Book censorship hit "the highest levels ever documented" last year, according to the American Library Association, which saw the number of challenged titles climb 65% in 2023 over the previous year. "These are books that contain the ideas, the opinions, and the voices that censors want to silence—stories by and about LGBTQ+ persons and people of color," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. "Each demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the life we choose, and an attack on libraries as community institutions that reflect the rich diversity of our nation." The 10 most challenged books of the year, including the top title for the third year in a row, per NBC News: