Arizona’s Most Infamous Challenged and Banned Books

Fact Checked by Michael Peters

There are few things better in life than a good book, which is why many Arizona residents turn to the many tattered covers that span countless genres to learn new things each day. That’s especially true for residents who are on the younger edge of the state’s populace.  

Sadly, many such novels are being banned by politicians and school officials, which has only driven interested readers to search for said titles online.

World Book Day is April 23. In celebration, BetArizona.com took a break from Arizona sports betting and discovered the favorite banned or challenged books of state residents. Using a list of the top 13 most banned and challenged books according to the American Library Association, we used Google Trends to see how often those books were searched in Arizona. The search period was between March 8 and April 8, 2024.

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Arizona’s Most Popular Banned Books

RankBookAuthorSearch Interest Score
1“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”Stephen Chbosky37
2“Looking for Alaska”John Green22
3“Flamer”Mike Curato18
4“The Bluest Eye”Toni Morrison13
5“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”Sherman Alexie8
6“Crank”Ellen Hopkins6
T7“Lawn Boy”Jonathan Evison4
T7“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”Jesse Andrews4
9“This Book is Gay”Juno Dawson3
10“Out of Darkness”Ashley Hope Perez2

Which Banned Books Are Most Popular?

In the 48th State, Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” which redefined the young adult literary genre in 1999 by chronicling the thinking of an adolescent boy named Charlie who navigates his own sexuality, in addition to drug use, sexual assault and topics surrounding mental health, was the most popular banned book, with a search interest score of 37.

John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” was the next closest in Arizona, with a score of 22, while “Flamer” by Mike Curato was third at 18 and Toni Morrison’s classic “The Bluest Eye” was fourth at 13.

Although some books are harder to come by, there is no shortage of sports betting information at BetArizona.com. Keep reading for reviews of all the Arizona sports betting apps.

Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan is the lead writer at BetArizona.com after covering sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

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