In time for Banned Books Week, the National Council of Teachers in English (NCTE) and School Library Journal have partnered again to provide professional reviews of banned curriculum staples.

As a follow-up to April's Defending the Canon roundup, we highlight 18 acclaimed works by celebrated authors, including Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

Excerpts of each review are featured here, and the full reviews are linked below. Many of the NCTE reviews were adapted from the NCTE Rationale Database.

FICTION

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Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid’s Tale

Knopf

Gr 10 Up–This award-winning novel is an account of Offred’s life in an oppressive society. It is set in the futuristic world of Gilead, where fertile women are a scarce resource due to infertility. The Commanders, high-ranking, wealthy public officials, have designed the Republic of Gilead to ensure they have access to fertile women, whom they have given the title of Handmaids. Offred is assigned to one of these Commanders and must figure out how to survive in the new world. Atwood writes about quintessential themes of gender, religion, society, identity, and so much more that are ripe for discussion. VERDICT A cautionary dystopian tale published almost 40 years ago that still resonates with readers.– Kristyn Dorfman & NCTE Rationale Database

See full review.
 

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LEWIS CARROLL

ILLUS. BY JOHN TENNIEL

Through the Looking-Glass

Penguin Classics

Gr 3 Up–This sequel to Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland takes place six years later, with the beloved Alice stepping through a mirror into a surreal realm where she meets peculiar characters, explores curious landscapes, and attempts to make sense of the nonsensical events around her. This novel is like that poem, a construction of the imagination that delights young readers, who see in its searching but confident protagonist a template for who they may become—or already are. Many current YA and graphic novels would pair well with this classic as mentor texts. VERDICT The kind and considerate Alice trusts her own judgment even as a fantastic dream turns her world upside down, endearing her as a heroine to children everywhere for over 150 years. A must for all collections.– Georgia Christgau & Darius Phelps

See full review.

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LOIS DUNCAN

Killing Mr. Griffin

Little, Brown

Gr 8 Up–Mr. Griffin is a disliked high school English teacher. Mark persuades his classmates Jeff, David, Betsy, and Sue to kidnap their teacher to scare him into giving them high grades for inferior work. The students kidnap Mr. Griffin, tie him up, blindfold him, and drive him to the secluded mountains to leave him there. Their plan soon backfires when Mr. Griffin dies of a heart attack. The teens find themselves in a chain of events that lead them from one violent act to another. Although written in the late 1970s, Duncan’s classic will keep readers on the edge of their seats and delivers plot twist after plot twist. With multiple points of view, this suspense novel gives teens a full scope of each character’s mental state and motivation. VERDICT A great YA classic to share with Karen M. McManus fans.– Heather Lassley & NCTE Rationale Database

See full review.

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HERMANN HESSE

TR. FROM GERMAN BY JOACHIM NEUGROSCHEL
ILLUS. BY JESSICA HISCHE

Siddhartha

Penguin Classics

Gr 10 Up–This work has been in continuous publication for over a century because of its universally recognized themes of spirituality, personal growth, and self-exploration. Leaving the upper caste Indian society in which he was raised, Siddartha and his friend Govinda are in pursuit of a deeper understanding of life. The text follows Siddartha in his life-long spiritual journey and through the trials, teachings, and people that lead him to peace and wisdom. Set in India and focused on the religious beliefs and teachings of Buddhism, this is a strong novel for multicultural literature studies and for discussions of students’ own personal growth. While the novel is relatively short, and Hesse’s language simple and colorful, often with the flavor of legend or myth, some of the key concepts will appeal to more mature readers. VERDICT A compelling adventure story and an insightful, practical exploration of ancient Indian philosophy, recommended for older teens.– Bob Hassett & NCTE Rationale Database

See full review.

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KEN KESEY

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Penguin Classics

Gr 9 Up–Con man Randall P. McMurphy, convicted of drunkenness, assault, and battery, pulls a fast one when he requests a transfer to the men’s ward of a mental hospital to get out of the hard labor of a work farm. A ward of scared men is in thrall to the powerful, unflappable Nurse Ratched. McMurphy, charismatic and selfish, challenges her authority when a desire to make the men laugh turns him into a person who cares about others. The novel raises crucial questions about power and control, about how groups establish and maintain the kind of order that they deem necessary to their survival. While it includes disturbing and mature themes and experiences, and has clearly outdated stereotypes embedded within, it can be profitably taught to high school students to open stimulating and illuminating classroom discussions. VERDICT Through humor and his brand of heroism, Kesey reveals the mistreatment and ostracism of the mentally ill who society would have preferred to remain forgotten. A must for all collections.– Georgia Christgau & NCTE Rationale Database

See full review.

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GEORGE ORWELL

Animal Farm

Penguin

Gr 8 Up–Farm animals rebel against their slothful master and establish their own system of farm government. The rebellion begins in the vision of the animals’ elder statesman, the old boar Major. At a meeting attended by multiple farm animals, Major relates his dream of the day when the animals will manage their own affairs and enjoy the fruit of their labor rather than remaining slaves of the humans. After Major’s death the animals throw their master off the farm and set up their own government. Almost immediately, however, the government becomes corrupt. The book has been used to illustrate literary forms, such as the beast fable, allegory, and parable. The animal characters talk and act like human beings, and the story has an obvious larger significance, specifically the Russian revolution of 1917. What begins as good intentions can quickly turn sour when power is left unchecked. Almost 100 years after its publication, the allegory of this work remains a powerful study on how a dictator rises to power. VERDICT An undereducated working class lured by propaganda, manipulation of power, and political corruption are themes that remain as important now as when this was published. A necessary addition to YA collections.– Ashley Leffel & NCTE Rationale Database

See full review.

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JOHN STEINBECK

The Grapes of Wrath

Penguin Classics

Gr 8 Up–Steinbeck received the Pulitzer Prize in 1939 for this saga of the Joad family—his first full-length novel—based on the historic migration of poor farmers from the Midwest to the West Coast during the Depression. With their meager savings, the Joads, forced off their land and ancestral home in Oklahoma by drought, crop failure, and debt, buy a worn-out old truck for the long journey that son Al, 16, proudly takes responsibility for as lead driver and mechanic. Big brother Tom channels his fiery energy into helping the family get to California, even though he breaks parole to do it. This is just one of the tensions typical of Steinbeck’s deeply emotional and gripping classic, a tale readers won’t soon forget. The work provides material for the study of theme, characterization, the use of symbolism, and allegory. These topics should stimulate student response to a variety of issues, among them the plight of the downtrodden, man’s inhumanity to man, and the strength of the human spirit. VERDICT Students will enjoy this harsh but beautiful story of a family in crisis bound together by their belief in their right to a better life.– Georgia Christgau & NCTE Rationale Database

See full review.

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ALICE WALKER

The Color Purple

Penguin Classics

Gr 10 Up–A timeless classic, this is a cultural mainstay with perennial importance, relevance, and splendor. Penned by the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, this work of art takes place in rural Georgia and centers the various lives and experiences of Black women in the 1930s. Celie, the 14-year-old protagonist and narrator, survives ongoing emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather, Alphonso. Her stepfather arranges her marriage to Mister. He and his children all treat Celie badly, attempting to break her spirit and discard her humanity. Hope and resilience become the protagonist’s armor to take up space with her intersecting identities, causing her to also find strength from friendships with other strong Black women characters, Shug Avery and Sofia. There are several explicit descriptions of systematic rapes, masturbation, and beatings. VERDICT This is a bold, brave, and rich literary account that humanizes the experiences of Black women. Purchase for all collections.– Heather Lassley & Raven L. Jones

See full review.

NONFICTION

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REBECCA SKLOOT

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Crown

Gr 9 Up–The author’s high school biology teacher mentioned the name Henrietta Lacks in a class in the 1990s, but when Skloot asked for more information, he said no one knew who she was. But her cells were famous: before she died in 1951, a doctor had put a slice of her tumor in a petri dish, and the cells, called “HeLa,” continued reproducing. They jumpstarted the field of cell biology and an industry that eventually sold her so-called immortal cells to researchers worldwide. From a young age Skloot wondered how—and why—the scientific community left Lacks behind. By developing a deep, rich relationship with Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, Skloot broke through the family’s deep distrust of the medical profession to tell Henrietta’s story dramatically and respectfully. VERDICT Like a mystery novel, this wonderful book finds the human drama behind the scientific breakthrough of the discovery of cells taken from a young Black woman dying of cervical cancer without her knowledge.– Georgia Christgau

See full review.

SLJ Reviewers: Shelley M. Diaz, Kristyn Dorfman, Bob Hassett, Ashley Leffel, Heather Lassley 

NCTE Contributors: Raven L. Jones, Diana Liu, Darius Phelps