Book banning has been a problem for centuries, but we’re in the midst of a major resurgence of censorship in schools and libraries. More books were banned in 2023 in US schools and libraries than any other year for which records have been kept, according to the American Library Association. Emily Drabinski, the ALA president, called book bans “an attack on our freedom to read” and noted how most of the books pulled from shelves are focused on issues of gender and sexuality.
Romance books are frequently subjected to moralizing and attempts at bans because their portrayals of love and sex are deemed to be unsuitable for audiences of all ages. Literature is a vital part of our society and one of the best ways we can combat these attempts at censorship is by reading and promoting the works we love in spite of this fear. Here are eight frequently banned or challenged romance novels that you should read now.
Strange Fruit
First published in 1944, Lillian Smith's debut novel was controversial in its time for its tackling of interracial romance. At that time, anti-miscegenation laws were common across America and interracial couples faced jail or death. Strange Fruit was banned in Boston and Detroit for charges of lewdness, and the Postal Service temporarily banned interstate shipping of the book until Eleanor Roosevelt intervened.
Set in Georgia of the 1920s, the story follows the white Tracy Deen as he falls for Nonnie, a Black woman who he rescued from a racist attack. The two have a secret affair, and Nonnie becomes pregnant, but the pair are supposed to marry other people. The revelation of the relationship leads to tragedy.
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Few books have faced more public and more drawn-out censorship scandals than Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Now considered a classic of English literature, the novel struggled to even be published. When it was, it was banned almost immediately.
The uncensored edition wasn't published in the United Kingdom until 1960 and that became the focus of an obscenity trial that paved the way for greater freedom in publishing. In 2024, Lady Chatterley's Lover almost feels quaint, but its story of a woman who finds solace and pleasure in an extra-marital affair with her gamekeeper still has the power to provoke.
Wildthorn
Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove longs to break free from her respectable life as a Victorian doctor's daughter, but her hunt for freedom and independence is brought to a halt when she is forced into Wildthorn Hall, a lunatic asylum where young women are stripped of their dignity and left to rot out of society's reach.
As she fights to stay alive and survive this system that is designed to break her down, she finds solace in the form of a fellow patient named Eliza. Together, they seek answers to Louisa's incarceration, and find strength in their growing love against all odds.
Annie on My Mind
This book, first published in 1982, was named one of the best young adult books by the American Library Association, but it was also the subject of controversy. Copies of the book were burned in Kansas City because people objected to its queer themes. The case ended up in a courtroom, with a judge ruling that schools could not remove a book from library shelves unless that book is deemed educationally unsuitable (and Annie on My Mind was educationally suitable).
The Annie of the title is a teenage girl who becomes good friends with Liza Winthrop, a private school kid who feels trapped by her privileged life. Annie's background is wildly different, but soon they grow close and fall in love. Will the rest of the world accept their relationship?
Two Boys Kissing
According to the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, the YA romance Two Boys Kissing was the 18th-most banned and challenged book in the United States between 2010 and 2019 because of its sexual content and depiction of homosexuality.
Inspired by true events, the book follows a pair of teen boys who set out to break a Guinness World Record by kissing for 32 hours non-stop. Their challenge inspires love, respect, and controversy in everyone who sees it, and pushes back against bigots' ideas of romance and commitment.
A Court of Mist and Fury
A Court of Thorns and Roses has become one of the most read series in fiction of the past decade. The romantasy saga has paved the way for the explosive popularity of the genre and inspired legions of devoted fans. It's also frequently challenged and banned by local governments. A Court of Mist and Fury was tied for the tenth-most banned and challenged book in the United States in 2022. In 2023 a school district in Iowa banned the book from libraries because they asked ChatGPT which books they should remove and it came up!
The second book in Maas' series follows the heroine Feyre as she finds herself torn between the human world and that of the High Fae, led by her former captor Tamlin. To save them and herself, Feyre made a deal with Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, and he's determined to ensure she honors their pact.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Becky Albertalli's sweet YA romance is often banned because of its "sexual content" despite the fact that there aren't any sex scenes in the book. It's largely attacked because it's a story about a young gay teen living his life and falling in love with no shame. Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier fears that his secret might be revealed to everyone in his school.
If he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, an anonymous boy he's been emailing, could be revealed. Simon has to find a way to get out of his comfort zone, confront change, and be himself without caring about the rest of the world.
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
Aside from writing about vampires and witches, the legendary Anne Rice wrote erotica under the penname A.N. Roquelaure, and the ensuing work faced immense challenges from libraries.
In the Sleeping Beauty quartet, the popular fairy-tale gets a kinky twist. The beautiful maiden is awoken by her handsome prince, but not with a kiss.
His reward for ending the hundred years of enchantment is Beauty's complete and total enslavement to him. Now, she is to be his plaything in all forms of pleasure and pain, and what she experiences will open up a whole new world of eroticism for the previously innocent beauty.
