Excerpt from Banned Together by Ashley Hope Pérez, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Hey reader,

I am so excited you are holding this book! I have been dreaming of an anthology like this since 2021, when my novel Out of Darkness became one of the most banned books in the US. It has been removed again and again from school libraries like yours, targeted by misguided adults who rarely bother to read the books they criticize. Book banners went hard after Out of Darkness, but they have also targeted many others. Thousands of books. Books carefully selected by trained librarians. Books that readers like you have a right to access.

I have watched, often feeling helpless, as hundreds of books disappeared from libraries like the one in the Texas high school where I used to teach. I took my students to the library each week, and the conversations we had inspired me to become the writer I am. I have shed a lot of tears, thinking of the books that today's teens will never find.

But I haven't just been crying. I've also been doing everything I can to find creative ways to connect with teen readers and to make sure they know about the books that are being erased from libraries across the country.

All of the amazing authors in this anthology write so that teens will find the stories and ideas that matter to them. We write because we care about you, your understanding of yourself and the people around you, your vision of the world, your ability to build a future that's better than our past or present.

Book banners want to get between readers and the powerful work of these authors. This collection says NO WAY. We're bringing those writers' voices back to readers. Our goal with Banned Together is to talk about what is happening to books in libraries, why these vanishing stories matter, and how you can empower yourself and others to resist.

We hope this collection is just one stop in your brave and bold reading journey. Look us up! We'd love to hear from you.


XOXO,

Ashley Hope Pérez


PS: In addition to our brilliant contributors' pieces, I've done my best to fill this anthology with lists of books, ideas for taking action against bans, and more. I hope you find something that gets you fired up about what's between the covers of the books some people want to take away.

Excerpted from Banned Together by Ashley Hope Pérez. Copyright © 2025 by Ashley Hope Pérez. Excerpted by permission of Holiday House. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.