ALA releases list of ‘Top 11 Most Challenged Books List of 2025’
April 20 (UPI) — The American Library Association released its list of the “Top 11 Most Challenged Books List of 2025,” including titles by John Green and Sarah J. Maas.
The list, part of the 2026 State of America’s Libraries Report, is based on data from the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, which tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged across 2025. The number was the second-highest ever documented by the ALA, after 4,240 books were challenged in 2023.
The 2025 challenges included 713 attempts to censor library materials and services through access restrictions, including 487 books.
The most challenged book of 2025 was Sold by Patricia McCormick, followed by The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, and Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.
There was a tie for fifth place between Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo and Tricks by Ellen Hopkins.
The seventh book on the list was A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, followed by a four-way tie between A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Identical by Ellen Hopkins, Looking for Alaska by John Green and Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
The challenged titles of 2025 included 1,671 representing the lived experience of LGBTQ people and people of color — about 40% of the total challenges.
The report was released to coincide with National Library Week
“Libraries exist to make space for every story and every lived experience,” ALA President Sam Helmick said in a news release. “As we celebrate National Library Week, we reaffirm that libraries are places for knowledge, for access, and for all.”
The ALA said less than 3% of the challenges came from individual parents, with 92 percent of the challenges coming from government officials and political pressure groups.
“In 2025, book bans were not sparked by concerned parents, and they were not the result of local grassroots efforts,” said Sarah Lamdan, executive director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “They were part of a well-funded, politically-driven campaign to suppress the stories and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals and communities.”
A total 5,668 books were banned from American libraries in 2025, and 920 others were censored through access restrictions.
