I did a search for banned or challenged books in the USA. (AI search)

[Jit423]

I was shocked to find this:

Frequently Challenged Books (Recent Years)
"Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe
"All Boys Aren’t Blue" by George M. Johnson
"The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
"Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
"Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You" by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
"Melissa (previously titled George)" by Alex Gino
"This Book is Gay" by Juno Dawson
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexi

Classic Titles That Have Been Challenged or Banned
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"1984" by George Orwell
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

Themes That Often Lead to Challenges
LGBTQIA+ Representation: Books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters or themes are frequently challenged.
Racial Issues: Books addressing systemic racism, police brutality, or historic oppression.
Sexual Content: Explicit descriptions of sex or discussions about sexuality.
Violence: Graphic depictions of violence or abuse.
Religious Sensitivity: Content that challenges traditional religious views or criticizes organized religion.

Then I had to wonder why "The Giver" was never cited? Is it because it portends the acceptance of a more MAGA-Trump-Like society? "The Giver," to me, is more horrifying than any book listed above.

Not sure this is the correct forum for this discussion. Please advise.

[patphil]

1. Look at the American Library Association's list of 100 most banned/challenged books.

The Giver is on that list, as is Beloved by Toni Morrison, the Bible, and the Captain Underpants series.
Here's the list:

https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade2019

Note this list only covers from 2010-2019.

[defacto7]

2. All of those classic titles

were suggested or required reading when I was in high school.

[ratchiweenie]

3. Steinbeck should be proud. He's on both lists.

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. I think I read all of them in highschool.

I was in Utah so the only banned books were anti church books.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. why did this require ai

[intheflow]

5. Right?

I expected it to report bullshit, but this is basically the American Library Association’s list verbatim.

[Jit423]

8. It didn't "require AI" I just wanted to see how it compared with other searches. nt

[intheflow]

6. The Giver is an older title.

It’s over 30 years old. Except for Brave New World, every book in the first list was written in the last 15 years, and also reflects both what is currently hot in publishing (gender identities and sexual emergence, and race), and what’s currently hot in the culture wars. The Giver was among the most challenged books in the 1990s, but as its Influence has diminished, so have the challenges.

[Jit423]

9. Yes. I get that. But the Giver has recently had a new burst of interest and teacher recs. nt