Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim
by
Grappling with the recent death of her father, Korean Argentine American Alejandra Kim hopes to fly under the radar for her senior year at New York City's Anne Austere Preparatory School. Not feeling like she fits in at either her mostly White high school or her Latinx neighborhood in Queens, Alejandra can't wait to leave everything behind and attend a beloved liberal arts school in Maine. Her angst only increases when her well-meaning White best friend Laurel circles a petition to cancel a lecturer who launched a microaggression at Alejandra. Suddenly Alejandra becomes the center of attention and she must decide whether to hide or deal with what is before her.
The Night Watchman
by
In 1953, Thomas Wazhashk--a night watchman at a jewel-bearing plant on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota--serves as a Chippewa council member trying to fight a new "emancipation" bill in the United States Congress that will effectively eliminate Native American treaties. Meanwhile, recent high school graduate Pixie Parenteau, who wants to be known as Patrice, must balance the needs of her mother and brother, her alcoholic father, and her own wish to follow her older sister, Vera, to the big city of Minneapolis, where she fears Vera has disappeared--however, when she finally makes it to Minnesota, Patrice finds a world of exploitation and violence, and her life may be put in danger.
We Deserve Monuments
by
Seventeen-year-old biracial Avery Anderson's life is turned upside down when she and her parents move to Bardell, Georgia, to live with her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. Avery's mom and Mama Letty have a strained relationship, but they won't tell Avery what caused it. Fortunately, Avery befriends Simone Cole, her Black next-door neighbor who she begins to fall for, and Jade Oliver, the White daughter of the town's most prominent family. As Avery begins to unpacks Bardell's racist past, she learns more about her own family's tragic connection to the town and about the unsolved murder of Jade's mother.
Defiant
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In this memoir of prominent black author Wade Hudson, the civil right activist and writer begins by chronicling his birth in 1946 in Mansfield, Louisiana and relating his coming of age in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement. Hudson discusses how he found his voice and began to use his writing to fight for his African American family and community.
All You Have to Do
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Told in alternating timelines, the stories of two young Black men attending mostly White private institutions decades apart, come together as each tries to take a stand against the racism of their eras, while trying to fulfill their parents' aspirations for them.
Black Birds in the Sky
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Chronicles the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 1, 1921 when a white mob entered the predominantly black neighborhood of Greenwood and destroyed thirty-five blocks of houses and businesses with fire and explosives. Describes what led up to the event, the resurgence in white supremacy groups, the pervasive jealousy of black prosperity, and the devastating aftermath for the black community. Explains why so little is known about it, and how it fits into the larger struggle for civil rights and equality for black Americans.
All You Have to Do
by
Told in alternating timelines, the stories of two young Black men attending mostly White private institutions decades apart, come together as each tries to take a stand against the racism of their eras, while trying to fulfill their parents' aspirations for them.
The Lines We Cross
by
Michael's parents are leaders of a new anti-immigrant political party called Aussie Values which is trying to halt the flood of refugees from the Middle East; Mina fled Afghanistan with her family ten years ago, and just wants to concentrate on fitting in and getting into college--but the mutual attraction they feel demands that they come to terms with their family's concerns and decide where they stand in the ugly anti-Muslim politics of the time.
Hearts Unbroken
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Louise dumps her popular, jock boyfriend after he makes some insensitive remarks about his brother's Native American fiancée without regard for the fact that she is also Native American. As a reporter for her school newspaper, she finds herself working on the story of the year alongside Joey. A story that involves racism, blackmail, and bullying centered around the cast of the school play--a cast that includes Louise's younger brother.
If I Tell You the Truth
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After a sexual assault that leaves her pregnant, young Kiran leaves Punjab to start life over in Canada. There, her daughter Sahaara is born and grows up, but faces her own difficulties when authorities discover her mother has overstayed her visa and become undocumented. Seeking justice, Sahaara learns the truth about Kiran's past and determines to challenge a dangerous man's power.
The Voting Booth
by
Marva Sheridan is excited to vote in her first election; Duke Crenshaw just wants to get voting over so that he can get to his band's first paying gig. When Marva sees Duke turned away from their polling place, she's determined to see his vote counted. They cut school, rush from precinct to precinct, and wait in endless lines just to get Duke registered to vote. Over the course of one day, the two strangers find they have more in common than just a passion for democracy.
Punching the Air
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Even though Amal Shahid is an artist and poet, he's still viewed as disruptive at his diverse art school. A fight breaks out between Amal and his friends and a group of white boys, leaving one of the white boys in a coma. Amal is convicted of the attack and sent to prison, even though he's not the one who put the boy in a coma. His despair and rage at having his bright future destroyed threaten to overcome him until he discovers the refuge and hope that his words and art give him.
The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones
by
In 1955, biracial Ethan, who was raised in Washington state, is sent to live with his grandparents in Alabama for the summer. Ethan's eyes are opened to blatant racism for the first time, but also to kindness, when a young red-head named Juniper Jones befriends him and they spend the summer exploring the town and having adventures. Their friendship becomes a lifeline for Ethan when the town's ugliness turns deadly.
The Color of a Lie
by
Growing up in 1955, Calvin Greene knows how to pass for white, especially in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, when he needs to, but after a tragedy forces the family to flee, they resettle in the idyllic all-white suburban town of Levittown, Pennsylvania, in search of a better life. As Calvin tries to adapt to a life where he has to hide his true self, he soon finds himself going across town where he can make Black friends who know all of him and spend more time with his new crush, Lily. But when Calvin discovers dark secrets about the white town and its inhabitants, his actions put his family at risk, and he is forced to make an impossible decision.
You Truly Assumed
by
After a terror attack causes a rise in anti-Islamic sentiment, three Black Muslim girls--Sabriya, Zakat, and Farah--create a blog called "You Truly Assumed" to set the record straight. But when threats and harassment attempt to silence them, the girls must choose to either stay safe or raise their voices.
Let Us Descend
by
After being separated from her beloved mother, young Annis is sold by the white enslaver who fathered her. She struggles through a miles-long march tied up alongside Safi, another enslaved girl she cares for, and reflects on the lessons her mother taught her. As she goes from a rice farm in the Carolinas to a sugar cane plantation in New Orleans, Annis interacts with a wind spirit named Mama Aza and tries to decide if she should trust her, or succumb to the lure of other spirits who want Annis to join them and end her suffering.
Warrior Girl Unearthed
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When Native teen Perry Firekeeper-Birch learns about the “Warrior Girl,” an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the local university's archives, she, her twin sister, and her friends nicknamed The Misfits set out to return the ancestor to her tribe. Legal actions are not working, so the Misfits decide to steal the artifacts. Along the way, more secrets are revealed, and Perry and the Misfits find themselves embroiled in the disappearance of Native women from the community.
Dear Justyce
by
Incarcerated teen Quan Banks writes letters to Justyce McCallister, with whom he bonded years before over family issues, about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system.
Anger Is a Gift
by
Sixteen-year-old gay African-American student Moss Jeffries feels stuck in his run-down West Oakland High School. Still mourning the death of his father, shot by police years earlier, a violent incident at his school prompts Moss to channel his simmering anger into community activism against a corrupt authority system.
An Emotion of Great Delight
by
In 2003, Muslim American teen Shadi is crumbling from sadness and stress, very little of which is related to the hatred she's feeling from peers at school due to the recent 9/11 attacks. Shadi's brother was killed in a car accident and the resulting stress on her family likely led to her father's heart attack and her mother's deep depression. Feeling alone and floundering, Shadi's only lifeline is her former friend's brother Ali, who becomes a source of support--and maybe something more--during this time of family and political turmoil.
Zara Hossain Is Here
by
Laying low as a Pakistani immigrant awaiting citizenship with her family has become a matter of course for Zara Hossain, 17. Having dealt with racism and suspicion from people in her Corpus Christi, Texas community her whole life, Zara has become a master at brushing aggressions aside. However, when a racial attack at school includes threats against her, Zara pursues action against the perpetrator, a popular white boy, and the fallout broadens to a racially motivated crime against her family.
Race Against Time
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Exhibits a historical account of the efforts of Scipio Africanus Jones, a self-taught early twentieth century African American lawyer, to save the lives of twelve sharecroppers who were unjustly tried and sentenced to death in Arkansas after riots broke out when they were trying to unionize.
Home Is Not a Country
by
Muslim immigrant Nina feels out of place in her suburban neighborhood and school; her only friend is her neighbor Haitham. While she wonders what her life would have been like if they had stayed in their home country, Nina begins to grow distant from her mother. When Haitham is attacked in a brutal hate crime that sends him to the hospital, Nina begins to realize that instead of wishing for another life, she'll need to fight for the one she has.
Kneel
by
Monroe, Louisiana high school tight end Russell Boudreaux knows that football will be his only ticket out of his poverty-stricken neighborhood. He's also keenly aware of the racism that divides his town and their white rivals from Westmond. During their rival football game, a fight breaks out among Monroe's quarterback and Russell's friend Marion and white Westmond players in response to racial slurs.
Piecing Me Together
by
Every day, Jade rides a bus out of her poor, black neighborhood and to a private school where she feels out of place. When she's assigned a mentor as a part of a school program, Jade doesn't think the adult she's paired with understands her at all, and she learns she has more to teach the other adults than she thought.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea
by
In 2002, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl named Shirin starts over at yet another high school, having dealt with the prejudice and abuse that followed 9/11. She copes with the anti-Islamic animosity by turning to music and break-dancing. She meets Ocean James, who comes from a very different background, but really seems to want to get to know her. But she's had the walls up for so long, she doesn't know if she can really let him in.
Sleeping with the Ancestors
by
Provides a memoir of historic preservationist and Civil War reenactor Joseph McGill Jr., who describes his experiences sleeping in former slave dwellings over the past twelve years to draw attention to the history of slavery in the United States. Explores his personal emersion into the lives of slaves, the history of each location, especially those in "free" northern states, and the difficult conversations about race he's had along the way.
Brown Boy Nowhere
by
Sixteen-year-old Filipino American Angelo Rivera feels like fish out of water after being forced to leave his home in sunny California and move to the middle of nowhere Texas.
All the Stars Denied
by
When resentment surges during the Great Depression in a Texas border town, Estrella, fifteen, organizes a protest against the treatment of tejanos and soon finds herself witih her mother and baby brother in Mexico.
When You Look Like Us
by
When you look like us—brown skin, brown eyes, black braids or fades—everyone else thinks you’re trouble. No one even blinks twice over a missing black girl from public housing because she must’ve brought whatever happened to her upon herself. I, Jay Murphy, can admit that, for a minute, I thought my sister Nicole just got caught up with her boyfriend—a drug dealer—and his friends. But she’s been gone too long. Nic, where are you?
Home Is Not a Country
by
Muslim immigrant Nina feels out of place in her suburban neighborhood and school; her only friend is her neighbor Haitham. While she wonders what her life would have been like if they had stayed in their home country, Nina begins to grow distant from her mother. When Haitham is attacked in a brutal hate crime that sends him to the hospital, Nina begins to realize that instead of wishing for another life, she'll need to fight for the one she has.
Ace of Spades
by
Almost as soon as two black students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are chosen to be senior class prefects at Niveus Private Academy, an anonymous bully named Aces begins revealing private information about them that both embarrasses them and threatens their futures at elite colleges.
I'm Not Dying with You Tonight
by
Lena and Campbell, two high school girls with different styles and social circles are thrown together when a massive fight at a football game leads to a riot as racial tension heats up. The two form an unlikely friendship and both learn about different points of view from living in different parts of the same city.
One of the Good Ones
by
When Kezi Smith loses her life after an encounter with police at a Black Lives Matter protest, her sister Happi questions the media's portrayal of a sister she was never really close to. Pressed by her older sister and other friends, Happi joins a road trip along Route 66 to commemorate the memory of her sister, stopping at historical black safe houses noted in the "Negro Motorist Green Book."
Run
by
Memoir describes Civil Rights activist and former congressman John Lewis' experiences dealing with the negative consequences of being involved in the 1960s protests, such as the ensuing violence that continued to take place against blacks, the push-back from fearmongers, and the rebellion among allies who thought change didn't come quickly enough and didn't reach far enough.
Better, Not Bitter
by
Chronicles the life of Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five who was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for seven years, and details how his experiences in prison sparked his work to bring change to America's criminal justice system. Include black-and-white photographs.
