Research Guides: Banned Books: Protect Your Freedom to Read

A Worrisome Trend

ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Censors targeted a record 2,571 unique titles in 2022, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community or by and about Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.

Censorship by the Numbers
Resources documenting the number and locations of censorship attempts against libraries and materials compiled by ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom.
Book Ban Data, ALA
Latest numbers from ALA about book bans and challenges in the United States, including preliminary data from the first half of 2023. TL;DR: They're up. A lot.
Banned and Challenged Books
ALA's page devoted to censorship attempts and the annual Banned Books Week celebration.
Book Bans, PEN America
Resources and commentary related to book bans in the U.S., including a comprehensive list of successful school bans, assembled by a national writer's association.
Ralph E. McCoy Collection of the Freedom of the Press
Housed in the Special Collections Research Center on the first floor of Morris Library, the McCoy Collection offers the opportunity to explore issues of censorship and freedom of expression from a historical perspective. It is one of the world's best collections of rare books highlighting the history of First Amendment freedoms. It includes examples of many books that have been banned in the United States and Europe over the centuries. Many of the books listed below part of this collection.

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used in Overview of African American history collections in SCRC on Resources for the Study of African American History in Southern Illinois: Overview of Special Collections
Beacon for Freedom of Expression
The Beacon for Freedom project maintains an extensive database of censored publications and publications about censorship.

Banned Books Club and Books Unbanned

The Banned Books Club is a collaboration between libraries and sponsors to make banned books available online and at libraries for free. The University of Chicago and the Digital Public Library of America are offering free access to all Illinois residents through the Palace app.

Banned Book Club
Program to provide free access to electronic copies of banned books. Follow the steps to "Access Banned Books" to get your free card and start reading.
Banned Books Club at the Palace Project
Jump straight to the app the Banned Book Club uses to provide access to available titles.

A number of public libraries nationwide have joined the Books Unbanned initiative, offering free access to commonly challenged or banned titles in eBook form to readers age 13-26. If you fall in that age bracket, sign up for a free temporary library card and read banned books!

Top Ten Challenged Books from the Last Five Years

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie, Sherman
#8 most challenged book of 2022 for profanity and supposedly being sexually explicit. #6 most challenged in 2021. #5 most challenged in 2020. #9 most challenged in 2018.

"Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot."
Thirteen Reasons Why by Asher, Jay
#6 most challenged book of 2018 for addressing teen suicide.

"When high school student Clay Jensen receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death."
The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood, Margaret
#7 most challenged book in 2019 for profanity and for “vulgarity and sexual overtones."

"Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable."
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Chbosky, Stephen
#5 most challenged book (tie) of 2022 for depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, and supposedly being sexually explicit.

"A coming of age novel about Charlie, a freshman in high school who is a wallflower, shy and introspective, and very intelligent. He deals with the usual teen problems, but also with the suicide of his best friend."
Looking for Alaska by Green, John
#5 most challenged book (tie) of 2022 for LGBTQIA+ content and supposedly being sexually explicit.

"Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash."
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper, Lee
#7 most challenged book in 2020 for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.

"A young girl growing up in an Alabama town in the 1930s learns of injustice and violence when her father, a widowed lawyer, defends a black man falsely accused of rape."
I Am Jazz by Jennings, Jazz, Jessica Herthel, and Shelagh McNicholas (Illustrator)
#6 most challenged book in 2019 for LGBTQIA+ content, for a transgender character, and for confronting a topic that is “sensitive, controversial, and politically charged.”

"From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way."
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Kuklin, Susan
#10 most challenged book of 2021 for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit. #2 most challenged in 2019.

"Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference."
The Bluest Eye by Morrison, Toni
#3 most challenged book of 2022 for depiction of sexual abuse, EDI content, and supposedly being sexually explicit. #8 most challenged in 2021. #9 most challenged in 2020.

"It is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove -- a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others -- who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different."
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Pilkey, Dav
#3 most challenged book of 2018 for encouraging disruptive behavior.

"When George and Harold hypnotize their principal into thinking that he is the superhero Captain Underpants, he leads them to the lair of the nefarious Dr. Diaper, where they must defeat his evil robot henchmen."
Out of Darkness by Pérez, Ashley Hope
#9 most challenged book of 2022 for depictions of abuse and supposedly being sexually explicit. #4 most challenged in 2021.

"Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines."
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Reynolds, Jason and Ibram X. Kendi
#2 most challenged book in 2020 because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.

"As Kendi provocatively illustrates, racist thinking did not arise from ignorance or hatred. Racist ideas were created and popularized in an effort to defend deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and to rationalize the nation's racial inequities in everything from wealth to health."
And Tango Makes Three by Richardson, Justin, Peter Parnell; and Henry Cole (Illustrator)
#10 most challenged book of 2019 for LGBTQIA+ content.

"At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches."
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by Rowling, J. K. and Mary GrandPré (Illustrator)
#9 most challenged book of 2019 for referring to magic and witchcraft, for containing actual curses and spells, and for characters that use “nefarious means” to attain goals.

"Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck, John
#8 most challenged book in 2020 for racial slurs and racist stereotypes, and their negative effect on students.

"Tells a story about the strange relationship of two migrant workers who are able to realize their dreams of an easy life until one of them succumbs to his weakness for soft, helpless creatures and strangles a farmer's wife."
Drama: A Graphic Novel by Telgemeier, Raina
#8 most challenged book in 2019 for LGBTQIA+ content and for concerns that it goes against “family values/morals.” #5 most challenged in 2018.

"Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she's a terrible singer. Instead she's the set designer for the stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget."
The Hate U Give by Thomas, Angie
#5 most challenged book of 2021 for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda. #10 most challenged in 2020. #4 most challenged in 2018.

"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer."

Banned in 2021 - 2022

According to PEN America, 1,636 different books were banned—not only challenged, but actually removed from shelves—in classrooms, schools, or libraries in the U.S. for at least a portion of the time between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. The following is a list of these banned titles available through Morris Library.

The Poet X by Acevedo, Elizabeth
"Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. She pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers--especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about."
Half of a Yellow Sun by Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
Fiction. "A novel set during Nigeria's struggle for independence in the 1960s involving five characters including thirteen-year-old Ugwu, a university professor, the professor's mistress, and a young Englishman named Richard."
Indivisible by Aleman, Daniel
"New York City high school student Mateo dreams of becoming a Broadway star, but his life is transformed after his parents are deported to Mexico."
The Undefeated by Alexander, Kwame and Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)
"Originally performed for ESPN's The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes."
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Alexander, Michelle
"Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status - much like their grandparents before them. In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness."
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie, Sherman
"Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot."
The House of the Spirits by Allende, Isabel and Magda Bogin (Translator)
"The Trueba family embodies strong feelings. This family saga starts at the beginning of the 20th century and continues through the assassination of Allende in 1973."
Hear These Voices by Allison, Anthony
"Presents case studies of teenagers living with homelessness, prostitution, alcoholism, and neighborhood violence and interviews with staff members from organizations committed to helping teenagers in crisis."
Bless Me, Ultima by Anaya, Rudolfo
"Tony faces the daunting prospect of growing up amidst constant religious and cultural uncertainty. His mother is a devoted Catholic, but her influence is challenged by Ultima--a woman with magical healing powers. As Tony follows his own path toward adulthood, he relies on Ultima's wisdom. With her guidance, he is able to forge his unique identity."
Feed by Anderson, Matthew
"In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble."
Trombone Shorty by Andrews, Troy and Bryan Collier (Illustrator)
"Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest."
And Still I Rise by Angelou, Maya
"Maya Angelou's third poetry collection, a unique celebration of life, consists of rhythms of strength, love, and remembrance, songs of the street, and lyrics of the heart."
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Angelou, Maya
"The author and poet recalls the anguish of her childhood in Arkansas and her adolescence in northern slums."
Thirteen Reasons Why by Asher, Jay
"When high school student Clay Jensen receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death."
The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood, Margaret
"Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that in gone now."
The Testaments by Atwood, Margaret
"More than fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within. At this crucial moment, the lives of three radically different women converge, with potentially explosive results. Two have grown up as part of the first generation to come of age in the new order. The testimonies of these two young women are joined by a third voice: a woman who wields power through the ruthless accumulation and deployment of secrets. As Atwood unfolds The Testaments, she opens up the innermost workings of Gilead as each woman is forced to come to terms with who she is, and how far she will go for what she believes."
Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Banaji, Mahzarin R. and Anthony G. Greenwald
"Two psychologists explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. Using their experience with the Implicit Association Test, a method that gives us a glimpse of our unconscious biases at work, the authors question the extent to which our perceptions of social groups shape our judgments about people's character, abilities, and potential. Explaining the science clearly and plainly, the authors guide us through the workings of the brain, how it uses common stereotypes, and how to "outsmart the machine" that relies on them. Powerful, challenging and revealing, this book is an invitation to understand our own minds and, in the process, be fairer to those around us."
Peter Pan by Barrie, J. M.
"Peter Pan, a child who never grows up, visits the Darling nursery and brings the children to Neverland so that Wendy can mother the Lost Boys."
They Called Themselves the K. K. K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Bartoletti, Susan Campbell
"Documents the history and origin of the Ku Klux Klan from its beginning in Pulaski, Tennessee, and provides personal accounts, congressional documents, diaries, and more."
Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me by Beaty, Daniel and Bryan Collier (Illustrator)
"A boy wakes up one morning to find his father gone. At first, he feels lost. But his father has left him a letter filled with advice to guide him through the times he cannot be there."
Fun Home by Bechdel, Alison
"Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian house, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned 'fun home,' as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescence, the denouement is swift, graphic, and redemptive."
Counting on Katherine by Becker, Helaine and Dow Phumiruk (Illustrator)
"As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe. From Katherine's early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, this is the story of a groundbreaking American woman who not only calculated the course of moon landings but, in turn, saved lives and made enormous contributions to history."
Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism by Bell, Derrick A.
"The message of Bell's book is that "racism is an integral, permanent, and indestructible component of this society." He contends that blacks "are doomed to fail as long as the majority of whites do not see their own well-being threatened by the status quo."
Grandmama's Pride by Birtha, Becky and Colin Bootman (Illustrator)
"While on a trip in 1956 to visit her grandmother in the South, six-year-old Sarah Marie experiences segregation for the first time, but discovers that things have changed by the time she returns the following year."
Forever... by Blume, Judy
"Two high school seniors believe their love to be so strong that it will last forever."
Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Blume, Judy
"Unable to accept or explain his family's newly acquired wealth, his growing interest in sex, and a friend's shoplifting habit, a thirteen-year-old finds the pains in his stomach getting worse and worse."
The First Strawberries by Bruchac, Joseph and Anna Vojtech (Illustrator)
"A quarrel between the first man and the first woman is reconciled when the Sun causes strawberries to grow out of the earth."
Squanto's Journey by Bruchac, Joseph and Greg Shed (Illustrator)
"Squanto recounts how in 1614 he was captured by the British, sold into slavery in Spain, and ultimately returned to the New World to become a guide and friend for the colonists."
Crazy Horse's Vision by Bruchac, Joseph and S. D. Nelson (Illustrator)
" A story based on the life of the dedicated young Lakota boy who grew up to be one of the bravest defenders of his people."
Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back by Bruchac, Joseph and Thomas Locker (Illustrator)
"Celebrates the seasons of the year through poems based on the legends of Native American tribes."
Eagle Feather by Bulla, Clyde Robert and Tom Two Arrows (Illustrator)
"Eagle Feather owes a debt to his father's cousin, and must work it off during the summer. His father's cousin mistreats him, and finally Eagle Feather can bear it no longer and runs away. Can the eagle feather he finds along the way really give him the bravery to endure the long and hungry journey?"
Smoky Night by Bunting, Eve and David Diaz (Illustrator)
"Daniel and his mother look out of their window at the smoky night below. There are looters on the street, fires in the distance. Daniel clutches his cat, Jasmine. But later, when they're forced to leave the apartment building, Jasmine can't be found. Mrs. Kim's cat is missing too. Where are they? They can't be with each other. Those cats don't get along ... This story is about cats and people who couldn't get along until a night of rioting brings them together. "
A Day's Work by Bunting, Eve and Ronald Himler (Illustrator)
"When Francisco, a young Mexican American boy, tries to help his grandfather find work, he discovers that even though the old man cannot speak English, he has something even more valuable to teach Francisco."
King and the Dragonflies by Callender, Kacen
"King is sure that his brother, Khalid, has turned into a dragonfly. After Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed his first skin for another and found refuge in the backwaters of their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, a secret King must keep to himself--that, and the fact that he might be gay. As King watches grief transform his family, he comes to understand the beauty and redemption of learning to fly past the secrets that keep him from rising to his truest self. In this raw and exquisite story from the Stonewall Award-winning author of Hurrican Child, we see that love sets us all free."
Draw Me a Star by Carle, Eric
"An artist's drawing of a star begins the creation of an entire universe around him as each successive pictured object requests that he draw more."
Hunted by Cast, P. C. and Kristin Cast
" ... Zoey's friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren't Neferet's secrets any longer. But an unexpected danger has emerged. Neferet guards her powerful new consort, Kalona, and no one at the House of Night seems to understand the threat he poses. Kalona looks gorgeous, and he has the House of Night under his spell. A past life holds the key to breaking his rapidly spreading influence, but what if this past life shows Zoey secrets she doesn't want to hear and truths she can't face? On the run and holed up in Tulsa's Prohibition-era tunnels, Zoey and her gang must discover a way to deal with something that might bring them all down ..."
Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa by Chambers, Veronica and Julie Maren (Illustrator)
"Introduces the Queen of Salsa who has a magical vibrancy as a Cuban Salsa Singer. To her her voice or see her perform was to feel her life-affirming energy deep within your soul."
The Rape of Nanking by Chang, Iris
"Details the massacre that took place in December 1937 when the Japanese army overthrew the ancient city of Nanking, China, and raped, tortured, and murdered over 300,000 civilians; examining the atrocity from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers, the Chinese civilians, and the Europeans and Americans who created a safety zone for survivors."
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Chbosky, Stephen
"A coming of age novel about Charlie, a freshman in high school who is a wallflower, shy and introspective, and very intelligent. He deals with the usual teen problems, but also with the suicide of his best friend."
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Chief Seattle and Susan Jeffers (Illustrator)
"A Suquamish Indian chief describes his people's respect and love for the earth, and concern for its destruction."
Amelia to Zora: Twenty-six Women Who Changed the World by Chin-Lee, Cynthia and Megan Halsey (Illustrator); Sean Addy (Illustrator)
"In alphabetical order, presents brief biographies of women from all walks of life who have made a difference in people's lives."
Sam and the Lucky Money by Chinn, Karen and Cornelius Van Wright (Illustrator); Ying-Hwa Hu (Illustrator)
"Sam must decide how to spend the lucky money he's received for Chinese New Year."
The House on Mango Street by Cisneros, Sandra
"This book tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a young girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong, not to her run-down neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Capturing her thoughts and emotions in poems and stories, she is able to rise above hopelessness and create a quiet space for herself in the midst of her oppressive surroundings. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become."
Clockwork Princess by Clare, Cassandra
"A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray. Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever. As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain's clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?"
Between the World and Me by Coates, Ta-Nehisi
"Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race," a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men -- bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Coates's attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son -- and readers -- the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children's lives were taken as American plunder."
We Were Eight Years in Power by Coates, Ta-Nehisi
Call Number: LC Books: 6th floor; E185.615 .C6336 2017
"'We were eight years in power' was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is America's 'first white president.' But the story of these present-day eight years is not just about presidential politics. This book also examines the new voices, ideas, and movements for justice that emerged over this period--and the effects of the persistent shadow of our nation's old and unreconciled history."
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Coerr, Eleanor
"Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy."
Imbeciles: the Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterlization of Carrie Buck by Cohen, Adam
"Adam Cohen tells the story of one of the darkest moments in the American legal tradition: the Supreme Court's decision to champion eugenic sterilization for the greater good of the country. In 1927, when the nation was caught up in eugenic fervor, the justices allowed Virginia to sterilize Carrie Buck, a perfectly normal young woman, for being an "imbecile." It is a story with many villains, from the superintendent of the Dickensian Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded who chose Carrie for sterilization to the former Missouri agriculture professor and Nazi sympathizer who was the nation's leading advocate for eugenic sterilization. But the most troubling actors of all were the eight Supreme Court justices who were in the majority -- including William Howard Taft, the former president; Louis Brandeis, the legendary progressive; and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., America's most esteemed justice, who wrote the decision urging the nation to embark on a program of mass eugenic sterilization."
Thank You, Jackie Robinson by Cohen, Barbara and Richard Cuffari (Illustrator)
"A fatherless white boy, who shares with an old black man an enthusiasm for the Brooklyn Dodgers and first baseman, Jackie Robinson, takes a ball autographed by Jackie to his elderly friend's death bed."
Gingerbread by Cohn, Rachel
"After being expelled from a fancy boarding school, Cyd Charisse's problems with her mother escalate after Cyd falls in love with a sensitive surfer and is subsequently sent from San Francisco to New York City to spend time with her biological father."
The Facts Speak for Themselves by Cole, Brock
" At the request of her social worker, thirteen-year-old Linda gradually reveals how her life with her unstable mother and her younger brother led to her rape and the murder she witnessed. A ground-breaking, sexually explicit story about Linda & how the experiences in her life lead to murder."
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Coles, Robert and George Ford (Illustrator)
"For months six-year-old Ruby Bridges must confront the hostility of white parents when she becomes the first African American girl to integrate Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in 1960."
My Family Plays Music by Cox, Judy and Elbrite Brown (Illustrator)
"A musical family with talents for playing a variety of instruments enjoys getting together to celebrate."
New Kid by Craft, Jerry
"Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?"
Walk Two Moons by Creech, Sharon
"After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left."
LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field: Striving for Equality by Cronn-Mills, Kirstin and Alex Jackson Nelson
Numerous profiles of "queer athletes and how their status has changed—and still needs to change."
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Crutcher, Chris
" The daily class discussions about the nature of man, the existence of God, abortion, organized religion, suicide and other contemporary issues serve as a backdrop for a high-school senior's attempt to answer a friend's dramatic cry for help."
Whale Talk by Crutcher, Chris
"Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school's less popular students."
The Mighty Miss Malone by Curtis, Christopher Paul
"Deza Malone, age 12, endures the challenges of the Great Depression with her tight-knit family by her side. When Father must leave their home in Indiana to find work, Mother, Deza, and Deza's brother Jimmie soon realize they are strongest when they are all together—and they start a journey to try to find Father."
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Danforth, Emily M.
"In the early 1990s, when gay teenager Cameron Post rebels against her conservative Montana ranch town and her family decides she needs to change her ways, she is sent to a gay conversion therapy center."
14 Cows for America by Deedy, Carmen Agra and Thomas Gonzalez (Illustrator)
"n June of 2002, a ceremony begins in a village in western Kenya. Hundreds of Maasai surround an American diplomat to bestow a gift on the American people. The gift is as unsought and unexpected as it is extraordinary. A mere nine months have passed since the September 11 attacks, and hearts are raw. Tears flow freely as these legendary warriors offer their gift to a grieving people half a world away."
Last Stop on Market Street by de la Peña, Matt and Christian Robinson (Illustrator)
"A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things."
"Multiplication Is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People's Children by Delpit, Lisa
"In her long-awaited second book, Delpit presents a striking picture of the elements of contemporary public education that conspire against the prospects for poor children of color, creating a persistent gap in achievement during the school years that has eluded several decades of reform."
The Legend of the Bluebonnet by de Paola, Tomie
"A retelling of the Comanche Indian legend of how a little girl's sacrifice brought the flower called bluebonnet to Texas."
Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles - Think of That! by Dillon, Leo (Illustrator); Diane Dillon (Illustrator)
"In illustrations and rhyme, describes the dancing of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, one of the most famous tap dancers of all time."
The Pull of the Stars by Donoghue, Emma
"A novel set in 1918 Dublin offers a three-day look at a maternity ward during the height of the Great Flu pandemic."
Abuela by Dorros, Arthur and Sandra Marulanda Dorros (Translator)
"While riding on a bus with her grandmother, a little girl imagines that they are carried up into the sky and fly over the sights of New York City."
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Douglass; Frederick
"An autobiographical account of a childhood and youth spent in slavery by a man who became a great abolitionist and leader of anti-slavery activity."
Forged by Fire by Draper, Sharon M.
"The one bright light in Gerald's life is his little half sister, Angel, whom he struggles to protect from her father, Jordan Sparks, who abuses her, and from their mother, whose irresponsible behavior forces Gerald to work hard to keep the family together. As a teenager, Gerald finds success as a member of the Hazelwood Tigers basketball team, while Angel develops her talents as a dancer. Trouble still haunts them, however, and Gerald learns, painfully, that young friends can die and old enemies must be faced. In the end he must stand up to his stepfather alone in a blazing confrontation."
Romiette and Julio by Draper, Sharon M.
"Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet, but are harassed by a gang whose members object to their interracial dating."
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne
"Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally-recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million people, descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. Now historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire. In An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, Dunbar-Ortiz challenges the founding myth of the United States and shows how policy against the Indigenous peoples was colonialist and designed to seize the territories of the original inhabitants, displacing or eliminating them. And as Dunbar-Ortiz reveals, this policy was praised in popular culture, through writers like James Fenimore Cooper and Walt Whitman, and in the highest offices of government and the military."
Killing Mr. Griffin by Duncan, Lois
"A teenager casually suggests playing a cruel trick on the English teacher, but did he intend it to end with murder?"
The Art of Critical Pedagogy by Duncan-Andrade, Jeffrey M. R. and Ernest Morrell
"This book furthers the discussion concerning critical pedagogy and its practical applications for urban contexts. It addresses two looming, yet under-explored questions that have emerged with the ascendancy of critical pedagogy in the educational discourse: (1) What does critical pedagogy look like in work with urban youth? and (2) How can a systematic investigation of critical work enacted in urban contexts simultaneously draw upon and push the core tenets of critical pedagogy? Addressing the tensions inherent in enacting critical pedagogy – between working to disrupt and to successfully navigate oppressive institutionalized structures, and between the practice of critical pedagogy and the current standards-driven climate – The Art of Critical Pedagogy seeks to generate authentic internal and external dialogues among educators in search of texts that offer guidance for teaching for a more socially just world."
Hot Day on Abbott Avenue by English, Karen and Javaka Steptoe (Illustrator)
"After having a fight, two friends spend the day ignoring each other, until the lure of a game of jump rope helps them to forget about being mad."
Middlesex by Eugenides, Jeffrey
"Calliope's friendship with a classmate and her sense of identity are compromised by the adolescent discovery that she is a hermaphrodite, a situation with roots in her grandparent's desperate struggle for survival in the 1920s."
Do Abstinence Programs Work? by Fisanick, Christina
"This title explores whether abstinence programs are effective, It looks at the success rate of abstinence programs in preventing teen pregnancy, whether abstinence programs should be federally funded, and compares abstinence programs to other sex education programs."
Seedfolks by Fleischman, Paul and Judy Pedersen (Illustrator)
"One by one, a number of people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-city lot into a productive and beautiful garden, and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves transformed."
Gone Girl by Flynn, Gillian
"On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from police and the media -- as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents -- the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter -- but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they really know the one they love."
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Foer, Jonathan Safran
"Meet Oskar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, pacifist, correspondent with Stephen Hawking and Ringo Starr. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York. His mission is to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. An inspired innocent, Oskar is alternately endearing, exasperating, and hilarious as he careens from Central Park to Coney Island to Harlem on his search. Along the way he is always dreaming up inventions to keep those he loves safe from harm."
Life Is Funny by Frank, E. R.
"The lives of a number of young people of different races, economic backgrounds, and family situations living in Brooklyn, New York, become intertwined over a seven year period."
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Freire, Paulo and Myra Bergman Ramos (Translator)
"The methodology of the late Paulo Freire has helped to empower countless impoverished and illiterate people throughout the world. Freire's work has taken on especial urgency in the United States and Western Europe, where the creation of a permanent underclass among the underprivileged and minorities in cities and urban centers is increasingly accepted as the norm."
The Double Life of Pocahontas by Fritz, Jean and Ed Young (Illustrator)
"A biography of the famous American Indian princess, emphasizing her life-long adulation of John Smith and the roles she played in two very different cultures."
A Lesson Before Dying by Gaines, Ernest J.
"In the 1940s in rural Louisiana, an uneducated African American man is sentenced to die for a crime he was incapable of committing."
Dreaming in Cuban by García, Cristina
"The story of a family divided politically and geographically by the Cuban revolution."
Annie on My Mind by Garden, Nancy
"Liza puts aside her feelings for Annie after the disaster at school, but eventually she allows love to triumph over the ignorance of people."
Culturally Responsive Teaching by Gay, Geneva
"Combining insights from multicultural education theory and research with real-life classroom stories, Gay demonstrates that all students will perform better on multiple measures of achievement when teaching is filtered through their own cultural experiences. This bestselling text has been extensively revised to include: expanded coverage of student ethnic groups; a new section on standards and diversity; new examples of culturally diverse curriculum content; more examples of programs and techniques that exemplify culturally responsive teaching; an emphasis on positive, action-driven possibilities in student-teacher relationships; and new material on culturally diverse communication."
Girls Like Us by Giles, Gail
"Graduating from their school's special education program, Quincy and Biddy are placed together in their first independent apartment and discover unexpected things they have in common in the face of past challenges and a harrowing trauma."
Black Youth Rising: Activism and Radical Healing in Urban America by Ginwright, Shawn A.
"In this pathbreaking account, author Shawn Ginwright details the powerful positive impact that community-based organizations can have in rebuilding the lives of urban black youth, in a process he calls radical healing."
Lord of the Flies by Golding, William
Classic study of how the sense of entitlement and perceived superiority within a group of male English boarding school students stranded on a tropical island quickly leads to cruelty, violence, and murder when the enforcement of societal rules is removed.
What Drowns the Flowers in Your Mouth by Gonzalez, Rigoberto
Call Number: Browsing Room, 1st Floor ; Biography : Gonzalez : 04/2018
"Burdened by poverty, illiteracy, and vulnerability as Mexican immigrants to California's Coachella Valley, three generations of González men turn to vices or withdraw into depression. As brothers Rigoberto and Alex grow to manhood, they are haunted by the traumas of their mother's early death, their lonely youth, their father's desertion, and their grandfather's invective. Rigoberto's success in escaping--first to college and then by becoming a writer--is blighted by his struggles with alcohol and abusive relationships, while Alex contends with difficult family relations, his own rocky marriage, and fatherhood. Descending into a dark emotional space that compromises their mental and physical health, the brothers eventually find hope in aiding each other."
All Around Us by González, Xelena and Adriana M. Garcia (Illustrator);
"Finding circles everywhere, a grandfather and his granddaughter meditate on the cycles of life and nature."
Refugee by Gratz, Alan
"Although separated by continents and decades, Josef, a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl trying to escape the riots and unrest plaguing her country in 1994; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 whose homeland is torn apart by violence and destruction, embark on harrowing journeys in search of refuge, discovering shocking connections that tie their stories together."
Looking for Alaska by Green, John
"Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash."
Rosa Parks by Greenfield, Eloise and Eric Marlow (Illustrator)
"A brief biography of the black woman sometimes known as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement for her part in precipitating the Montgomery bus boycott."
The Great Migration by Greenfield, Eloise and Jan Spivey Gilchrist (Illustrator)
"Describes the period of the 20th century when many African Americans left the South to make better lives for themselves in the northern states."
Fates and Furies by Groff, Lauren
"A dazzling examination of a marriage, it is also a portrait of creative partnership written by one of the best writers of her generation. Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years."
Water for Elephants by Gruen, Sara
"A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her."
A Raisin in the Sun by Hansberry, Lorraine
"The award-winning, now classic drama about a working-class African-American family on the South Side of Chicago--their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations."
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper, Lee
"A young girl growing up in an Alabama town in the 1930s learns of injustice and violence when her father, a widowed lawyer, defends a black man falsely accused of rape."
Political Resistance in the Current Age by Harris, Duchess and Myra Faye Turner
"... covers movements that resisted recent presidential administrations from George W. Bush to Donald Trump, what inspired the movements, and the change they brought about. Easy-to-read text, vivid images, and helpful back matter give readers a clear look at this subject."
It's Not the Stork! by Harris, Robie H. and Michael Emberley (Illustrator)
"Through lively, comfortable language and sensitive, engaging artwork, Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley address readers in a reassuring way, mindful of a child's healthy desire for straightforward information. Two irresistible cartoon characters, a curious bird and a squeamish bee, provide comic relief and give voice to the full range of emotions and reactions children may experience while learning about their amazing bodies. Vetted and approved by science, health, and child development experts, the information is up-to-date, age-appropriate, and scientifically accurate, and always aimed at helping kids feel proud, knowledgeable, and comfortable about their own bodies, about how they were born, and about the family they are part of."
It's Perfectly Normal by Harris, Robie H. and Michael Emberley (Illustrator)
" Provides accurate, lucid, and unbiased answers to almost every conceivable question on sex, including birth control and AIDS, that children may ask. Two cartoon characters, a bird and a bee have, often humorous, questions of their own."
Geography Club by Hartinger, Brent
Call Number: Special Collections (non-circulating) ; MC. PZ7.H2635 Ge 2003
"A group of gay and lesbian teenagers finds mutual support when they form the "Geography Club" at their high school."
When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Hill, Laban Carrick and Theodore Taylor (Illustrator)
"From his childhood in Jamaica to his youth in the Bronx, Laban Carrick Hill's book tells how Kool Herc came to be a DJ, how kids in gangs stopped fighting in order to breakdance, and how the music he invented went on to define a culture and transform the world."
The Outsiders by Hinton, S. E.
"The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society."
Hush! A Thai Lullaby by Ho, Minfong and Holly Meade (Illustrator)
Call Number: Instructional Materials Center, 3rd Floor ; IMC E H671h 1996
"A lullaby which asks animals such as a lizard, monkey, and water-buffalo to be quiet and not disturb the sleeping baby."
Best Best Colors = Los Mejores Colores by Hoffman, Eric and Celeste Henriquez (Illustrator); Eida de la Vega (Translator)
"Nate has trouble deciding what his favorite color is, but his two mammas help him realize that he does not have to have a best, best color."
Amazing Grace by Hoffman, Mary and Shay Youngblood
"Although a classmate says that she cannot play Peter Pan in the school play because she is black, Grace discovers her true identity, that she can do anything she sets her mind to do."
Jacob's Room to Choose by Hoffman, Sarah
"When Jacob goes to the boys’ bathroom he is chased out because the boys think he looks like a girl because of the way he is dressed. After Jacob's friend Sophie faces the same situation, their class gets together to make things better."
Teaching to Transgress by hooks, bell
"In this book, the author shares her philosophy of the classroom, offering ideas about teaching that fundamentally rethink democratic participation. She writes about a new kind of education, education as the practice of freedom. She advocates the process of teaching students to think critically and raises many concerns central to the field of critical pedagogy, linking them to feminist thought. In the process, these essays face squarely the problems of teachers who do not want to teach, of students who do not want to learn, of racism and sexism in the classroom. Teaching students to "transgress" against racial, sexual, and class boundaries in order to achieve the gift of freedom is, for the author, the teacher's most important goal."
Identical by Hopkins, Ellen
"Sixteen-year-old identical twin daughters of a district court judge and a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, Kaeleigh and Raeanne Gardella desperately struggle with secrets that have already torn them and their family apart."
The Kite Runner by Hosseini, Khaled
"An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present day. The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy Afghan youth and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed."
Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys by Howard, Elizabeth Fitzgerald and E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)
"n the post-Civil War South, a young African American girl is determined to prove that she can go to school just like her older brothers. Virgie, youngest in a family of boys, vows that she will accompany her brothers when they walk the seven miles to school every Monday morning. All Virgie wants is to go to school with her brothers George, Will, Nelson, Val, and C.C. But they keep saying she's too little for the long, seven-mile walk, and that girls don't need school. Well, Virgie doesn't agree, and she's not gonna let anything stand in her way."
Totally Joe by Howe, James
"As a school assignment, a thirteen-year-old boy writes an alphabiography--life from A to Z--and explores issues of friendship, family, school, and the challenges of being a gay teenager."
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston, Zora Neale
"... a luminous and haunting novel about Janie Crawford, a Southern black woman in the 1930s whose journey from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance has inspired writers and readers for close to seventy years. This poetic, graceful love story, rooted in black folk traditions and steeped in mythic realism, celebrates, boldly and brilliantly, African-American culture and heritage. And in a powerful, mesmerizing narrative, it pays quiet tribute to a black woman, who, though constricted by the times, still demanded to be heard."
Brave New World by Huxley, Aldous
"A fantasy of the future that sheds a blazing critical light on the present--considered to be Aldous Huxley's most enduring masterpiece. Mr. Huxley is eloquent in his declaration of an artist's faith in man, and it is his eloquence, bitter in attack, noble in defense, that, when one has closed the book, one remembers. A Fantastic racy narrative, full of much excellent satire and literary horseplay. It is as sparkling, provocative, as brilliant, in the appropriate sense, as impressive as the day it was published. This is in part because its prophetic voice has remained surprisingly contemporary, both in its particular forecasts and in its general tone of semiserious alarm."
Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery": The Authorized Graphic Adaptation by Hyman, Miles
"The classic short story--now in full color. Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' continues to thrill and unsettle readers nearly seven decades after it was first published. By turns puzzling and harrowing, it raises troubling questions about conformity, tradition, and the specter of ritualized violence that haunts even the most bucolic, peaceful village. This graphic adaptation, published in time for Jackson's centennial, allows readers to experience 'The Lottery' as never before, or discover it anew. The visual artist--and Jackson's grandson--Miles Hyman has crafted an eerie vision of the hamlet where the tale unfolds, its inhabitants, and the unforgettable ritual they set into motion. His four-color, meticulously detailed panels create a noirish atmosphere that adds a new dimension of dread to the original tale."
The Cider House Rules by Irving, John
"Set in rural Maine in the first half of this century, it tells the story of Dr. Wilbur Larch--obstetrician and director of the orphanage in the town of St. Clouds. It is also the story of his favorite orphan, Homer, who is never adopted."
Speak No Evil by Iweala, Uzodinma
"On the surface, Niru leads a charmed life. Raised by two attentive parents in Washington, D.C., he's a top student and a track star at his prestigious private high school. Bound for Harvard in the fall, his prospects are bright. But Niru has a painful secret: he is queer--an abominable sin to his conservative Nigerian parents. No one knows except Meredith, his best friend, the daughter of prominent Washington insiders--and the one person who seems not to judge him. When his father accidentally discovers Niru is gay, the fallout is brutal and swift. Coping with troubles of her own, however, Meredith finds that she has little left emotionally to offer him. As the two friends struggle to reconcile their desires against the expectations and institutions that seek to define them, they find themselves speeding toward a future more violent and senseless than they can imagine. Neither will escape unscathed."
Monday's Not Coming by Jackson, Tiffany D.
"Monday Charles is missing, and Claudia seems to be the one person who notices. They've always been inseparable, and when Monday doesn't show up for school for two weeks, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday's mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and her sister April is even less help. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she's gone?"
Fifty Shades of Grey by James, E. L.
"When Anastasia Steele, a young literature student, interviews wealthy young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, their initial meeting introduces Anastasia to an exciting new world that will change them both forever."
When Stars Are Scattered by Jamieson, Victoria (Illustrator), Omar Mohamed; and Iman Geddy (Illustrator)
"Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there : never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar's nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future...but it would also mean leaving his brother, his only family member remaining, every day. Heartbreak, hope, and gentle humor exist together in this graphic novel about a childhood spent waiting, and a young man who is able to create a sense of family and home in the most difficult of settings. It's an intimate, important, unforgettable look at the day-to-day life of a refugee, as told to New York Times bestselling author/artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story and went on to help so many other refugees."
I Am Jazz by Jennings, Jazz, Jessica Herthel, and Shelagh McNicholas (Illustrator)
"From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way."
Any Small Goodness by Johnston, Tony and Raúl Colón (Illustrator)
"Arturo and his family and friends share all kinds of experiences living in the barrio of East Los Angeles--reclaiming their names, playing basketball, championing the school librarian, and even starting their own gang."
The Color of My Words by Joseph, Lynn
"When life gets difficult for Ana Rosa, a twelve-year-old would-be writer living in a small village in the Dominican Republic, she can depend on her older brother to make her feel better--until the life-changing events on her thirteenth birthday."
Milk and Honey by Kaur, Rupi
"The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache."
How to Be an Antiracist by Kendi, Ibram X.
"In this book, Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science, bringing it all together with an engaging personal narrative of his own awakening to antiracism. How to Be an Antiracist is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond an awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a truly just and equitable society."
Stamped from the Beginning by Kendi, Ibram X.
"From Puritan minister Cotton Mather to Thomas Jefferson, from fiery abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison to brilliant scholar W.E.B. Du Bois to legendary anti-prison activist Angela Davis, Kendi shows how and why some of our leading proslavery and pro-civil rights thinkers have challenged or helped cement racist ideas in America. As Kendi provocatively illustrates, racist thinking did not arise from ignorance or hatred. Racist ideas were created and popularized in an effort to defend deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and to rationalize the nation's racial inequities in everything from wealth to health. While racist ideas are easily produced and easily consumed, they can also be discredited."
Big Red Lollipop by Khan, Rukhsana and Sophie Blackall (Illustrator)
"Having to take her younger sister along the first time she is invited to a birthday party spoils Rubina's fun, and later when that sister is asked to a party and baby sister wants to come, Rubina must decide whether to help."
When They Call You a Terrorist by Khan-Cullors, Patrisse
"Raised by a single mother in an impoverished neighborhood in Los Angeles, the author experienced firsthand the prejudice and persecution Black Americans endure at the hands of law enforcement. For the author, the most vulnerable people in the country are Black people. The author asserts that Black Americans have been targeted by a criminal justice system that serves a white privilege agenda, and are subjected to unjustifiable racial profiling and police brutality. In 2013, when Trayvon Martin's killer went free, her outrage led her to co-found the Black Lives Matter movement with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. Condemned as terrorists and as a threat to America, the women founded a hashtag that birthed the movement to demand accountability from the authorities who have turned a blind eye to the injustices inflicted upon people of black and brown skin. Championing human rights in the face of violent racism, the author transformed personal pain into political power, giving voice to a people suffering inequality, and forming a movement fueled by strength and love, to tell the country - and the world - that Black Lives Matter."
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Khorram, Adib
"Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's a Fractional Persian -- half, his mom's side -- and his first ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. Darius has never really fit in at home, and he's sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn't exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they're spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city's skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush -- the original Farsi version of his name -- and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he's Darioush to Sohrab. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Adib Khorram's brilliant debut is for anyone who's ever felt not good enough -- then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay."
All the Colors We Are by Kissinger, Katie and Wernher Krutein (Photographer)
"Explains, in simple terms, the reasons for skin color, how it is determined by heredity, and how various environmental factors affect it."
Harvesting Hope by Krull, Kathleen and Yuyi Morales (Illustrator)
"A biography of Cesar Chavez, from age ten when he and his family lived happily on their Arizona ranch, to age thirty-eight when he led a peaceful protest against California migrant workers' miserable working conditions."
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Kuklin, Susan
"Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves."
We Are Okay by LaCour, Nina
"Marin hasn't spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she's tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit, and Marin will be forced to face everything that's been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart."
The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children by Ladson-Billings, Gloria
"Who are the successful teachers of African American students? What do they do? And how can we learn from them? Her portraits of eight exemplary teachers who differ in personal style and methods but share an approach to teaching that affirms and strengthens cultural identity are inspiring and full of hope. Written in three voices - that of an African American scholar and researcher, a teacher, and a parent and active community member - this book is a mixture of scholarship and storytelling. Ladson-Billings' portraits, interwoven with personal reflections, challenge readers to envision intellectually rigorous and culturally relevant classrooms that have the power to improve the lives of not just African American students but all children."
Rape on Campus by Leone, Bruno (Editor) and Katie De Koster (Editor)
"Provides pro-and-con in-depth discussions on the controversial issue of rape on college campuses focusing on the sexual consent policy at Antioch College."
Gender Issues and Sexuality: Essential Primary Sources by Lerner, K. Lee, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner
"A focus on leading social issues of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Each title contains approximately 175 full or excerpted documents---speeches, legislation, magazine and newspaper articles, essays, memoirs, letters, interviews, novels, songs, and works of art---as well as overview information that places each document in context."
Henry's Freedom Box by Levine, Ellen and Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)
"A fictionalized account of how in 1849 a Virginia slave, Henry "Box" Brown, escapes to freedom by shipping himself in a wooden crate from Richmond to Philadelphia."
Every Day by Levithan, David
" Every morning A wakes in a different person's body, in a different person's life, learning over the years to never get too attached, until he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon."
Two Boys Kissing by Levithan, David
"A chorus of men who died of AIDS observes and yearns to help a cross-section of today's gay teens who navigate new love, long-term relationships, coming out, self-acceptance, and more in a society that has changed in many ways."
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Lo, Malinda
"Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day."
Sister Outsider by Lorde, Audre
"Presenting the essential writings of black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider celebrates an influential voice in twentieth-century literature. In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and lyrical, reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope."
And Still the Turtle Watched by MacGill-Callahan, Sheila
"A turtle carved in rock on a bluff over the Hudson River by Indians long ago watches with sadness the changes man brings over the years."
Fry Bread by Maillard, Kevin Noble and Juana Martinez-Neal (Illustrator)
"Fry bread is food. It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate. Fry bread is time. It brings families together for meals and new memories. Fry bread is nation. It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond. Fry bread is us. It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference. Told in lively and powerful verse by debut author Kevin Noble Maillard, Fry Bread is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family, vibrantly illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Juana Martinez-Neal."
The Gold-Threaded Dress by Marsden, Carolyn and Carolyn Mackler
"When Oy and her Thai American family move to a new neighborhood, her third-grade classmates tease and exclude her because she is different."
Knots on a Counting Rope by Martin, Bill, John Archambault, and Ted Rand (Illustrator)
"A grandfather and his blind grandson, Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses, reminisce about the young boy's birth, his first horse, and an exciting horse race."
The Rough-Face Girl by Martin, Rafe and David Shannon (Illustrator)
"The powerful Invisible Being is looking for a wife, and all the girls in the village vie for his affections. But only the girl who proves she can see him will be his bride. The two beautiful but spoiled daughters of a poor village man try their best to be chosen, but it is their Rough-Face-Girl sister, scarred on her face and arms from tending fires, who sees the Invisible Being in the wonder of the natural world."
How Beautiful We Were by Mbue, Imbolo
"Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells the story of a people living in fear amidst environmental degradation wrought by a large and powerful American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of clean up and financial reparations to the villagers are made--and ignored. The country's government, led by a corrupt, brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interest. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight the American corporation. Doing so will come at a steep price. Told through multiple perspectives and centered around a fierce young girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, How Beautiful We Were is a masterful exploration of what happens when the reckless drive for profit, coupled with the ghosts of colonialism, comes up against one community's determination to hold on to its ancestral land--and a young woman's willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people's freedom."
Tomorrow Will Be Different by McBride, Sarah
"Before speaking at a national political convention about her experiences as a transgender person, the author struggled with the decision to come out - not just to her family but to the students at her university, where she was serving as student body president. She'd known she was a girl from her earliest memories, but it wasn't until a Facebook post announcing her truth went viral that she realized the impact her story could have on the country. Four years later, the author was one of the nation's most prominent transgender activists, walking the halls of the White House, advocating inclusive legislation, and addressing the country in the midst of a heated presidential election. She had also found her first love and future husband, a trans man and fellow activist, who complemented her in every way ... until cancer tragically intervened. This book is the author's story of love and loss and an account of the LGBTQ community's battle for equal rights."
Sold by McCormick, Patricia
"Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her poor mountain home in Nepal thinking that she is to work in the city as a maid only to find that she has been sold into the sex slave trade in India and that there is no hope of escape."
Heroine by Mcginnis, Mindy
"When a car crash sidelines Mickey just before softball season, she has to find a way to hold on to her spot as the catcher for a team expected to make a historic tournament run. Behind the plate is the only place she's ever felt comfortable, and the painkillers she's been prescribed can help her get there. The pills do more than take away pain; they make her feel good. With a new circle of friends--fellow injured athletes, others with just time to kill--Mickey finds peaceful acceptance, and people with whom words come easily, even if it is just the pills loosening her tongue. But as the pressure to be Mickey Catalan heightens, her need increases, and it becomes less about pain and more about want, something that could send her spiraling out of control."
Every Heart a Doorway by McGuire, Seanan
"Children have always disappeared from Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere ... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced ... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world. But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter. No matter the cost."
Eclipse by Meyer, Stephenie
"Bella must choose between her friendship with Jacob, a werewolf, and her relationship with Edward, a vampire, but when Seattle is ravaged by a mysterious string of killings, the three of them need to decide whether their personal lives are more important than the well-being of an entire city."
Everywhere Babies by Meyers, Susan and Marla Frazee (Illustrator)
"Describes babies and the things they do from the time they are born until their first birthday."
Touching Spirit Bear by Mikaelsen, Ben
"After his anger erupts into violence, Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life."
Baseball Saved Us by Mochizuki, Ken and Dom Lee (Illustrator)
"A Japanese American boy learns to play baseball when he and his family are forced to live in an internment camp during World War II, and his ability to play helps him after the war is over."
The Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad by Monjo, F. H. and Fred Brenner (Illustrator)
"Sent home alone for misbehaving in church, Tommy discovers that his house is a station on the underground railroad."
V for Vendetta by Moore, Alan and David Lloyd (Illustrator)
" V, an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, begins an elaborate, violent, and intentionally theatrical campaign to murder his former captors, bring down the government, and convince the people to rule themselves."
Saturday by Mora, Oge
"Today will be special. Today will be splendid. Today is Saturday! This is the day Ava and her mother cherish. Saturday means: storytime, salon time, picnic time, and this week ... The Best Puppet Show Ever! But what happens when life doesn't exactly deliver on its promise? Join a mother and daughter on an up-and-down journey that reminds them of what's best about Saturdays: precious time together."
Thank You, Omu! by Mora, Oge
"When the aroma of Omu's homemade stew fills the air, her neighbors arrive, one by one, for a taste until all is gone except for her generous spirit."
Dreamers by Morales, Yuyi
"An illustrated picture book autobiography in which award-winning author Yuyi Morales tells her own immigration story."
Beloved by Morrison, Toni
"Published in 1987 and winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize, Toni Morrison's masterpiece is set in post-Civil War Ohio, a place that offered Morrison "an escape from stereotyped black settings... neither ghetto nor plantation." Beloved is the story of a family of former slaves: Sixo, who "stopped speaking English because there was no future in it"; Baby Suggs, who makes her living with her heart because slavery "had busted her legs, back, head, eyes, hands, kidneys, womb and tongue"; Halle, Baby's youngest son, who hired himself out to by his mother's freedom; Sethe, Halle's wife; and their daughter, Denver. The novel centers on Sethe, escaped from slavery but haunted by its legacy, literally, in the ghost of her first daughter, Beloved. Ingeniously blending allegory, fantasy, oral legend, myth, and poetic song-like prose, Beloved is a powerful tale of redemption that creates life out of death, motherhood out of cruelty, and forgotten history out of silence."
The Bluest Eye by Morrison, Toni
"It is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove -- a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others -- who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment."
Gone, Gone, Gone by Moskowitz, Hannah
"Struggling with the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and sniper shootings throughout the Washington, D.C. area, Craig and Lio consider a romantic relationship that is complicated by Craig's ex-boyfriend, Lio's broken family, and the death of Lio's brother."
Up, Up, Down by Munsch, Robert and Michael Martchenko (Illustrator)
"Despite the warnings of her mother and father, Anna persists in trying to climb things, eventually ending up in the top of a tree and refusing to come down."
Zen Shorts by Muth, Jon J.
"When Stillwater the bear moves into the neighborhood, the stories he tells to three siblings teach them to look at the world in new ways. "Michael," said Karl. "There's a really big bear in the backyard." To Addie he tells a story about the value of material goods. To Michael he pushes the boundaries of good and bad. And to Karl he demonstrates what it means to hold on to frustration. With graceful art and simple stories that are filled with love and enlightenment, the author and Stillwater the bear present three ancient Zen tales. Includes a factual note on Zen."
Wings by Myers, Christopher
"Ikarus Jackson, the new boy in school, is outcast because he has wings, but his resilient spirit inspires one girl to speak up for him."
Monster by Myers, Walter Dean
"While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken."
ttyl by Myracle, Lauren
"Chronicles, in "instant message" format on a simulated computer screen, the day-to-day experiences, feelings, and plans of three friends, Zoe, Maddie, and Angela, as they begin tenth grade."
Lolita by Nabokov, Vladimir
Infamous and controversial novel written from the perspective of a pedophile obsessed with a young girl as he attempts to justify his desires and actions.
Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Namioka, Lensey and Kees De Kiefte (Illustrator)
"Recently arrived in Seattle from China, musically untalented Yingtao is faced with giving a violin performance to attract new students for his father when he would rather be working on friendships and playing baseball."
Reluctantly Alice by Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
"Alice experiences the joys and embarrassments of seventh grade while advising her father and older brother on their love lives."
I'll Give You the Sun by Nelson, Jandy
"Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways ... until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else -- an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they'd have a chance to remake their world."
October Mourning by Newman, Lesléa
"One the night of October 6, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old University of Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard was lured from a bar by two young men, then savagely beaten, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, and left to die. Five days later, Lesléa Newman arrived on campus to give the keynote speech for University of Wyoming's Gay Awareness Week. October Mourning is Lesléa Newman's deeply personal response to the events of that tragic day and its brutal aftermath. This work of poetic imagination explores the impact of the vicious crime through fictitiuos monologues from various points of view, including the fence to which Matthew was tied, the deer that kept watch beside him, and even Matthew himself. This stunning cycle of sixty-eight poems serves as an illumination for readers too young to remember and as a powerful, enduring tribute to Matthew Shepard's life and legacy."
Heather Has Two Mommies by Newman, Lesléa and Diana Souza (Illustrator)
"When Heather goes to playgroup, at first she feels bad because she has two mothers and no father, but then she learns that there are lots of different kinds of families and the most important thing is that all the people love each other."
The Trouble with Black Boys ... And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education by Noguera, Pedro A.
"For many years to come, race will continue to be a source of controversy and conflict in American society. For many of us it will continue to shape where we live, pray, go to school, and socialize. We cannot simply wish away the existence of race or racism, but we can take steps to lessen the ways in which the categories trap and confine us."
Thunder Rose by Nolen, Jerdine and Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)
"Unusual from the day she is born, Thunder Rose performs all sorts of amazing feats, including building fences, taming a stampeding herd of steers, capturing a gang of rustlers, and turning aside a tornado."
The Things They Carried by O'Brien, Tim
"... depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and of course, the character Tim O'Brien who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. They battle the enemy (or maybe more the idea of the enemy), and occasionally each other. In their relationships we see their isolation and loneliness, their rage and fear. They miss their families, their girlfriends and buddies; they miss the lives they left back home. Yet they find sympathy and kindness for strangers (the old man who leads them unscathed through the mine field, the girl who grieves while she dances), and love for each other, because in Vietnam they are the only family they have. We hear the voices of the men and build images upon their dialogue. The way they tell stories about others, we hear them telling stories about themselves. "
Anger Is a Gift by Oshiro, Mark
"Six years ago, Moss Jefferies' father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media's vilification of his father and the lack of accountability for his father's murder has left Moss with near crippling panic attacks. Now, in his sophomore year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals in their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and the Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration. When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift."
When the Emperor Was Divine by Otsuka, Julie
"Otsuka's commanding debut novel paints a portrait of the Japanese internment camps unlike any previously written--a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and an unmistakably resonant lesson for our times."
The Imitation Game by Ottaviani, Jim and Leland Purvis (Illustrator)
"Award-winning duo Jim Ottaviani (the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Feynman and Primates) and artist Leland Purvis (an Eisner and Ignatz Award nominee and occasional reviewer for the Comics Journal) present a factually detailed account of Turing's life and groundbreaking research--as an unconventional genius who was arrested, tried, convicted, and punished for being openly gay, and whose innovative work still fuels the computing and communication systems that define our modern world. Computer science buffs, comics fans, and history aficionados will be captivated by this riveting and tragic story of one of the 20th century's most unsung heroes."
Bridge to Terabithia by Paterson, Katherine and Donna Diamond (Illustrator)
"All summer, Jess pushed himself to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade, and when the year's first school-yard race was run, he was going to win. But his victory was stolen by a newcomer, by a girl, one who didn't even know enough to stay on the girls' side of the playground. Then, unexpectedly, Jess finds himself sticking up for Leslie, for the girl who breaks rules and wins races. The friendship between the two grows as Jess guides the city girl through the pitfalls of life in their small, rural town, and Leslie draws him into the world of imaginations world of magic and ceremony called Terabithia. Here, Leslie and Jess rule supreme among the oaks and evergreens, safe from the bullies and ridicule of the mundane world. Safe until an unforeseen tragedy forces Jess to reign in Terabithia alone, and both worlds are forever changed."
Cradle and All by Patterson, James
"Two pregnant teenagers -- one in privileged Newport, Rhode Island, one in a poor, remote Irish village -- have nothing in common except for the stunning fact that both are virgins. Private detective & former nun Anne Fitzgerald is called by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate & to watch over the girls as they come to term. But Anne hasn't been told the secret prophecy of the Virgin of Fatima known only to the Pope: one of these girls will give birth to the Messiah while the other will bear the child of Satan. Caught between the certainty of science & the possibility of a miracle, Anne finds herself at the center of a terrifying battle on which the fate of humanity hangs."
Protect and Defend by Patterson, Richard North
"When the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court drops dead following the inauguration, President Kerry Kilcannon selects as a replacement Judge Caroline Masters, a woman who hides a secret that could affect her ruling on a controversial case."
My Sister's Keeper by Picoult, Jodi
"Conceived to provide a bone marrow match for her leukemia-stricken sister, teenage Kate begins to question her moral obligations in light of countless medical procedures and decides to fight for the right to make decisions about her own body. New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness. Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged ... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves."
Nineteen Minutes by Picoult, Jodi
"In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling's residents. Even those who were not inside the school that morning find their lives in an upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior court judge assigned to the Houghton case, Alex - whose daughter, Josie, witnessed the events that unfolded - must decide whether or not to step down. She's torn between presiding over the biggest case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile daughter. Josie, meanwhile, claims she can't remember what happened in the last fatal minutes of Peter's rampage. Or can she? And Peter's parents, Lacy and Lewis Houghton, ceaselessly examine the past to see what they might have said or done to compel their son to such extremes."
The Tenth Circle by Picoult, Jodi
"When the daughter of a comic book artist claims she has been raped at a party and her friends turn against her, she runs away to Alaska and her father must face his own violent past as he tries to find her."
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Pinkney, Andrea and Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)
"A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician and composer who, along with his orchestra, created music that was beyond category."
The Bell Jar by Plath, Sylvia
"Esther Greenwood, a talented college student, finds herself estranged from her family and resigned to a conventional lifestyle and descends into depression and mental illness."
Mrs. Katz and Tush by Polacco, Patricia
"A long-lasting friendship develops between Larnel, a young African-American, and Mrs. Katz, a lonely Jewish widow, when Larnel presents Mrs. Katz with a scrawny kitten without a tail."
The Butterfly by Polacco, Patricia (Illustrator)
"During the Nazi occupation of France, Monique's mother hides a Jewish family in her basement and tries to help them escape to freedom."
Out of Darkness by Pérez, Ashley Hope
"New London, Texas. 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive."
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Quintero, Isabel
"Sixteen-year-old Gabi Hernandez chronicles her senior year in high school as she copes with her friend Cindy's pregnancy, friend Sebastian's coming out, her father's meth habit, her own cravings for food and cute boys, and especially, the poetry that helps forge her identity."
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Quintero, Isabel and Zeke Peña (Illustrator)
" When Daisy Ramona zooms around her neighborhood with her papi on his motorcycle, she sees the people and places she's always known. She also sees a community that is rapidly changing around her. But as the sun sets purple-blue-gold behind Daisy Ramona and her papi, she knows that the love she feels will always be there. This book is a young girl's love letter to her hardworking dad and to memories of home that we hold close in the midst of change."
Citizen: An American Lyric by Rankine, Claudia
"Claudia Rankine's bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship."
We the Students by Raskin, Jamin B.: Supreme Court Cases for and About Students
"Presents information about the U.S. Constitution and courts, and features studies of a selection of cases brought before the Supreme Court that explore some of the problems facing young Americans, including freedom of expression, freedom of the student press, the right to privacy, due process, and others."
On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Rennison, Louise
"Fourteen-year-old Georgia continues her diary in which she records her misadventures trying to reclaim the attention of seventeen-year-old Robbie, while coping with her friends, family, and dog-like cat Angus at the same time."
As Brave As You by Reynolds, Jason
"Scooping poop at his grandparent's house - that sure as heck wasn't the way eleven-year-old Genie expected to be spending his summer. But when his parents send him and his big brother, Ernie, to Virginia to experience the great (not!) outdoors, they're in for some big surprises. First, there are chores galore (picking peas, really?). Second, Grandpop just might be completely off his rocker. The man has a big ol' secret - and once Genie learns what it is, all of Grandpop's oddities start to make sense. Like why he locks himself up in a room that's filled with birds. And why he never - not ever, no sir, no how, no way - steps foot outside. On top of that, Grandpop has a crazy idea for how to celebrate Ernie's fourteenth birthday. Actually, to Genie it isn't so crazy, but Ernie thinks it's completely wack. Genie wonders if that's because Ernie isn't brave enough. but is being brave doing something? Or knowing when not to?"
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Reynolds, Jason and Ibram X. Kendi
"The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. Racist ideas are woven into the fabric of this country, and the first step to building an antiracist America is acknowledging America's racist past and present. This book takes you on that journey, showing how racist ideas started and were spread, and how they can be discredited."
Detour for Emmy by Reynolds, Marilyn
"Emmy, whose future had once looked so bright, struggles to overcome the isolation and depression brought about by being a teen mother who gets little support from her family or the father of her child."
Ghost Boys by Rhodes, Jewell Parker
"Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed on his family, his friend Carlos, and his community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing. Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey toward recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father's actions. Once again Jewell Parker Rhodes deftly weaves historical, social, and political layers into a gripping and poignant story about how children and families face the complexities of today's world - and how one boy, in particular, who never had a chance to grow up, comes to understand American blackness in the aftermath of his own death."
Ninth Ward by Rhodes, Jewell Parker
" In New Orleans' Ninth Ward, twelve-year-old Lanesha, who can see spirits, and her adopted grandmother have no choice but to stay and weather the storm as Hurricane Katrina bears down upon them."
And Tango Makes Three by Richardson, Justin, Peter Parnell; and Henry Cole (Illustrator)
"At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches."
Hammer of Thor by Riordan, Rick
"Thor's hammer is missing again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon--the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost, it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki--and the price he wants is very high. Magnus Chase, a homeless boy living in Boston, finds out he is the son of a Norse god."
Hey, Charleston! The True Story of the Jenkins Orphanage Band by Rockwell, Anne and Colin Bootman (Illustrator)
"What happened when a former slave took beat-up old instruments and gave them to a bunch of orphans? Thousands of futures got a little brighter and a great American art form was born. In 1891, Reverend Daniel Joseph Jenkins opened his orphanage in Charleston, South Carolina. He soon had hundreds of children and needed a way to support them. Jenkins asked townspeople to donate old band instruments - some of which had last played in the hands of Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. He found teachers to show the kids how to play. Soon the orphanage had a band. And what a band it was. The Jenkins Orphanage Band caused a sensation on the streets of Charleston. People called the band's style of music "rag"--A rhythm inspired by the African-American people who lived on the South Carolina and Georgia coast. The children performed as far away as Paris and London, and they earned enough money to support the orphanage that still exists today. They also helped launch the music we now know as jazz."
Satanism by Roleff, Tamara L.
"Provides a wide range of opinions on a specific social issue. Offers a variety of perspectives-eyewitness accounts, governmental views, scientific analysis, newspaper and magazine accounts, and many more-to illuminate the issue. Extensive bibliographies and annotated lists of relevant organizations point to sources for further research."
Abortion by Rose, Melody
"This thought-provoking reference work explores the evolution of America's heated abortion debate in a selection of over 40 primary documents from the 19th century to the present day. The guide includes not only key laws and court cases that have determined abortion policy, but also political speeches, medical essays, theological writings, newspaper advertisements, magazine articles, and popular books that offer insight into America's changing attitudes towards women, race, the medical field, and the role of government in its citizens' personal lives. Each document is preceded by an introduction and is followed by analysis to help readers understand its significance and historical context."
The God of Small Things by Roy, Arundhati
" The story of an Indian family during the 1969 Communist disturbances in Kerala province. It is told through the eyes of a boy and his sister who are the children of a rich rubber planter."
Esperanza Rising by Ryan, Pam Muñoz
"When Esperanza and Mama are forced to flee to the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico, to a Mexican farm labor camp in California, they must adjust to a life without the fancy dresses and servants they were accustomed to on Rancho de las Rosas. Now they must confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. When Mama falls ill and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must relinquish her hold on the past learn to embrace a future ripe with the riches of family and community."
Empress of the World by Ryan, Sara
"While attending a summer institute, fifteen-year-old Nic meets another girl named Battle, falls in love with her, and finds the relationship to be difficult and confusing."
Rainbow Boys by Sanchez, Alex
"Three high school seniors, a jock with a girlfriend and an alcoholic father, a closeted gay, and a flamboyant gay rights advocate, struggle with family issues, gay bashers, first sex, and conflicting feelings about each other."
Rainbow High by Sanchez, Alex
"Jason Carrillo, the best-looking athlete in school, has had his eyes on the prize from day one: a scholarship for college. But then his eyes turn to love -- and Kyle. Kyle Meeks, swim team star and all-around good guy, is finally in the relationship he wanted. Being in love feels so good, in fact, that he can't imagine giving it up to go to Princeton. Something he's worked for his entire life. Nelson Glassman, outgoing and defiant, might be HIV positive. Jeremy, the boy he loves, is HIV positive. Although Nelson fears testing positive, if he is infected Jeremy might stop protecting him and pushing him away. They can be together. High shool's almost over. Graduation is ahead. Life's a bowl of cherries, right? Right..."
Push by Sapphire
"A self-portrait of a black teenage girl, big, fat, unloved, with a father who rapes her and a jealous mother who screams abuse. For Precious, as she is called, hope appears when a courageous teacher, a young black woman, bullies, cajoles and inspires her to learn to read."
Persepolis by Satrapi, Marjane
"In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran: of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life and of the enormous toll repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit. Marjane's child's-eye-view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family."
All the World by Scanlon, Liz Garton and Marla Frazee (Illustrator)
"Pictures and rhyming text celebrate a family's day spent going to the beach, shopping at the market, eating at a restaurant and spending the evening with the rest of the extended family."
Black Frontiers: A History of African American Heroes in the Old West by Schlissel, Lillian
"Focuses on the experiences of blacks as mountain men, soldiers, homesteaders, and scouts on the frontiers of the American West."
The Last Time I Wore a Dress by Scholinski, Daphne and Jane Adams
"At the age of fifteen, Daphne Scholinski was put in a mental hospital for what her psychiatrist called "failure to identity as a sexual female." The hospital gave her a diagnosis that was brand-new to the medical books: Gender Identity Disorder. The years that should have been Daphne's typical high school experience instead consisted of periods of seclusion and physical restraint, frequent does of sedatives, and the close company of people who were truly crazy. It's hard to believe that doctors, circa 1981, described Daphne's treatment goals as becoming more obsessive about boys, learning about makeup, dressing more like a girl, curling and styling hair, and spending quality time learning about "girl things" with peers. Thousand of teenagers are institutionalized in the United States each year for being too sissyish or too much of a tomboy."
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Schwartz, Alvin and Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)
"Stories of ghosts and witches, "jump" stories, scary songs, and modern-day scary stories."
On Mother's Lap by Scott, Ann Herbert and Glo Coalson (Illustrator)
"A small [Inuit] boy discovers that Mother's lap is a very special place with room for everyone."
Lucky by Sebold, Alice
"The author describes the circumstances of her rape as an eighteen-year-old college freshman, the arrest and trial of her attacker, and her struggle to reclaim her shattered life." [Note: Because of serious flaws in the evidence, including with Sebold's identification of him, the man tried was exonerated after having spent 16 years in prison and 22 years on the sex offender registry. Because of this, new copies of the book are no longer being printed or distributed by the publisher.]
The Lovely Bones by Sebold, Alice
"This is the tale of family, memory, love, and living told by 14-year-old Susie Salmon, who is already in heaven. Through the voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and builds out of her family's grief."
Between Shades of Gray by Sepetys, Ruta
"In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Based on the author's family, includes a historical note."
The Berlin Boxing Club by Sharenow, Robert
"Karl Stern has never thought of himself as a Jew. But the bullies at his school in Nazi-era Berlin, don't care that Karl has never been in a synagogue or that his family doesn't practice religion. Demoralized by attacks on a heritage he doesn't accept as his own, Karl longs to prove his worth. So when Max Schmeling, champion boxer and German national hero, makes a deal with Karl's father to give Karl boxing lessons, A skilled cartoonist, Karl has never had an interest in boxing, but now it seems like the perfect chance to reinvent himself. But when Nazi violence against Jews escalates, Karl must take on a new role: protector of his family. And as Max's fame forces him to associate with Hitler and other Nazi elites, Karl begins to wonder where his hero's sympathies truly lie. Can Karl balance his dream of boxing greatness with his obligation to keep his family out of harm's way?"
Hidden Figures by Shetterly, Margot Lee
"Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as 'human computers' used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call, moving to Hampton, Virginia, and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley's all-black 'West Computing' group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens."
Climbing Lincoln's Steps by Slade, Suzanne and Colin Bootman (Illustrator)
"... describes important moments of African- American history occurring at the Lincoln Memorial, including Dr. Martin Luther King's famous speech and a visit from the first African- American president and his family."
Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools by Sleeter, Christine E and Miguel Zavala
"Drawing on Christine Sleeter's review of research on the academic and social impact of ethnic studies commissioned by the National Education Association, this book will examine the value and forms of teaching and researching ethnic studies. The book employs a diverse conceptual framework, including critical pedagogy, anti-racism, Afrocentrism, Indigeneity, youth participatory action research, and critical multicultural education. The book provides cases of classroom teachers to 'illustrate what such conceptual framework look like when enacted in the classroom, as well as tensions that spring from them within school bureaucracies driven by neoliberalism.' Sleeter and Zavala will also outline ways to conduct research for 'investigating both learning and broader impacts of ethnic research used for liberatory ends'."
Grasshopper Jungle by Smith, Andrew
" Austin Szerba narrates the end of humanity as he and his best friend Robby accidentally unleash an army of giant, unstoppable bugs and uncover the secrets of a decades-old experiment gone terribly wrong."
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Snyder, Dianne and Allen Say (Illustrator)
"A poor Japanese woman maneuvers events to change the lazy habits of her son."
Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity by Solomon, Andrew
"... tells the stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children but also find profound meaning in doing so. His proposition is that diversity is what unites us all. He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, multiple severe disabilities, with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender. While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, the experience of difference within families is universal, as are the triumphs of love he documents in every chapter. All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent parents should accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on 40,000 pages of interview transcripts with more than three hundred families, the author mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges. Whether considering prenatal screening for genetic disorders, cochlear implants for the deaf, or gender reassignment surgery for transgender people, he narrates a universal struggle toward compassion. Many families grow closer through caring for a challenging child; most discover supportive communities of others similarly affected; some are inspired to become advocates and activists, celebrating the very conditions they once feared."
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sones, Sonya and Charise Mericle Harper (Illustrator)
"Sophie describes her relationships with a series of boys as she searches for Mr. Right."
¡Qué Montón de Tamales! = Too Many Tamales! by Soto, Gary and Ed Martinez (Illustrator)
"Maria tries on her mother's wedding ring while helping make tamales for a Christmas family get-together. Panic ensues when hours later, she realizes the ring is missing."
Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sotomayor, Sonia and Rafael López (Illustrator)
"A group of children with different abilities and strengths come together to build a community garden."
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale by Spiegelman, Art
"Memoir about Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and about his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father, his story, and with history itself."
Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began by Spiegelman, Art
"A memoir of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and about his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father, his story, and history. Cartoon format portrays Jews as mice, Nazis as cats. Using a unique comic-strip-as-graphic-art format, the story of Vladek Spiegelman's passage through the Nazi Holocaust is told in his own words."
Deogratias, a Tale of Rwanda by Stassen, Jean-Philippe
"... this is the harrowing tale of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, as seen through the eyes of a boy named Deogratias. He is an ordinary teenager, in love with a girl named Bénigne, but Deogratias is a Hutu and Bénigne is a Tutsi who dies in the genocide, and Deogratias himself plays a part in her death. As the story circles around but never depicts the terror and brutality of an entire country descending into violence, we watch Deogratias in his pursuit of Bénigne, and we see his grief and descent into madness following her death, as he comes to believe he is a dog. Told with great artistry and intelligence, this book offers a window into a dark chapter of recent human history and exposes the West's role in the tragedy. Stassen's interweaving of the aftermath of the genocide and the events leading up to it heightens the impact of the horror, giving powerful expression to the unspeakable, indescribable experience of ordinary Hutus caught up in the violence."
Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us by Steele, Claude M.
"In this work, the author, a social psychologist, addresses one of the most perplexing social issues of our time: the trend of minority underperformance in higher education. With strong evidence showing that the problem involves more than weaker skills, he explores other explanations. Here he presents an insider's look at his research and details his groundbreaking findings on stereotypes and identity, findings that will deeply alter the way we think about ourselves, our abilities, and our relationships with each other. Through dramatic personal stories, he shares the researcher's experience of peering beneath the surface of our ordinary social lives to reveal what it is like to be stereotyped based on our gender, age, race, class, or any of the ways by which we culturally classify one another. What he discovers is that this experience of "stereotype threat" can profoundly affect our functioning: undermining our performance, causing emotional and physiological reactions, and affecting our career and relationship choices."
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Stein, Garth
"Nearing the end of his life, Enzo, a dog with a philosopher's soul, tries to bring together the family, pulled apart by a three year custody battle between daughter Zoe's maternal grandparents and her father Denny, a race car driver."
Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck, John
"The tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simpleminded man, calming him and helping to [rein] in his immense physical strength."
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Steptoe, Javaka
"Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful."
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Stone, Tanya Lee
"When a handsome senior boy enters their mix, friends Josie, Nicolette, and Aviva soon find themselves in questionable situations where each girl must make the right decision before their personal sacrifices become too great."
The Confessions of Nat Turner by Styron, William
"Through the mind of a slave, William Styron has re-created a catastrophic event, and dramatized the intermingled miseries, frustrations-and hopes-which caused this extraordinary black man to rise up out of the early mists of our history and strike down those who had held his people in bondage."
It's Not Like It's a Secret by Sugiura, Misa
"Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don't invite her to parties. Some are big, like that fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there's the one that she can barely even admit to herself -- the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend. When Sana and her family move to California she begins to wonder if it's finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana's ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana's new friends don't trust Jamie's crowd; Jamie's friends clearly don't want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad's affair is becoming too obvious to ignore anymore. Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy... what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated."
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Sáenz, Benjamin Alire and Benjamin Alire Sáenz
" Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship -- the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be."
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Sánchez, Erika L.
"When the sister who delighted their parents by her faithful embrace of Mexican culture dies in a tragic accident, Julia, who longs to go to college and move into a home of her own, discovers from mutual friends that her sister may not have been as perfect as believed."
They Called Us Enemy by Takei, George, Justin Eisinger; Steven Scott; and Harmony Becker (Illustrator)
"A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps, as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself -- in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love."
Can We Talk about Race? And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation by Tatum, Beverly Daniel
"Explores why it is important for white educators to affirm the identities of African American students, and discusses how the prevalence of racial stereotypes acts as a major psychological challenge uniquely facing African Americans."
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Tatum, Beverly Daniel
"The classic, bestselling book on the psychology of racism-now fully revised and updated. Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, argues that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about enabling communication across racial and ethnic divides. These topics have only become more urgent as the national conversation about race is increasingly acrimonious. This fully revised edition is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of race in America."
Henry Aaron's Dream by Tavares, Matt
"A picture book biography of African-American baseball player Hank Aaron."
Drama: A Graphic Novel by Telgemeier, Raina
"Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she's a terrible singer. Instead she's the set designer for the stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen, and when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!"
The Hiding Place by Ten Boom, Corrie
"The memoirs of a Dutch woman who was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp during World War II as a result of her activities in the anti-Nazi underground."
The Hate U Give by Thomas, Angie
"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life."
Blankets by Thompson, Craig
"Loosely based on the author's life, chronicling his journey from childhood to adulthood, exploring the people, experiences, and beliefs that he encountered along the way."
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Medez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Tonatiuh, Duncan
"Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a "Whites only" school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California."
Abortion by Torr, James D. (Editor)
"Explores opposing [viewpoints] dealing with abortion."
Hachiko by Turner, Pamela S. and Yan Nascimbene (Illustrator)
"Relates the true story of a dog who accompanied his master to and from a Tokyo train station for a year and, after his master died, continued to wait for him there every day for many years."
The Bracelet by Uchida, Yoshiko and Joanna Yardley (Illustrator)
"Emi, a Japanese American in the second grade, is sent with her family to an internment camp during World War II, but the loss of the bracelet her best friend has given her proves that she does not need a physical reminder of that friendship."
A Storm Called Katrina by Uhlberg, Myron and Colin Bootman (Illustrator)
"When flood waters submerge their New Orleans neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a young cornet player and his parents evacuate their home and struggle to survive and stay together."
Dad, Jackie, and Me by Uhlberg, Myron and Colin Bootman (Illustrator)
"In Brooklyn, New York, in 1947, a boy learns about discrimination and tolerance as he and his deaf father share their enthusiasm over baseball and the Dodgers' first baseman, Jackie Robinson."
Subtractive Schooling: U.S.-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring by Valenzuela, Angela
"... provides a framework for understanding the patterns of immigrant achievement and U.S.-born underachievement frequently noted in the literature and observed by the author in her ethnographic account of regular-track youth attending a comprehensive, virtually all-Mexican, inner-city high school in Houston. Valenzuela argues that schools subtract resources from youth in two major ways: firstly by dismissing their definition of education and secondly through assimilationist policies and practices that minimize their culture and language. A key consequence is the erosion of students' social capital evident in the absence of academically oriented networks among acculturated, U.S.-born youth."
Y: The Last Man by Vaughan, Brian K., Pia Guerra (Illustrator), and Jose Marzan (Illustrator)
"In the summer of 2002, a plague of unknown origin destroyed every last sperm, fetus, and fully developed mammal with a Y chromosome-with the apparent exception of one young man and his male pet. This "gendercide" instantaneously exterminated 48% of the global population, or approximately 2.9 billion men. Now, aided by the mysterious Agent 355, the last human male Yorick Brown must contend with dangerous extremists, a hoped-for reunion with a girlfriend on the other side of the globe, and the search for exactly why he's the only man to survive."
Saga by Vaughan, Brian K. and Fiona Staples (Artist, Cover Design)
"The sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old world."
Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut, Kurt
"Billy Pilgrim returns home from the Second World War only to be kidnapped by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, who teach him that time is an eternal present."
The Color Purple by Walker, Alice
"... depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance, and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then from the sisters to each other, the novel draws readers into the experiences of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery, and Sofia."
The Glass Castle by Walls, Jeannette
"In the tradition of Mary Karr's "The Liars' Club" and Rick Bragg's "All Over But the Shouting," Jeannette Walls has written a stunning and life-affirming memoir about surviving a willfully impoverished, eccentric and severely misguided family. The child of an alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother discusses her family's nomadic upbringing, during which she and her siblings fended for themselves while their parents outmaneuvered bill collectors and the authorities."
Piecing Me Together by Watson, Renee
"Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn't really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn't mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She's tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference."
Harlem's Little Blackbird by Watson, Renée and Christian Robinson (Illustrator)
"A tribute to lesser-known Harlem Renaissance performer Florence Mills includes coverage of her youth as a child of former slaves, her singing and dancing performances that inspired songs and entire plays, and the struggles with racism that prompted her advocacy of all-black theater and musicals."
Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Weatherford, Carole Boston and Sean Qualls (Illustrator)
"This lyrical picture-book biography of John Coltrane focuses on his childhood and how he interpreted sounds before he made his music."
Yoko by Wells, Rosemary
"When Yoko brings sushi to school for lunch, her classmates make fun of what she eats--until one of them tries it for himself."
Whistle Me Home by Wersba, Barbara
"Seventeen-year-old Noli feels as if she has found her soul mate when handsome, sensitive TJ moves to Sag Harbor, but even as their feelings deepen, individual secrets threaten their relationship."
Night by Wiesel, Elie and Marion Wiesel (Translator)
"Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. [This book] is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man."
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Wilkerson, Isabel
"As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power--which groups have it and which do not. In this book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people's lives and behavior and the nation's fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more."
Daddy's Roommate by Willhoite, Michael
"A young boy discusses his divorced father's new living situation, in which the father and his gay roommate share eating, doing chores, playing, loving, and living."
Four Feet, Two Sandals by Williams, Karen Lynn, Khadra Mohammed, and Doug Chayka (Illustrator)
"Two young Afghani girls living in a refugee camp in Pakistan share a precious pair of sandals brought by relief workers. Includes author's note about refugees."
Roberto Clemente by Winter, Jonah and Raúl ón (Illustrator)
"Presents the life of the legendary athlete from Puerto Rico who became one of the most respected baseball players of all time and the first Latino inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame."
Before the Ever After by Woodson, Jacqueline
"ZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career."
Brown Girl Dreaming by Woodson, Jacqueline
"The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South."
Red at the Bone by Woodson, Jacqueline
"Two families from different social classes are joined together by an unexpected pregnancy and the child that it produces. Moving forward and backward in time, with the power of poetry and the emotional richness of a narrative ten times its length, Jacqueline Woodson's extraordinary new [novel] uncovers the role that history and community have played in the experiences, decisions, and relationships of these families and in the life of this child"
Each Kindness by Woodson, Jacqueline and E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)
"When Ms. Albert teaches a lesson on kindness, Chloe realizes that she and her friends have been wrong in making fun of new student Maya's shabby clothes and refusing to play with her."
The Other Side by Woodson, Jacqueline and E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)
"Two girls, one white and one black, gradually get to know each other as they sit on the fence that divides their town."
The Day You Begin = El Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres by Woodson, Jacqueline and Rafael López (Illustrator)
"Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider."
American Born Chinese by Yang, Gene Luen (Illustrator)
"Jin Wang starts at a new school where he's the only Chinese-American student. When a boy from Taiwan joins his class, Jin doesn't want to be associated with an FOB like him. Jin just wants to be an all-American boy, because he's in love with an all-American girl. Danny is an all-American boy: great at basketball, popular with the girls. But his obnoxious Chinese cousin Chin-Kee's annual visit is such a disaster that it ruins Danny's reputation at school, leaving him with no choice but to transfer somewhere he can start all over again. The Monkey King has lived for thousands of years and mastered the arts of kung fu and the heavenly disciplines. He's ready to join the ranks of the immortal gods in heaven. But there's no place in heaven for a monkey. Each of these characters cannot help himself alone, but how can they possibly help each other? They're going to have to find a way--if they want fix the disasters their lives have become."
Front Desk by Yang, Kelly
"Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests. Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed. Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language? It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?"
Dragonwings by Yep, Laurence
"In the early twentieth century a young Chinese boy joins his father in San Francisco and helps him realize his dream of making a flying machine."
Coolies by Yin and Chris K. Soentpiet (Illustrator)
"A young boy hears the story of his great-great-great-grandfather and his brother who came to the United States to make a better life for themselves helping to build the transcontinental railroad."
Malala's Magic Pencil by Yousafzai, Malala and Kerascoët (Illustrator)
"As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true."