PEN America on Monday released the 50 most banned books in schools since the organization began tracking the bans in 2021. Author John Green’s 2006 Michael L. Printz Award winning Looking for Alaska was No. 1, banned 147 times by PEN America’s count.

“People always say it is a badge of honor, but I think it’s become less and less of a badge of honor and more and more cause for concern,” Green told PEN America. “There’s nothing wrong with disliking a book. The issue I have is when you try to tell me what my kids can read, and when you try to define what other people’s kids can read. I think that’s very destructive to the social order, and I think that intellectual freedom is a core principle of American life, and it’s disappointing to see so many thousands of challenges and book bans over the last few years. And more than disappointing, it’s—for me at least—pretty scary.”

The list includes bestselling books and winners of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and Stonewall Awards. Along with Green’s Printz winner, the Top 50 includes three Printz Award honor titles. Six books by Ellen Hopkins and five by Sarah J. Maas appear in the Top 50.

 “We need to fix our sight on the enormous cost to students when books that have gained wide critical recognition and readership are being removed from schools,” PEN America’s director of the Freedom to Read program Kasey Meehan said in a statement. “This puts nothing less than a chokehold on the futures of students as citizens of a diverse democracy.”

Here are the Top 25 Most Banned Books 2021–25. Access the full list here.

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green. 147 bans.
2. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. 142 bans.
3. Sold by Patricia McCormick. 136 bans.
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. 135 bans.
5. Crank by Ellen Hopkins. 128 bans.
6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. 126 bans.
7. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins. 120 bans.
8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. 116 bans.
9. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. 115 bans.
10. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. 112 bans.
11. Identical by Ellen Hopkins. 110 bans.
12. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. 106 bans.
13. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. 101 bans.
14. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson. 100 bans.
    15 (tie). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. 99 bans.
    15 (tie). Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas. 99 bans.
    15 (tie). Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. 99 bans. 
    18. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez. 98 bans.
    19. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe. 94 bans
    20. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. 92 bans
    21. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. 87 bans.
    22. (tie). A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. 85 ban.
    22. (tie). This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson. 85 bans.
    24. Lucky by Alice Sebold. 83 bans.
    25. Tilt by Ellen Hopkins. 81 bans.