The earliest recorded destruction of books dates back to 213 BCE, when Chinese Emperor Qin Shui Huang facilitated the burning of all books he found spreading “misinformation.” Contrary to what he claimed, the books were primarily Confucian, a teaching that went against his own practiced philosophy, Legalism. His immense demand for the destruction of books—just for being critical of his beliefs—marked one of the earliest examples of government censorship. Almost three millennia later and a striking seven thousand miles away, the privilege of free speech and literature continues to be undermined in the United States.
In the minds of the American educational system and government, books are banned to protect children. There’s usually a pattern to what books are banned. Stories like Diary of A Part-Time Indian or The Catcher in the Rye have been subjected to attempts of banning because of their supposed inappropriate content, dangerous themes, or influential ideas. For example, there’s a vulgar amount of profanity in the two books, and books narrated by teenage boys will unsurprisingly include sexual innuendos or violence. The restriction of access to books supposedly prevents readers from getting “dangerous” ideas or terminates the spread of devastating misinformation.
But, for all its intended goodness, there is no denying that the banning of books contradicts the First Amendment, thus sparking controversy for as long as they have existed. However, as long as the government claimed it was in the interest of public safety, there was little stopping them from banning books, and there was little that citizens could argue against not banning books. In 2025, however, President Trump threatens to cross this line of reasoning entirely by decreasing the consumption of LGBTQ+ books by children and cutting back on books that give a voice to people of color (POC). This notion that Trump is banning books simply because they give LGBTQ+ and POC groups coverage is giving American citizens arguments against book bans that are a lot more justified.
It is one thing to ban books because of the claim that some themes should be censored for the sake of preserving children’s innocence, but it is another to ban books because they contain themes that are allegedly ‘harmful’ or will ‘plant wrong ideas into children,’ all because they explore different identities. Books are not just ways to guarantee quick entertainment, nor are they small stories to read once and forget forever. Books should be a lesion to communication, to educate, and to spread awareness. The action of banning books simply because they give voices to minority groups shuts down those trying to raise their voices to be heard. “The history book on the bookshelf repeats itself,” and in the light of book bans, we risk history happening again and again.
Book Bans 2025
Book bans have been active for years, and while there is not yet an official list of books to be banned in 2025, the detrimental effects of the Trump Administration’s bans are already starting to alarm Americans. Last school year, PEN America, a non-profit organization founded to protect free speech and expression in America, recorded an astounding 10,046 book bans across the country, setting a new record for book bans in America thus far. The numbers are expected to climb drastically this year under Trump’s administration, especially with the increasing movement against LGBTQ+ and POC works.
Weeks after Trump’s inauguration, the DODEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) flagged a number of books to be put under “review.” Amongst these books was Oscar-winning actress and children’s book author Julianne Moore’s Freckleface Strawberry.
Freckleface Strawberry, a children’s book about a young girl who learns to love her freckles and celebrate her differences in the face of all the inequity in the world, has always been a charming book that encouraged children to embrace their differences, and that of others.
“It is a great shock for me to learn that my first book, Freckleface Strawberry, has been banned by the Trump Administration from schools run by the Department of Defense”, Julianne Moore wrote in an Instagram post following the termination. “It is a book I wrote for my children and for other kids to remind them that we all struggle, but are united by our humanity and our community.”
Another of these flagged books is by Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan-American author, who is most known for his works revolving around the Middle Eastern conflict and the realities of those affected. His most notable work, The Kite Runner, is a staple that, until now, has been openly enjoyed by high-school students world-wide.
The book offers a perspective on the war in Afghanistan, shedding light on the poverty, misfortune, and violence the people of Afghanistan have suffered through for decades. The story tells of a young boy named Arib, who narrates his journey to adulthood, where he deals with intense inner conflicts and a strong desire to make amends with his past. People both familiar and unfamiliar with the conflict in Afghanistan have expressed their enjoyment of the book. “They tell me the book’s de facto tagline, ‘there’s a way to be good again,’ inspired them to look inward, and mend broken ties,” Hosseini said in an interview with Fox9 News. “The notion that this book is harmful to students when the response from the students and their teachers is so overwhelmingly enthusiastic and positive is frankly bewildering to me.”
But it doesn’t stop there. The DODEA has gone as far as obscuring individual chapters from textbooks in school. Following Freckleface Strawberry and The Kite Runner, a chapter on “sexuality and gender” in an AP Psychology textbook for high schoolers was flagged for review by the department. Its contents, which cover ‘gender ideology’ and ‘discriminatory equity ideology topics,’ oppose everything that the Trump Administration attempts to silence.
It’s A Dystopia
With the rise of banned books and the looming threat of government interference in our daily lives, it’s hard not to think of popular dystopian fiction. Books like Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and even Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games may come to mind. These books all discuss a made-up world where society is surveilled and controlled by a higher power, and children have always enjoyed reading about these worlds that seem so imaginary and impossible.
For example, the small community in The Giver, where colors, animals, and even feelings do not exist, seems so far-fetched that children can enjoy the themes of the book knowing they will never live in a similar world. Likewise, the ritualistic, brutal tournaments in The Hunger Games are so inhumane and unjustified that children hardly recognize the books as anything more than a thrilling entertainment, convinced such a world will never exist. These books, on the surface, teach children to be grateful for what they have, instilling a respect for the rules that keep our society from replicating the ones discussed in these books. The genre has also been popular due to its ability to provide widespread entertainment–after all, it’s hard to quote Katniss Everdeen without someone immediately understanding the reference and throwing three fingers up in tribute. However, under the surface, there’s something else these books have in common that suggest they are more than they seem, at least to our government. Underneath all else that they share, these works are all either banned or challenged books.
But why is that the case? These books, despite being fiction and taking place in made-up worlds, are not just entertaining tales meant to kill time or evoke imaginary what-ifs–they’re also warnings. Our children may not recognize that, but our government does. When children read books about imaginary worlds controlled by the government, they grow up to see that these books aren’t solely fiction, turning into reflections of the modern world. Dystopian fiction takes current issues that already exist in our world, but intensifies them to provide an idea of what we don’t want to see, and should try to prevent now.
The common issue the aforementioned books address is extreme government corruption and intervention. The abolishment of choice and freedom under a higher power is brought to its extreme in these books, and, through these books, we are able to see the consequences play out. In these stories, a group of people usually rise up against a higher power to establish their liberty, and that is why these books are commonly banned. Dystopian fiction is important because it imagines the horrors of a place of great suffering or minute liberty, all so we don’t have to. Losing this insight and discouraging the people’s right to intervene in a corrupt government could foreshadow a dangerous, unrecoverable consequence.
Books should be a lesion to communication, to educate, and to spread awareness. The action of banning books simply because they give voices to minority groups shuts down those trying to raise their voices to be heard. “The history book on the bookshelf repeats itself,” and in the light of book bans, we risk history happening again and again.