Fiction Books
The Hate U Give by
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 (who was unarmed) at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline.
Midwives by
Cut off from the hospital and rescue squad by an ice storm, midwife Sibyl Danforth makes the decision to perform a cesarean section on a patient she believes has died of a stroke during labor, but when her assistant tells police the mother was alive during the surgery, Sibyl and the entire community are drawn into a gripping trial.
Black and White by
Two star high school basketball players, one black and one white, experience the justice system differently after committing a crime together and getting caught.
Nineteen Minutes by
The people of Sterling, New Hampshire, are forever changed after a shooting at the high school leaves ten people dead, and the judge presiding over the trial tries to remain unbiased, even though her daughter witnessed the events and was friends with the assailant.
Punching the Air by
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 Pact by
The Hartes and the Golds, long-time neighbors and friends, are not surprised when their children Chris and Emily fall in love, but the bond between the families is placed under an enormous strain when Emily is killed, leaving behind the question of whether her death was a suicide, or murder.
Plain Truth by
Philadelphia defense attorney Ellie Hathaway, unsatisfied with the course of her career and personal life, leaves her job for an open-ended stay at her great-aunt's home in Paradise, Pennsylvania, arriving just in time to become embroiled in the case of a young, unmarried Amish woman accused of killing her newborn baby.
Juvie by
Sadie Windas is the good sister: she gets good grades, has a cute soccer-playing boyfriend, and is the front runner for a scholarship to play women's basketball at the college level. Carla, on the other hand, is not a good sister: she dumps her three-year-old daughter, Lulu, off with their aunt regularly so Carla can party and get high. She is one minor offense away from losing Lulu to child services.
Conviction by
Braden Raynor, the star pitcher for his high school baseball team, struggles with everything he holds to be true when his father, a popular Christian radio host, is arrested for killing a policeman in a hit-and-run accident. Now Braden must deal with his brother, his role in his father's trial, and an upcoming game which will pit him against the late officer's nephew.
The Free by
Teenaged Isacc, who steals to give his younger sister the basic necessities that his alcoholic mother cannot provide, is sentenced to a juvenile detention center and during therapy sessions with fellow criminals, a repressed memory surfaces that changes everything.
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.
