 (#2)
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
• 2021 (#9)
  • This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

For more information about Banned Books Week visit the American Library Association’s website. Looking for a specific title not available at Falvey Memorial Library? Villanova students, staff, and faculty can use the E-ZBorrow service to request print materials from regional libraries. Chat with a librarian during business hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. for inquires regarding Falvey Library’s collection.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. *Article originally published on Sept. 28, 2020.

In honor of the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week, which condemns censorship and urges free access to information, we asked Falvey librarians and staff to pick a book from the list of the most frequently banned and challenged books and tell us why it’s a must read.

“The Hate U Give is a really powerful Young Adult book dealing with police violence in communities of color from the perspective of a young black woman.”—Sarah Wingo, MA, MSI, Liaison Librarian for English Literature, Theatre, and Romance Languages

Stop by to pick up your Banned Books Week button, and tell us what banned book rocks your world in the comments!