To kill a mockingbird / Harper Lee.

This book has been continually challenged since the 1970s and as recently as 2009 for a variety of reasons, such as containing themes of institutional racism, profanity, racial slurs, and rape.

1984 / George Orwell.

This classic novel about a fictional totalitarian dystopia was challenged in 1981 in Jackson County, Florida for promoting communism and being sexually explicit.

These books along with other Tolkien novels were burned outside the Christ Community Church in Alamagordo, New Mexico in 2001 for being satanic.

The satanic verses / Salman Rushdie.

Banned in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Quatar, Indonesia, South Africa, and India for its criticism of Islam. Ayatollah Khomeni issued a religious edict, or fatwa, sentencing to death the author and all who knew of its content and involved in its publication. Hitoshi Igarashi, its Japanese translator was stabbed to death; Ettore Capriolo, its Italian translator and William Nygaard, its Norwegian publisher, have been seriously wounded for their connection to the book.

In cold blood / Truman Capote.

The recounts of a violent crime and its content of sex and profanity led to this book being banned, but later reinstated, in a Savannah, Georgia high school as part of its Advanced Placement English curriculum.

Brideshead revisited / Evelyn Waugh.

Alabama Representative Gerald Allen proposed legislation that would prohibit the "purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle" with public funds. Novels with gay protagonists and textbooks implying homosexuality as a natural trait in all Alabama school, public, and university libraries would have to be destroyed by the legislation's policies. This novel, along with others containing gay characters, would be affected.

Song of Solomon / Toni Morrison.

Complainants believed the book was sexually explicit and degrading to black people. The book has been removed from several schools' reading lists after parents declared the book as "filthy" and "repulsive."

Harry Potter series / J.K. Rowling.

This highly popular series has been the subject of much controversy from religious groups. The reasons for its challenges include occultism/Satanism, violence, and anti-family viewpoints.

Go ask Alice / Author anonymous.

This book from the 1970's is written as the diary of a young girl whose name is never given, and it tells how her drug usage led to her demise. It has been banned in numerous areas in the United States since its publication and continues to be challenged for containing explicit drug use, rape, sex, and encouraging runaways.

Brave new world / Aldous Huxley.

Its many references to promiscuous sex, drug abuse, suicide, and being anti-religion and amoral led to this book being one of the most frequently challenged books. It has been banned in Ireland and several United States school districts.

Slaughterhouse-five / by Kurt Vonnegut.

Challenged and banned in many public high schools, and burned at least once in Drake, North Dakota, this novel is the subject of much controversy for explicit sex scenes, strong profanity, torture, and violent imagery. It has even been investigated by Howell County, Michigan law enforcement in response to a local organization's accusation of its inclusion in curriculum as distribution of sexually explicit material to minors. It was concluded that it was not in violation of criminal law.

A day no pigs would die / Robert Newton Peck.

A story about the coming of age of a young boy on a farm, the book contains graphic imagery of animals mating and pig butchery. Since it was intended for younger teens, this book has been challenged many times.

Lord of the flies / by William Golding.

Another frequently challenged book since the 1970s, this novel has received attacks from various groups on the grounds of containing racism and racial slurs, suggesting humans are amoral, graphic violence, profanity and sexism.

The chocolate war / Robert Cormier.

A young adult novel set in a high school; it has been frequently challenged in high schools for profanity, violence, explicit sex, and its religious viewpoints.

The jungle / Upton Sinclair.

Banned in Yugoslavia, South Korea, East Germany, and burned by the Nazis in 1933, this novel has been the target of governments that oppose communism and socialism.