Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by
A new pair of shoes, a university degree, a husband -- these are the things that a girl dreams of in a Nigerian village. And with a government scholarship right around the corner, everyone can see that these dreams aren't too far out of reach. But the girl's dreams turn to nightmares when her village is attacked by Boko Haram, a terrorist group, in the middle of the night. Kidnapped, she is taken with other girls and women into the forest where she is forced to follow her captors' radical beliefs and watch as her best friend slowly accepts everything she's been told. Still, the girl defends her existence. As impossible as escape may seem, her life and her future is hers to fight for.
Climbing the Stairs by
Growing up in Bombay during World War II, 15-year-old Vidya's dreams for college are shattered when her father is severely beaten during a nonviolent protest against British rule. Unable to earn money, Vidya's family must move in with her more conservative relatives who feel women are only supposed to marry, bear children and serve their husbands. Only after her chores are done can Vidya escape up the stairs to her grandfather's library. "This is a poignant look at a young woman's vigilance to break from expectations and create her own destiny amid a country's struggle for independence
Watch Us Rise by
Jasmine and Chelsea are best friends on a mission--they're sick of the way women are treated even at their progressive NYC high school, so they decide to start a Women's Rights Club. They post their work online--poems, essays, videos of Chelsea performing her poetry, and Jasmine's response to the racial microaggressions she experiences--and soon they go viral. But with such positive support, the club is also targeted by trolls. When things escalate in real life, the principal shuts the club down. Not willing to be silenced, Jasmine and Chelsea will risk everything for their voices--and those of other young women--to be heard.
The Poet X by
Xiomara Batista is a teenage girl living in Harlem who's learned to use her fists to send messages. When she's invited to join her school's poetry club, she knows her religious mother will never allow it. But Xiomara is determined to find a way because she has something to say that can only be shared through her poetry.
This Time Will Be Different by
Seventeen-year-old CJ Katsuyama's family sold their flower shop to a white man for next to nothing while they were interned during World War II. Thirty years later, the family bought the store back from that family, the McAllisters, who had prospered in the interim. Now the shop is in financial trouble and CJ's mother works for McAllister Venture Capital. CJ's mother pushes CJ to make something of her life, but CJ only seems to excel at arranging flowers, and she feels aimless. When secrets about the McAllister patriarch come to light, CJ and a group of student activists find something to rally behind, though it causes friction in the community and between CJ and her mother.
Maybe He Just Likes You by
A group of male classmates begin inappropriately touching seventh-grader Mila, and while some argue that they are merely flirting, others encourage her to report them for bullying. Hesitant to lay her burdens on her overworked mother, Mila begins taking karate lessons and learns to stand up for herself.
Shout by
Presents a memoir in poems from the author about her horrible experience as a thirteen-year-old when she was raped by a boy she trusted, offering poetic narration of what happened and how she found a path to recovery and now works and writes and advocates for other sufferers and survivors of sexual assault of any kind.
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