We started the Fully-Booked Podcast episode with some personal updates and our latest reads. Meaghan had just finished The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, a fast-paced thriller that she found both fun and perplexing in terms of what to expect from its sequels. She mentioned how Shirin tends to dive into one author’s entire catalogue when she discovers a book she enjoys, and this time it was her turn to follow suit.
Shirin, on the other hand, had just wrapped up Sunrise on the Reaping, the most recent Hunger Games novel. Neither of us is a die-hard fan of the series, but we both appreciated certain elements, especially when previous entries focused on characters like President Snow.
Shirin noted that while the book was fine, it felt repetitive, echoing Katniss’ journey in the original trilogy. She admitted she might not have read it had the movie already been out, highlighting how closely these books and films tend to mirror each other.
Note
The following is an editorialized transcript of our weekly literary podcast. If you would like to listen to the podcast, click the play button above orlisten on your favorite platform with the links below.
The ALA’s 2024 Challenged Book Data
The main focus of this episode was the alarming increase in book censorship across North America, especially in the United States. Shirin had been diving into data from the American Library Association (ALA), and the numbers were staggering. In 2024 alone, there were 4,190 book titles challenged, mostly pushed by pressure groups and influenced decision-makers, not just concerned parents. For context, from 2001 to 2020, an average of only 46 titles were challenged each year.
What really stood out was how the nature of these censorship efforts had shifted. Back in the early 2000s, only 6% of challenges came from organized groups. In 2024, that number skyrocketed to 72%. Most of the targeted books contained LGBTQ+ themes, racial identity, social justice, or stories of personal trauma and coming-of-age.
This prompted us to ask: Why are people so threatened by lived experience, empathy, and diversity in storytelling? It seems that instead of aiming to protect children, these groups are trying to erase stories that reflect the reality of many people’s lives.
Exploring The Top 10 Most Challenged Books
We broke down the top 10 most challenged books of 2024, and unsurprisingly, they shared common themes; queer identity, racial struggle, gender exploration, addiction, and trauma.
Books like All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe were high on the list, both memoirs focused on LGBTQ+ identity. We also saw classic literary staples still getting flak, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison being one of them, which surprised us because it’s been around since 1970. Apparently, we’re still not ready to have honest conversations about race.
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Titles like Looking for Alaska, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl were also included, all of which cover complex teenage emotions and situations: suicide, sexuality, and death. Other books like Crank and Sold dealt with heavy, real-world issues like drug addiction and human trafficking.
We asked each other: What exactly are people afraid of here? Why is it seen as dangerous to talk about these subjects when they’re happening in real life? It feels absurd to ban a story about a teen struggling with meth because it might “influence” readers, when in fact these stories can educate and offer emotional insight. The irony is almost unbearable.
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletterThe Situation In Canada
While the U.S. tends to get most of the attention in these discussions, we didn’t let Canada off the hook. Meaghan brought up that even here, we’re seeing a troubling rise in book challenges. In 2024, 119 titles were challenged, with another 30 already flagged in early 2025. The primary reasons echoed those in the U.S., objections to LGBTQ+ themes, “explicit” content, and gender diversity.
The data came from the Canadian Library Challenges Database, which is backed by Toronto Metropolitan University’s Centre for Free Expression. A lot of the concerns were about age appropriateness, but even that excuse feels like a smokescreen for discomfort with difference.
However, there was a silver lining. BookNet Canada reported that LGBTQ+ fiction sales actually rose by 34% in the last quarter of 2024. Clearly, when you try to silence something, it can make people even more curious. People want stories that represent who they are, and thankfully, we’re in a time where those books are being written, published, and read.
RelatedWhy Was Water for Elephants Banned? We Still Don’t Get It
The Power Of Storytelling And Representation
This episode ultimately came down to a shared belief in the importance of storytelling and the power of representation. We reflected on how bookstores and libraries are fighting back. Displays of banned books are becoming more common, and institutions like Barnes & Noble and public libraries are leaning into the controversy by highlighting these works.
Nearly half of public libraries now offer banned book displays, up 15% since 2020. Publishers also continue to support these stories, showing there’s still a demand, and that matters. If publishers stopped backing these authors, then we’d really be in trouble.
RelatedI Read Every Housemaid Novel And I Am Torn About The Casting Of The Movie
We ended by reaffirming that censorship doesn’t protect, it stifles. If someone finds a topic uncomfortable, they can choose not to read it. That’s their right. But trying to take that right away from others? That’s not okay.
In the end, we were fired up, but hopeful. Because for every book banned, there’s a reader who finds it and feels seen. That’s the kind of power stories have, and that’s worth protecting.
