Every Reader Deserves the Right Book
For over forty years, Banned Books Week has been a renowned celebration of free and open access to reading and information. Created in 1982 as a response to an increasing number of challenges to books in libraries, schools, and bookstores, it has evolved into a movement that brings these groups and their respective reading communities together.
Banned Books Week represents a chance for both reader discovery and a deeper understanding of topics that too often divide us. Recently, a colleague posed the question: “If people are reading less and less, why should we continue to fight book bans and challenges?” Upon reflection, the answer is: everyone deserves to choose their reading path. Whether that’s to read voraciously across genres and formats, read sporadically on limited topics, or not read at all—nobody should make that choice for you. The same principle of choice applies to book-banning efforts: everyone is entitled to their perspective on a specific book, but those views shouldn’t determine what everyone else can read.
Diversity in choice matters, as do the roles of teachers and librarians as professional stewards and community builders in connecting readers with the right books to meet their unique interests and needs.
Supporting Reading Cultures Year-Round
Book bans and challenges (there is a distinction between the two, and it’s worth knowing) are having widespread impacts on everything from publishing and book creation to writing and education, and on libraries. Some book authors and illustrators are feeling pressure to censor their art before it reaches editors, who in turn must grapple with the potential for strong reactions to the works these creative teams lovingly bring to the world (PEN America, 2025). One notable trend that has emerged, however, is that attempted bans can become highly publicized. This attention creates potential for new interest and discovery in diverse titles, whether the discovery occurs through libraries, schools, or retail channels.
Books are often banned or challenged due to “false claims of illegal obscenity for minors” or “inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes; and covering topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice” (ALA 2025). The good news is that the same study shows that only 3% of all reported book challenges are made by parents from within the community of the books in question. This sheds light on the reality that most people support the work of their local schools and libraries, and trust these stewards to uphold sensible standards for their communities.
For their part, teachers and librarians are well-trained and employ many professional guidelines and safeguards, in addition to their own subject expertise on many of the books they provide, to ensure the content is age-appropriate for the students and library users they serve. They are not advocating for kids to be prematurely exposed to mature reading content. Instead, teachers and librarians are facilitating the love of reading by providing access to a myriad of book choices, expertly selected to match a reader's abilities, learning needs, and interests. This commitment to thoughtful access and reader choice can take many forms. Initiatives such as banned books displays, school and library programs (one favorite for adults is Blind Date with a Banned Book), and banned book club discussions give readers opportunities to explore these books, engage with their ideas, and form their own perspectives.
Books, Comics, and Stories That Stay With Us
Joyful Reading Company’s mission is to build a culture of reading. It’s a commitment that resonates with everyone internally and pours out through our efforts with products like Beanstack, Comics Plus®, and the Reading Motivation Index (RMI). We spend our working hours planning and perfecting tools, plus curating content to help customers build strong reading communities (and we spend many of our non-working hours reading!).
Whatever Banned Books Week activities you have planned, Joyful Reading has tools to support reader discovery and engagement.
Beanstack, our flagship reading motivation platform, builds reading culture in libraries and schools by making reading fun and rewarding. La Grange Park Public Library demonstrated success with its reading challenges. By providing their community with lists of recommended titles during Banned Books Week 2025, La Grange Park Public Library also challenged them to log their reading on Beanstack to earn badges and be entered into a gift card drawing from a neighboring bookstore, as well as a free tote bag. They even offered free bookmarks and stickers to anyone who logged their reading as a thank-you for participating in the reading challenge.
LA County Library brings the spirit of Books Unbanned to life each year with a teen challenge that makes participation active, creative, and social. Teens can read a banned book, design a bookmark, submit a book review, recommend a title to friends, or even watch a page-to-screen adaptation on Kanopy. The library is also part of the nationwide Books Unbanned initiative, which helps young people access books and library resources beyond the boundaries of their own communities. Together, these efforts give teens more ways to explore stories, share what they’re reading, and make their own choices about the books that interest them.
You can also use our platform, Comics Plus, for its expertly curated collection of high-interest manga, Western comics, picture books, and early readers, available through an unlimited, simultaneous-use access model. Imagine your entire classroom or book club reading the same title at the same time, with no waiting and no additional cost to your organization. What better way to celebrate this year’s Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read theme with a treasure trove of titles, plus options to easily measure their progress, all designed to empower readers with the freedom of choice.
How Reader Choice Builds Reading Motivation
When readers can explore different genres, formats, subjects, and perspectives, they have more opportunities to discover what genuinely captures their attention.
To celebrate that discovery, we’ve gathered some of our team’s most memorable books, along with a selection of high-interest comics available through Comics Plus. From young adult novels to graphic novels for readers of different ages, these recommendations offer plenty of possibilities for finding a story that sticks.
Our Team's Recommended Reads
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is often considered a deep examination of how the human obsession with beauty and conformity leads us to question race, class, and gender. Set in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison tells the story of 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove as she struggles internally with her Blackness and her lack of blond, blue eyes, and what transpires one fall in 1941.
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez tells the story of a forbidden romance in an oil town in Texas during the 1930s. Naomi Vargas, a Mexican American girl, and Wash Fuller, a Black boy, live during a time when segregation can mean life or death—yet the teens fall in love, in some act of defiance, while tragedy strikes their divisive school in the town of New London. Pérez's portrayal of their love journey also highlights the family drama that stirs when race, prejudice, and romance collide.
Looking for Alaska by John Green tells the story of Miles Halter as he sets off for boarding school, away from the safe life he has always known. It is there that Miles meets Alaska Young, a clever, attractive, and “screwed-up” young woman who pulls Miles into a labyrinth he never anticipated. Green’s celebrated book is often taught in high schools and is available in over 30 languages.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler is a story about a 15-year-old girl named Lauren Olamina who fights for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Highly acclaimed and award-winning author Butler captures every ounce of vulnerability you can imagine in the dystopian world that hyper empathic Lauren lives within—especially as her society is in chaos from climate change and economic crisis.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo is the winner of the Stonewall Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and a New York Times bestseller. Lo tells a gripping love story about 17-year-old Lily Hu, who is living in San Francisco during the Red Scare. As Lily grapples with her feelings for Kathleen Miller, she must also face the potential deportation of her father and the lack of safety for her and Kathleen’s love story.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a New York Times bestseller that was adapted into a feature film with Amandla Stenberg. The collision of 16-year-old Starr Carter's life between the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy prep school that she attends happens when her best friend Khalil is killed by a police officer. Only Starr can provide the answers to what truly happened as Khalil’s death makes headlines and protests ring out in the community.
Comics Plus Picks for Every Age
Many frequently banned and challenged books explore identity, culture, history, and a wide range of lived experiences. With that in mind, here is a selection of our favorite titles across various reading ages that offer different perspectives and positive representation. While these specific titles are not currently on any frequently banned and challenged lists, they can serve as read-alikes to raise awareness and fill out your Banned Books Week displays.
Kids
The Fantastic Freewheeler (Capstone)
Drew Daniels is a middle school kid who loves sports, solving mysteries, and studying aliens. Drew has cerebral palsy, but remains unstoppable due to his own intellect and an alien-induced brain boost, which enables him to become the superhero, Fantastic Freewheeler. When a land developer swoops in with plans to tear down their only park, Freewheeler and his friends spring into action.
This quick read is a good showcase of the power kids have when they unite for a common cause. The Fantastic Freewheeler is a middle-grade series that also highlights the realistic heroics of a boy who isn’t held back by his medical diagnosis. Drew is accepted by his peers, lives life to the fullest, and employs his wit and love of mysteries to expertly solve problems.
Teens
What We Don’t Talk About (Avery Hill)
Farai has fallen in love, and she’s ready to let the world know. But first, she has to meet Adam’s parents. Of course, it’s normal to be anxious, but Farai and Adam have the additional hurdle of being a young, interracial couple. Farai’s worries quickly come to fruition when she meets Adam's mom and is subjected to a series of microaggressions almost immediately. When Adam gets Farai to open up about what’s bothering her, his reaction to her experiences is gaslighting and excuses.
Farai is the modern leading lady who does not hesitate to speak up for herself and for what is right, and in a way meant to educate rather than intentionally embarrass. The friction between characters provides a window to explore race relations and ideologies within people’s inner lives in a way that will intrigue and resonate with readers.
Young Adult
Navigating With You (Mad Cave)
Despite Neesha’s initial resistance to chatty Gabby’s attempt to become friends, the two discover they both love the same manga series, Navigator Nozomi. Both girls have difficult home lives, but bond as they start a friendly competition to collect all issues of Nozomi and finish the series. These characters are deep and nuanced: Neesha is a disabled community activist and costume designer, and Gabby suffers from PTSD related to the death of her mother and balances a toxic, long-distance relationship.
Navigating With You is an award-winning book that wraps important world issues into a delightful story, and even includes a fun manga story-within-a-story.
Just Another Story: A Graphic Migration Account (Lerner Publishing)
Having immigrated from El Salvador a decade ago, Carlos is ready to finally relive the trauma of his coming to America story. His decision to accompany his mother on the journey to America quickly devolved into being shot at, bribing police and guerrillas to secure safety, debilitating knee pain from days locked in confined quarters, prolonged enduring of trauma and threats, and more. Carlos and his mother even encounter a group of immigrants with stories even worse than their own.
This firsthand narrative is an effective way to get readers thinking about the many potential pitfalls of immigrating to a new country, including the often intense and lengthy process of achieving permanent citizenship, and to begin thinking critically about immigration. Between the importance of the topic and how well it is presented here, it’s no wonder Just Another Story was selected as one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Young Adult Titles of 2024.
Adult
Why I Adopted My Husband: The True Story of a Gay Couple Seeking Legal Recognition in Japan (TOKYOPOP)
Yuta and Kyota are an adorable gay couple living in Japan, where same-sex marriage is not yet legal. Wanting to celebrate their love and also take legal steps to protect their future, they decide to exercise a unique loophole in order to force the government to recognize their union: Kyota, only five months older, legally adopted Yuta as his “son.”
Despite the levity of their overall interactions, Why I Adopted My Husband dives deep into the legal ins and outs involving same-sex marriage in Japan. The title includes an afterword from mangaka Yuta Yagi, who notes that he hopes the reader's takeaway is simply that people like him and Kyota “exist.”
Banned Books Week matters because without recognition and protection for books about these topics, the stories of entire communities could be overlooked or erased. It’s another reason why no one person or group should determine reading access for everyone.
Keep Readers Discovering Year-Round
Banned Books Week may last just one week, but creating opportunities for readers to discover books that interest and inspire them happens year-round. With Beanstack and Comics Plus, schools and libraries can create custom reading challenges that encourage exploration, celebrate reading, and help build a strong reading culture.
Interested in supporting reading access on a larger scale? Thankfully, “no one fighting book censorship in schools is doing so alone, and many individuals, coalitions, and organizations are actively pushing back” (PEN America, 2025). The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom offers several ways to get involved, including furthering your own education and advocacy skills, raising public awareness, joining dedicated committees, and even getting help with your local censorship challenges.
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