Joined by a coalition of more than 35 authors, including Khaled Hosseini, Maia Kobabe, and Molly Knox Ostertag, PEN America sent a letter to Rockingham County, Virginia schools protesting a recent ban on more than 50 books and urging that the district return these books to shelves.

Books subject to “temporary removal” initiated on January 8 include: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, The Kite Runner by Hosseini, Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. 

Here is a full list of the 57 books banned in Rockingham County, Virginia, schools.

Sign the letter

Books Banned in Rockingham County, Virginia

Author

Title

Becky Albertalli

Leah on the Offbeat

Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Jesse Andrews

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why

Derf Backderf

My Friend Dahmer

Judy Blume

Forever…

Kacen Callender

Felix Ever After

Michael Cart

How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity

Soman Chainani

The School for Good and Evil

Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Mary H.K. Choi

Yolk

Juno Dawson

This Book Is Gay

Jonathan Evison

Lawn Boy

John Green

Looking for Alaska

Melissa Grey

Valiant Ladies

Ellen Hopkins

Tricks

Ellen Hopkins

Tilt

Ellen Hopkins

Smoke

Ellen Hopkins

Perfect

Ellen Hopkins

Identical

Ellen Hopkins

Glass

Ellen Hopkins

Burned 

Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner

Tiffany D. Jackson

Allegedly

George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren’t Blue

Rupi Kaur

The Sun and Her Flowers

Kody Keplinger

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

Maia Kobabe

Gender Queer: A Memoir

Susan Kuklin

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out

Trudy Ludwig

The Invisible Boy

Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury

Patricia McCormick

Sold

Lisa McMann

Fade

Casey McQuiston

Red, White, and Royal Blue

Toni Morrison

The Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison

Beloved

Lauren Myracle

Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale

Lauren Myracle

The Infinite Moment of Us

Lauren Myracle

l8r, g8r

Jennifer Niven

Breathless

Alice Oseman

Nick and Charlie: A Heartstopper Novella

Alice Oseman

Heartstopper, Vol. 4

Alice Oseman

Heartstopper, Vol. 3

Alice Oseman

Heartstopper, Vol. 2

Alice Oseman

Heartstopper, Vol. 1

Ashley Hope Pérez

Out of Darkness

Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes

Jackie Morse Kessler

Rage

Paul Ruditis

Rainbow Party

Amy Reed

The Nowhere Girls

Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

All American Boys

Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park

Elizabeth Scott

Living Dead Girl

Nic Sheff

Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines

Adam Silvera

More Happy Than Not

Beatrice Sparks

Go Ask Alice

Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Raina Telgemeier

Drama: A Graphic Novel

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Slaughterhouse-Five

Jessica Walton

Stars in their Eyes