Jodi Picoult’s ‘Nineteen Minutes’ tops PEN America of books banned in schools
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Jodi Picoult’s “Nineteen Minutes” has topped a list compiled by PEN America of the books most often pulled from school shelves. Other works include John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” and several novels by romantasy favorite Sarah J. Maas. PEN has compiled more than 10,000 cases of books temporarily or permanently removed during the 2023-2024 academic year, roughly four times higher than for 2021-2022. More than 80% of the bannings came in Iowa and Florida, states that have passed sweeping laws restricting school books.
