--- --- # The 10 Most Controversial Books of 2015  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 11, 2016 8:21 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 11, 2016 8:21 PM UTC The American Library Association (ALA) released its 2015 list of the 10 “most challenged” books on Monday. The ranking is based on 275 challenges, meaning “a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness,” the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) said in a statement, as part of an annual report on the [“State of America’s Libraries.”](http://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2016/executive-summary) A challenge doesn’t necessarily mean the book was censored, with outcomes varying per school. Below is the full list, including complaints about each title: 1. **_Looking for Alaska, by John Green_** Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. 2. **_Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James_** Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”). 3. **_I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings_** Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group. 4. **_Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin_** Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”). 5. **_The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon_** Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”). 6. **_The Holy Bible_** Reasons: Religious viewpoint. 7. **_Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel_** Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”). 8. **_Habibi, by Craig Thompson_** Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. 9. **_Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter_** Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence. 10. **_Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan_** Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”). Most Challenged Books of 2015: American Library Association ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4289229/top-ten-most-challenged-books-2015/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4289229/top-ten-most-challenged-books-2015/"},"headline":"The 10 Most Controversial Books of 2015","datePublished":"2016-04-11T20:21:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:31:31.508Z","description":"Reasons range from \"atheism\" and “condones public displays of affection”","url":"https://time.com/4289229/top-ten-most-challenged-books-2015/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4289229/top-ten-most-challenged-books-2015/","name":"The 10 Most Controversial Books of 2015"}}]}] ```