The Best Banned Books Worth Reading for High School Students

My Take: This is one of my all-time favorite books from adulthood. 

It is a book that manages to transcend the ages. If you can't find references in the world around you now, then you simply aren't looking.

This book centers around a farm and its animals. Orwell uses animals to convey the darker and scarier sides of an authoritarian government.

Reason it was banned: It was banned in Russia for obvious reasons (he was blatantly calling out the Russian political regime), but also in other libraries for its political theories, encouraging revolts, and violence.

Another of my favorites. I still cry at the end every. single. time. And, I don't have to read it. I can just be reminded. Sigh.

Reason it was banned: This book was banned due to violence, gangs, tobacco, alcohol, and crude language. And, to be perfectly forthright, it has all of those things.

My Take: This isn't a book for your elementary kid. But, it also shows the power of friendship and the humanity in all of us, whether we are part of the "haves" or the "have nots." I recommend this for every teenager (and adult).

This isn't one of my favorites, and I will probably never read it in full again (though I teach it quite often), but it is a must-read. And, this proves that you don't have to like a book for it to make you to make you think critically.

Reason it was banned: It was banned for offensive language, racism, and violence.

My Take: Again, I can't argue with any of those points, but I don't believe those are reasons not to read it. Steinbeck purposely shows racism and discrimination against individuals with disabilities because he is pointing out the problem.

This book is a hard read but is one that will help students see how misunderstanding a person can create dangerous assumptions.

This book is one of the most challenged and banned books ever.

Reason it was banned: It has been consistently challenged due to offensive language and racism. It includes both.

My Take: I will admit that this is a favorite of mine, but it is one that has caused me the most critical thinking as an adult.

On initial reading as a white woman, I was moved by the story and saddened by the racism that has been so prominent throughout the southern states in which I live. I wanted to save the world from racism and throw this book in every racist's face in order to stop it.

But then, I spoke to friends who are African American. And, I realized that this book that I held up as a paragon of virtue had another side. This side included children being mocked as the "poor, pitiful blacks" of the story. It included the idea that white people are saviors to blacks. It became a topic of further discussion.

Is it a book I still recommend? Absolutely. It keeps me reevaluating my beliefs, and that makes me a better person.

I read this book when I was in high school and was fascinated at the depth of thought Mary Shelley had in creating this "monster."

Reason it was banned: This book has been banned as "obscene, objectionable, and indecent."

My Take: And, if you are someone who can't see the inner themes, then it is.

Personally, I think it's been banned because a young girl dared to write the first sci-fi story and become the mother of the science fiction genre.

As you read the book, lines get blurred and the question becomes, "Who is the monster?"

I'll let you decide.

Reason it was banned: This book was banned for offensive language and sexual references in the book. 

My Take: I can't argue that, and I would even add that there are more offensive acts in the book. But, it is a great book to challenge ideas with your teens.

It centers on themes of greed, power, wealth, sexuality, and betrayal. Plus, it's set in the 1920s and gives some historical context to the term the Roaring 20s.

Reason it was banned: This book was banned for violence.

My Take: Though it has violence in it, I would argue this one is a stretch. Possibly it was banned in an elementary school. If so, I could see that and would recommend it for high school.

But, don't miss this short story by Jack London about resilience and survival. And, it has dogs!

This one is wholly ironic. The book is about the future where books are banned and burned by firemen. 

Reason it was banned: It has been banned for obscenity, religious beliefs, and abortion.

My Take: I would argue that this is the point of the book, and Bradbury show us an alternate and scary future with his amazing skill as one of the best sci-fi writers to have picked up a pen.

It is about a man who survived being a prisoner of war to become a prisoner of a different fate. 

Reason it was banned:  It has been banned due to explicit sexual scenes, violence, and obscene language.

My Take: I do not encourage anyone under the age of 16 to read this book. It is rough, to put it mildly. Vonnegut spends his time coming to terms with the war and free will in this book about time travel.

Reason it was banned:  It has been banned due to murder and psychological disturbance, as well as for its political and religious themes.

My Take: Again, this is a book that proves that you can dislike a book and still be moved to rethink critical beliefs because of it.

I'll probably never read this book again and was deeply disturbed while reading it, BUT... and this is a big but... I'm glad I read it.

Dostoyevksy's views on religion and politics and especially those combined are deep themes of this book about a man grappling with the aftermath of committing murder.

Reason it was banned:  No one really knows for sure, but the Iranian government banned this book and all others by Paulo Coelho.

My Take: This is a great read if you enjoy mysticism and a little magic. The overarching theme is about following your dreams, even if they cause you to return from where you came. It's more the journey than it is the actual treasure. Or maybe your treasure isn't what you thought. Either way, this book will make you reevaluate what is important in your life.

Reason it was banned:  This book takes a hard line against the Cultural Revolution in China and includes sex and abortion. So, it has been banned in China.

My Take: This book follows two educated students as they are removed from their lives and forced to rehabilitate by becoming peasant farmers.

The book is based on the author's own personal experiences when he was banned from reading books and sent to a mountain village to work. 

I encourage anyone who is unfamiliar with this time in recent history to read it. Some very tough subjects are introduced in a matter of a fact way that give you the opportunity to think outside of your box.