Controversial Books and what makes them so...

Young-adult fiction or young adult literature is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21.

Controversial books are considered that way for several reasons:
1. Language
2. Setting
3. Drugs
4. Homosexuality
5. Pre-Marital Sex
And the list can go on and on!  I researched a list of current books that are on the Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books...and here are the top 3:

1. "And Tango Makes Three," by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson

This true story of two male penguins who hatched an egg and raised a penguin chick in New York's Central Park Zoo has been regularly challenged and/or banned in numerous American libraries and schools ever since its 2005 publication. The reasons listed for the 2010 challenges are "homosexuality, religious viewpoint," and a belief that the book is "unsuited" for young readers.

2. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," by Sherman Alexie

This semi-biographical young adult book tells the story of a young native American trying to find his way through the overlapping white and Indian worlds that he inhabits. The reasons listed for the book's 2010 challenges are "offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence." Alexie told The Washington Post that, "It almost makes me happy to hear books still have that kind of power. And there's nothing in my book that even compares to what kids can find on the Internet."

3. "Brave New World," by Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley's 1931 science fiction classic is no stranger to controversy. The reasons for the book's 2010 challenges include "insensitivity, offensive language, racism," and "sexually explicit" material.