Which 2007 young adult novel by Sherman Alexie was banned in many schools for profanity and sexual content?

The 2007 young adult novel by Sherman Alexie challenged for profanity and sexual content is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

The novel follows Arnold Spirit Jr., a Spokane teenager who leaves his reservation school to attend an affluent, mostly white high school in the nearby town of Reardan. Arnold uses cartoons and diary entries to describe poverty, racism, friendship, family grief, alcoholism, and the tension between two communities.

Alexie’s book was illustrated by Ellen Forney, whose cartoons are part of the storytelling rather than decoration. Its candid first-person voice includes profanity, sexual references, discussions of masturbation, violence, and substance abuse. Those elements have led some schools to remove it from curricula or libraries, while others have retained it or offered alternatives.

The novel has been one of the most frequently challenged books in the United States, ranking as the country’s most challenged book from 2010 through 2019. The other options are also frequently challenged young adult titles, but they were not written by Sherman Alexie.