Book ban battles pivot as challenges to more titles come from outside groups

Book challenges neared a record high in 2025, showing an increase in pressure from political groups and officials as opposed to parents, as well as new targets in the challenged titles. 

The American Library Association (ALA) found 4,235 unique titles were challenged in 2025, barely missing the 2023 record of 4,240, with the “Top 11 Most Challenged Books” featuring mostly new books that never before appeared on its list.  

The evolving pressures and expanded criticism show a fight that has dramatically shifted over the past few years, though some factors remain consistent, such as the high number of targeted books that feature people of color and/or LGBTQ themes.

In one year, the percentage of book challenges that from outside groups or officials went from 72 percent to 92 percent. Less than 3 percent of the book challenges now come from individual parents.  

“The books that made the list this year [are] kind of further evidence of this expanding national push,” said Sarah Lamdan, executive director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

“What’s happening is there are these lists that are being made by book reading websites and by national political operatives, and those are shuffling the types of books and the titles that are being listed,” Lamdan added. “So, you can see that the list is primarily comprised of books that are about LGBTQIA individuals and to pick their stories and books that reflect the stories of people of color in America.” 

The fight over book bans in the U.S. accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when groups such as Moms for Liberty and others raised alarms over titles they felt were inappropriate for school children. 

In 2025, 40 percent of the unique titles challenged revolved around the experiences of LBGTQ people and people of color.  

The top challenged book in 2025 was........

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