Banned Books by Kelli Westphal

Fahrenheit 451

kelliwestphal1 — 2025-09-30 14:59:46 UTC

Twilight Book 1

2025-09-30 15:00:29 UTC

Invisible Man

2025-09-30 15:01:33 UTC

By Ralph Ellison, published in 1952. The book is about an African American man who feels invisible in society due to racism. It leads him through college and a political group that abandons him. Ultimately, leading him to hide underground. Invisible Man was banned because of the lack of innocence, language, and sexual content.

The Color Purple

2025-09-30 15:01:50 UTC

Nineteen Minutes

2025-09-30 15:01:55 UTC

Looking for Alaska

2025-09-30 15:02:19 UTC

13 Reasons Why

2025-09-30 15:02:38 UTC

by Jay Asher published in 2007.

The book is about A suicidal girl who left behind 13 tapes detailing the people and events she blames for her death. The book was banned because of the SF 496 law banning books describing a sex act. Tanner Gries

Looking for Alaska Evan B

2025-09-30 15:02:55 UTC

Looking for Alaska by John Green follows Miles "Pudge" Halter as he enrolls at Culver Creek Boarding School in search of a deeper meaning to life and meets the enigmatic and troubled Alaska Young. As their friendship grows, a sudden tragedy forces Miles and his friends to grapple with grief, guilt, and the complexities of love and loss. Through this emotional journey, the novel explores themes of identity, impermanence, and the search for answers in the face of life's biggest questions. The book was banned for having substance abuse, foul language, and being sexually explicit.

The Handmaids Tale

2025-09-30 15:02:59 UTC

This was published in 1985. The handmaids Tale depicts the oppressive theocrative regime of future America. This book was banned because of its content and violence.

Beloved

2025-09-30 15:03:08 UTC

This book is about a woman named Sethe who used to be a slave and is haunted by the ghost of her baby daughter. When a mysterious girl named Beloved shows up, Sethe must face her painful past and the choices she made to protect her family.

Beloved by Toni Morrison was banned in some places because it includes violent and sexual content that some people felt was too disturbing or inappropriate for students.

Thirteen Reasons Why

2025-09-30 15:03:58 UTC

By Jay Asher, published in 2007. The book is about a high school student who received a package of cassette tapes and then later commits suicide. The book got banned due to talking about teen suicide, sexual assault, bullying, drug use, and profanity.

The Color Purple

2025-09-30 15:04:58 UTC

Sold

2025-09-30 15:05:22 UTC

Lakshmi was a 13-year-old living in the mountains of Nepal. She meets a charming stranger who promises a job as a maid for a rich family. When they arrive in India, she finds the reality of the job. She makes it to the house of happiness, which she realizes was in a prostitution ring.

It was banned for being sexually explicit and depicting sexual assault.

Handmaid's Tale

2025-09-30 15:06:07 UTC

The book is about a dystopian future, environmental disasters declining birth rates have led to a second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead. The book was banned because it was perceived as anti-christian and anti-religious.

The Hate U Give

2025-09-30 15:06:34 UTC

This book is about a teenage boy, Khalil, who was fatally shot by a police officer in front of his friend, Starr. Many believed he was a thug or a drug dealer, but Starr witnessed what truly happened and wants to speak out, but is afraid of what might happen to her if she does. The book was banned for "descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act" as well as profanity and perceived anti-police themes.

Flamer

2025-09-30 15:07:04 UTC

"Tricks"

2025-09-30 15:07:45 UTC

By Ellen Hopkins, it was published in 2009. The book is about several teenagers with issues like family conflict, identity, and the desire for love. The narrative explores their struggles with addiction, unhealthy relationships, and risky choices in their search for connection. The book highlights the challenges of adolescence and the consequences of their decisions while emphasizing the quest for acceptance and intimacy. The book is also inspired by the author's real-life experiences in Las Vegas.

This book was banned because of drug use, abuse, and prostitution.

nineteen minutes

2025-09-30 15:14:18 UTC

Published in 2007.

This Book is about the unfolding of a School Shooting. Bullying, and Family Relationships. The book was banned because it was about shooting and bullying.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

kylerelser — 2025-09-30 17:49:21 UTC

By Maya Angelou, published in 1969. This book is about Maya Angelou and her coming of age as a black girl in the South. It details her experiences with abandonment, sexual assault, and racism during the Jim Crow era. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" was banned because of sexually explicit content.

The Hate U Give

2025-09-30 17:51:19 UTC

The Hate U Give follows a black teen, Starr Carter, who witnesses her childhood friend, Khalil, being fatally shot by a police officer. As she struggles with trauma, she also finds herself torn between her poor neighborhood and the mostly white prep school she attends. The novel explores systemic racism, police brutality, and the power of finding one's voice to demand justice. It was banned due to its profanity, violence, reference to drug use, and its portrayal of police brutality and racism.

IT

tristonvos — 2025-09-30 17:55:39 UTC

-The story follows the experience of children getting terrorized by the creature named It. It is an evil entity that exploits the fears of his victims.

-The cause of the book being banned was primarily for its mature content, including violence, and disturbing imagery.

1984

2025-09-30 17:56:25 UTC

By George Orwell, published in 1949. The book is about a man under constant surveillance from the government. He has a diary where he writes about rebellion because speaking of such things will get you punished so he hides from the government with his girlfriend. Having a relationship based off love and intimacy is also illegal. This book was banned because it was sexually explicit, and its totalitarianism views.

Catch-22

2025-09-30 17:57:41 UTC

Published November 10, 1961 by the American writer Joseph Heller. A historical fiction book set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. The primary themes are bureaucracy, absurdity, greed, morality, communication, Dark comedy, atheism, power, insanity, fear, isolation, and violence. The book was banned due to language (profanities), sexual references, misogyny, racism, violence, including sexual violence.

The Great Gatsby

2025-09-30 17:58:04 UTC

Jay Gatsby is the wealthy, mysterious neighbor of the Narrator, Nick Carraway. A WW1 Veteran, obsessed with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan, who is now married to Tom Buchanan. Gatsby's obsession with his illegal business dealings and his former lover, Daisy, ends in a tragic accident, killing Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Gatsby eventually gets killed in cold blood. This book was banned because of language, sexual references, and adultery.

The Bluest Eye

2025-09-30 18:08:51 UTC

By Toni Morrison, published in 1970.

The book tells the tragic story of Pecola Breedlove, an African-American girl in the 1940s who, marked by the racism and violence of her environment, developed a deep desire for blue eyes, a white ideal of beauty that she believed would bring her love and acceptance.Fue prohibido porque incluye temas como incest, rape an violence

Slaughterhouse-Five

2025-09-30 18:30:16 UTC

By Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), a German-American author whose self-trauma soared his novel to the top. "Slaughterhouse-Five" is a novel about a young protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, struggling with mental health issues, who is set as a military chaplain in World War II. He is abducted by aliens who fast-forward and flash him back to points in his life, making him feel "unstuck in time". Throughout the novel, he yearns for an understanding of life and what the meaning of life truly is. We experience trauma, laughter, frustration, and wonder all in this one novel. Slaughterhouse-Five was banned because of the foul language, anti-Christianity views, war realities, and what it does to an individual.

Great Gatsby

2025-09-30 19:05:56 UTC

By F.Scott Fitzgerald. Published in 1925. The Great Gatsby by F.scott follows Jay Gatsby a wealthy and mysterious man who throws lavish parties in hope of reuniting with his lost love. Daisy Bochanan. amidst the glamour and moral decay of 1920s America. Narrated by Nick Carraway, the novel explores themes of illusion, longing, and the American Dream's corruption.

The Book was banned for a few reasons; sexual violence, adultery