Twilight Series More Offensive than Catcher in the Rye; Less than To Kill A Mockingbird

By David 

twilight-cover.jpegThe Guardian reports today that Stephanie Meyer has joined the ranks of authors whose books get the most requests to be banned form libraries. The Twilight series debuts at fifth, after To Kill a Mockingbird and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, among others.

The American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom compiles the list by the year and the decade. From their press release yesterday: “A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed or restricted because of content or appropriateness. In 2009, OIF received 460 reports on efforts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.”

The reasons suggested for banning Twilight are cited as “Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group,” remarkably similar to The Catcher in the Rye, which comes in sixth for “Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group.” Seven titles were dropped from the list this year, including Gossip Girl and The Kite Runner.

Read the full list after the jump.


The ALA’s Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009:

1. ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs

2. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: Homosexuality

3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide

4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence

8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

9. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group