Students walk into the school library to find a new read, only to see rows and rows of empty shelves. Novels are becoming banned in schools daily, but many are questioning whether outlawing books should be legal.  

The increase of book banning in schools across the country became known when several school districts in Texas reported that there had been 75 attempts to outlaw books in the first four months of the 2021-2022 school year. This is a huge increase from the first four months of the last school year, where there was only one attempt to ban a book. Many of the novels being prohibited contain sexual content or topics of sexuality, including “Maus,” “Speak,” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue.”  

“Many of the books under fire are newer titles, purchased by school librarians in recent years as part of a nationwide movement to diversify the content available to public school children,” an NBC article said. 

This sudden increase of banned literary works comes from some parents protesting reading material with inappropriate content being allowed in school libraries. Many believe that parents should have a say in their kid’s education and control what age their children should be allowed to read that type of material. There are many groups and organizations across the country that are attempting to ban books, such as Moms for Liberty, Parents Defending Education, and No Left Turn in Education.  

“I think book banning is only necessary when there is above age content in the book. However, I do think it is important for students to learn about serious topics and issues of society,” Kennedy Johnson, sophomore, said.  

Meanwhile, others believe that banning books is a violation of basic human rights. Some think that taking these publications out of schools is censorship because it keeps people from reading what they want and breaches the author’s freedom of speech. There are many writers that have even spoken out against their book(s) being banned.  

“Certain books should not be banned because they bring awareness to different topics and allows for books to have diversity as well as help people learn,” Bella Jurs, junior, said.  

No matter which side one is on, one may find this list of books that have been banned so far this year interesting.