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Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

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Gender Queer book. Read 5 reviews from the world’s largest community for readers.

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We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

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We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

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Dual narration to understand the effects police brutality in a new way

Told from alternating perspectives, an evocative and riveting novel about the lifelong bond between two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event—a powerful and poignant exploration of race in America today and its devastating impact on ordinary lives.

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This is such a powerful read. It's a punch to realism. It's a kick in the gut to wake up calls to We Are Not Like Them.

I was dubious about reading co hosts authors.
Not all knit together well. But I also know there are those that do!

So in I went.

I couldn't help to fully understand the friendship between a white woman and a black woman. Ones that grew up together not thinking about skin colour.

Because, my best friend I grew up with was black.
I related to quite a few things in this story.
You thin...more

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Melissa (Semi-hiatus for daughter's wedding)

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This is such a powerful read. It's a punch to realism. It's a kick in the gut to wake up calls to We Are Not Like Them. I was dubious about reading co hosts authors. Not all knit together well. But I also know there are those that do!

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Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

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Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

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Best for 7th-12th Grade
Graphic Novel
Asian American Discrimination

The year is 1946, and the Lee family has moved from Chinatown to Downtown Metropolis. While Dr. Lee is eager to begin his new position at the Metropolis Health Department, his two kids, Roberta and Tommy, are more excited about being closer to the famous superhero Superman!

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"The Klan of the Fiery Cross isn't just a group of men. We are a conviction--the conviction that a strong America is a pure America. And even you can'"The Klan of the Fiery Cross isn't just a group of men. We are a conviction--the conviction that a strong America is a pure America. And even you can't smash that with your fists." ...more

Definitely that we have more to fear from wayward ideologies than just groups that spread the ideologies. Teaching comprehensive history with a variety of perspectives from those who were active parts of that history means that people are less likely to fall prey to misguided notions like "racial purity." (less)

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Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

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"The Klan of the Fiery Cross isn't just a group of men. We are a conviction--the conviction that a strong America is a pure America. And even you can'"The Klan of the Fiery Cross isn't just a group of men. We are a conviction--the conviction that a strong America is a pure America.

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Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma, although their names are linked—Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”—but they are a universe apart.

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Yes, I wouldn't be afraid of it being "too im/mature" - the matter (of cancer, fear of losing a parent, etc.) is dealt with respectfully and does not Yes, I wouldn't be afraid of it being "too im/mature" - the matter (of cancer, fear of losing a parent, etc.) is dealt with respectfully and does not diminish the main character's feelings as overly childish. The plot is set in the 80s/90s and it's heavily referencing the music of these decades. So maybe just have Spotify ready for the ultimate experience ...more (less)

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Yes, I wouldn't be afraid of it being "too im/mature" - the matter (of cancer, fear of losing a parent, etc.) is dealt with respectfully and does not Yes, I wouldn't be afraid of it being "too im/mature" - the matter (of cancer, fear of losing a parent, etc.)

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Short stories

Celebrate the joys of Black boyhood with stories from seventeen bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors--including Jason Reynolds (the Track series), Jerry Craft (New Kid), and edited by Kwame Mbalia (the Tristan Strong series)!

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While I don't read a lot of middle-grade or YA books, I always make it a point to read a couple every month so that I make recommendations to my nephew or to my friends who have kids. This has to be the number one book I will be recommending to everyone-kids and adults-for a long time.

Black Boy Joy is a compilation of stories from seventeen phenomenal Black authors celebrating and embracing the many different sources and types of joy throughout Black boyhood. Each story addresses a different ty...more

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While I don't read a lot of middle-grade or YA books, I always make it a point to read a couple every month so that I make recommendations to my nephew or to my friends who have kids. This has to be the number one book I will be recommending to everyone-kids and adults-for a long time.

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Best for 7th-10th Grade
Ojibwe Identity
Love Story

The Brave is about a boy with an OCD issue and his move to a reservation to live with his biological mother.

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Ugh I don't know how to feel about this because it's literally a curing your disability story :/ Besides that, it takes heavily from Western stereotypes of Native people and doesn't actually depict Ojibwe culture and rituals realistically according to other ownvoices reviewers.

Rep: Biracial Ojibwe (half-white) cishet male MC with some form of OCD, white cishet alcoholic male side character, Ojibwe cishet female side character, Ojibwe cishet female side character with ALS, gay Ojibwe cis male si...more

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Ugh I don't know how to feel about this because it's literally a curing your disability story :/ Besides that, it takes heavily from Western stereotypes of Native people and doesn't actually depict Ojibwe culture and rituals realistically according to other ownvoices reviewers.

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Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

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Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

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Best for 6th-9th Grade
Persian Mythology
Based on the author's experience

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From the author's note: "This was my life, as I experienced it, and it is both fiction and nonfiction at the same time." This is what I would call creFrom the author's note: "This was my life, as I experienced it, and it is both fiction and nonfiction at the same time." This is what I would call creative nonfiction, where the bones are true, but the details aren't necessarily so precise as to be factual. It reminds me of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, and like that book, my library has classified this as fiction. But for all the fictional parts, I would say this is nonetheless a true expression of Nayeri's childhood. ...more (less)

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From the author's note: "This was my life, as I experienced it, and it is both fiction and nonfiction at the same time." This is what I would call creFrom the author's note: "This was my life, as I experienced it, and it is both fiction and nonfiction at the same time."

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About Race, Class, Gender, Disability, & More

An approachable guide to being an informed, compassionate, and socially conscious person today—from issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation to disability, class, and beyond—from critically acclaimed historian, educator, and author Blair Imani.

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What an impressive book by Blair Imani! Though you will know about the one or other topic, I´m sure there´s always something new to learn. At least for me it was so. Some topics are extensively theorized, but they all come with helpful lists of what (not) to say or do and reflective questions. What I like most about this book is that the author - also throwing in her own experiences - sees every person as an individual and able to learn something new every day and situation.
Thanks to the publish...more

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What an impressive book by Blair Imani! Though you will know about the one or other topic, I´m sure there´s always something new to learn. At least for me it was so. Some topics are extensively theorized, but they all come with helpful lists of what (not) to say or do and reflective questions.

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The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker & Marcus Kwame Anderson

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The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker & Marcus Kwame Anderson

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An interesting way to learn more about the Black Panther Party and the Civil Rights Movement

Founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was a revolutionary political organization that stood in defiant contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement. This gripping illustrated history explores the impact and legacy of the Panthers.

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·  1,203 ratings  ·  266 reviews

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Feb 14, 2021 Wendy rated it it was amazing

"When people consider the Black Panther Party, thoughts are often mixed, and often negative, no matter one’s race. Through The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History, David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson offer more than enough details to help a reader understand just who the Panthers were and, perhaps, reconsider their views of the party’s legacy. In the wake of a Black Lives Matter world, understanding the history of the group that came before is paramount to understanding where the "When people consider the Black Panther Party, thoughts are often mixed, and often negative, no matter one’s race. Through The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History, David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson offer more than enough details to help a reader understand just who the Panthers were and, perhaps, reconsider their views of the party’s legacy. In the wake of a Black Lives Matter world, understanding the history of the group that came before is paramount to understanding where the fight for racial equality has been and how far it still needs to go." Full review published at WWAC ...more

A fairly engrossing history about a very complicated group of people. It's a graphic novel that relies heavily on giant blocks of text, but still reads fairly quickly due to the subject matter.
My passing impression of the Black Panther Party reduces them to violent militants, so I was surprised to find that their initial 1966 Ten-Point Program of wants and beliefs is actually a very reasonable starting point for discussion of Black Americans' issues and civil rights. Most of them are rightly sti
A fairly engrossing history about a very complicated group of people. It's a graphic novel that relies heavily on giant blocks of text, but still reads fairly quickly due to the subject matter.
My passing impression of the Black Panther Party reduces them to violent militants, so I was surprised to find that their initial 1966 Ten-Point Program of wants and beliefs is actually a very reasonable starting point for discussion of Black Americans' issues and civil rights. Most of them are rightly still debated today. Indeed, it's amazing how little progress has been made on some of them, such as police brutality, and how that leads directly to the protests we saw last year.

There is strong irony in how quickly California passed gun control legislation when Black Panthers showed up at the state capital with guns and how little action we have taken in the last year despite armed White militants parading and protesting.

This introduction to the Black Panther Party was very enlightening and leaves me wanting to pursue more information about the topic.
...more

Mar 20, 2021 Skip rated it it was amazing

An excellent and balanced history of the Black Panthers, its people, its ideals and programs, its challenges ranging from internal strife to governmental persecution to battles with other black nationalists, etc. The format as a graphic novel may not be appreciated by some, but Marcus Kwame Anderson does a fine job. The afterword discussing how today's headlines are relevant to this 40+ year old subject was interesting. Highly recommended for anyone interested in a relatively short treatise on t An excellent and balanced history of the Black Panthers, its people, its ideals and programs, its challenges ranging from internal strife to governmental persecution to battles with other black nationalists, etc. The format as a graphic novel may not be appreciated by some, but Marcus Kwame Anderson does a fine job. The afterword discussing how today's headlines are relevant to this 40+ year old subject was interesting. Highly recommended for anyone interested in a relatively short treatise on the Panthers. ...more

Feb 28, 2021 Leila rated it it was amazing

A brilliant, beautifully illustrated, engaging graphic novel history of the Black Panther Party that’s accessible for all ages (6 and up). Read this with my 7 year old for home school, and she was so captivated that she wanted to read it before bedtime too. Highly, highly recommend.

Apr 27, 2021 Andrea rated it it was amazing

So much information packed into this book—there was obviously a ton of research behind it. So tragic that we are still dealing with the same racial injustice today that the Panthers organized to fight.

Feb 14, 2021 Dan Wilcox rated it it was amazing

A good, compact history of the Panthers, gloriously illustrated by Marcus Kwame Anderson. Highly recommended.

4.5 Stars. This was very informative. I learned a lot and it put so much in context that was very important. I'm looking forward to reading more about the BPP and seeing how this holds up. I do have some questions about conclusions that they come to (and the fact that they address some people who were framed and put in jail, while not addressing other instances of incarceration). But over all, this was very informative and I enjoyed the art style. 4.5 Stars. This was very informative. I learned a lot and it put so much in context that was very important. I'm looking forward to reading more about the BPP and seeing how this holds up. I do have some questions about conclusions that they come to (and the fact that they address some people who were framed and put in jail, while not addressing other instances of incarceration). But over all, this was very informative and I enjoyed the art style. ...more

Dec 27, 2021 Brent rated it really liked it
Recommends it for: all readers

Meaningful history, told in comics: this is a useful summary. Biographies are effective on full-oage portraits. The literature is well presented, with a three page bibliography.
Recommended.
Thanks to Fulton County Public Library for the loan.

Jun 10, 2022 Jonathan Maas rated it it was amazing

All movements have a long story with a lot of ups and downs
And David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson show that the Black Panthers were no exception.

The party was made under extreme societal difficulties, and relied on a few individuals to get things going.

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale were flawed people, and more importantly - they changed. Huey became a pacificist in later years, and Bobby, along with Eldridge Cleaver and everyone else changed over the years.

But the best way to see the most
All movements have a long story with a lot of ups and downs
And David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson show that the Black Panthers were no exception.

The party was made under extreme societal difficulties, and relied on a few individuals to get things going.

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale were flawed people, and more importantly - they changed. Huey became a pacificist in later years, and Bobby, along with Eldridge Cleaver and everyone else changed over the years.

But the best way to see the most positive impact of the Black Panthers is not to look at the individuals, but to look at the other movements that followed

See this? It's the logo of the Dalit Panthers. They were a group of 'low-caste' and 'anti-caste' citizens in India who got tired of oppression.

So they made the Dalit Panthers group and had a voice.

Yes - you can focus on the events of this movement and find some bad turns, and you can certainly find some problems with the people.

But the movement came out of a need for justice - and this tale is a great way to show it all, with ups and downs and everything around.

In any case I highly recommend it!
...more

I knew next to nothing about the Black Panther Party going into this work of graphic non-fiction. Most of what I had heard was focused on violence. Reading this was an excellent introduction into a much more complicated history than I was aware of. Certainly the 10 Point Program: What We Want/What We Believe was not something I had ever encountered - it was good context to the starting point for the group and the ideals that led to their founding. While this was a complex group with a lot of com I knew next to nothing about the Black Panther Party going into this work of graphic non-fiction. Most of what I had heard was focused on violence. Reading this was an excellent introduction into a much more complicated history than I was aware of. Certainly the 10 Point Program: What We Want/What We Believe was not something I had ever encountered - it was good context to the starting point for the group and the ideals that led to their founding. While this was a complex group with a lot of competing ideals and there was a lot of violence - it is also worth considering what this might have looked like if there hadn’t been a concerted effort by the FBI to sow dissent, to imprison leaders for crimes that they didn’t commit, and to discredit influential leaders within the group. Also ironic is the fact that California Republicans were leading the charge to limit gun rights once the Black Panthers started to open carry. I took a lot away from this reading experience (and appreciated the graphic format), including a sense of sadness that so many of the issues that led to the organization of the group in the 1960’s still exist today. ...more

2.5
I am not a big reader of non-fiction, and recently I have been reading a lot of heavy stuff when it comes to graphic novels; merely because that's what the library has been buying lately, and I tend to put my eyes on the new books...

Anyway, and regardless of my level of enjoyment, this is a very educational in depth approach to the story of the mythical Black Panther Party, full of interesting facts and knowledge. And as the author himself says, you can be left with a lot of doubts and an unc
2.5
I am not a big reader of non-fiction, and recently I have been reading a lot of heavy stuff when it comes to graphic novels; merely because that's what the library has been buying lately, and I tend to put my eyes on the new books...

Anyway, and regardless of my level of enjoyment, this is a very educational in depth approach to the story of the mythical Black Panther Party, full of interesting facts and knowledge. And as the author himself says, you can be left with a lot of doubts and an unclear opinion on where you stand when it comes to this instance after finishing this, but it's still a very necessary conversation to have, so it's ok.
...more

When a book of any kind challenges the things you thought you knew, and teaches you things that as an adult you can't believe you didn't know already, it has achieved its ultimate goal. This book does that in such a remarkably straightforward way that I felt like I'd been slapped more than once. In a good way, I guess? (Is there a good way to feel like you've been slapped?)
My comic book club of awesome women read this together, slotted in our February 2021 spot sometime in mid-2020 to observe Bl
When a book of any kind challenges the things you thought you knew, and teaches you things that as an adult you can't believe you didn't know already, it has achieved its ultimate goal. This book does that in such a remarkably straightforward way that I felt like I'd been slapped more than once. In a good way, I guess? (Is there a good way to feel like you've been slapped?)
My comic book club of awesome women read this together, slotted in our February 2021 spot sometime in mid-2020 to observe Black History Month. It led to an almost 3 hour long video call in which seven of us talked endlessly about what we'd never known and what we'll look at in new ways having had the history of the Black Panther Party spelled out so plainly for us. I grew up thinking of Angela Davis as a scary lady, and never having any idea that the organization actually started out of a need for social programs like feeding hungry kids. They built a school. These are not things my mainstream history classes taught me. I'm so glad there are books like this -- beautifully illustrated on every single page -- to fill in those gaps for me.

As far as I'm concerned, this book deserves to sit alongside legendary historical graphic novels like MAUS and the great Rep. John Lewis's MARCH series. It also called to mind a book we read as a group several years ago: THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS by Max Brooks. I love a good fictional comic as much as the next person, but every so often you'll come across a splash of nonfiction artwork that enriches your worldview, and this is one of those. If only they would start assigning it in schools.

Recommended reading:

...more

Feb 14, 2021 Leslie Ann rated it it was amazing

I did not know much about the Black Panther Party other than its militancy. Only recently did I hear about their meal programs for kids. So, I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about this organization. What infuriates me most is how public resources were used to discredit BPP rather than support the social services (food, clothes, shelter, education) provided by the group, and the stark contrast in the way law enforcement agencies treated BPP and current white supremacist organizations. The I did not know much about the Black Panther Party other than its militancy. Only recently did I hear about their meal programs for kids. So, I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about this organization. What infuriates me most is how public resources were used to discredit BPP rather than support the social services (food, clothes, shelter, education) provided by the group, and the stark contrast in the way law enforcement agencies treated BPP and current white supremacist organizations. The book's tone is not neutral, but given the limitations of a graphic novel, I think Walker sufficiently supports and, more importantly, qualifies his claims. Such nuance helps Walker effectively convey the BPP's complicated but important history. ...more

Feb 22, 2022 Nicole Chilton rated it really liked it

We live in such an unbalanced world, and it is so important for books like these to find their way into everyone’s hands.
Would love for this to be a documentary in the style of The Chicago 8.

Jan 17, 2021 Rebecca rated it it was amazing

Powerful, thoughtful, and so timely. Complex, complicated , and insightful look into this much maligned organization. Well researched and developed bios, structures, and challenges faced by the Black Panthers as an organization and as a response to on-going racism in the US. A valuable read for anyone and a well timed educational piece. This book provides a thoughtful start to an expanded exploration of social justice.

Jan 16, 2021 Bryan rated it it was amazing

An absolutely incredible work of comics history. It’s not afraid to be complicated, and it pulls no punches. It tells the entire history of the party in detail, but it moves quickly enough to read it in one (very intense) sitting. Anyone who’s interested in the BPP should start here, and then dive into the very robust bibliography at the end.

Jul 16, 2021 Amy Smith rated it it was amazing

Succinct, well-researched, wish I had read it at least by middle school. Lots of hooks for deeper research and understanding.

Mar 08, 2021 Rosa Sealy rated it it was amazing

Excellent summary of the Black Panther Party. Because its a graphic novel, it's kept concise with no fluff. Towards the end, they repeatedly introduce a member and they die. Unfortunately that is what it was like at the time. Highly recommend to get an overall view of the Party and it's contributions to society. Excellent summary of the Black Panther Party. Because its a graphic novel, it's kept concise with no fluff. Towards the end, they repeatedly introduce a member and they die. Unfortunately that is what it was like at the time. Highly recommend to get an overall view of the Party and it's contributions to society. ...more

With a heavy heart full of righteous anger I give 5 stars. Loved learning some BPP history in the form of a graphic novel. It was so nuanced too, great read.
100% wanted to go down to the local police station and just start fucking swinging.

Feb 12, 2022 Jessica rated it it was amazing

“It is worth noting that , more than 50 years after Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party and drafted the Ten-Point Program as their guiding manifesto, every single concern they addressed is still relevant. Every single inequity, injustice, and form of oppression impacting the Black community in 1966 is still going strong, well into the 21st century. What the Panthers wanted in 1966, we still want now. What they believed, we still know to be true.
In the end, perhaps the
“It is worth noting that , more than 50 years after Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party and drafted the Ten-Point Program as their guiding manifesto, every single concern they addressed is still relevant. Every single inequity, injustice, and form of oppression impacting the Black community in 1966 is still going strong, well into the 21st century. What the Panthers wanted in 1966, we still want now. What they believed, we still know to be true.
In the end, perhaps the legacy of the Black Panthers isn’t about what they may have done right versus what they may have done wrong. Perhaps it is all about the pathology of a nation so corrupted by inequality and oppression that it gave birth to the Panthers, only to then destroy what it created. Maybe it is about a system so unbalanced that armed white supremacists can match on a state capitol with no repercussions in 2020, but the Panthers were targeted as domestic terrorists for doing the same thing in 1967. Never let us forget that in the United States, Tamir Rice, a 12 year old Black kid, was killed by police in 2014 for holding a toy gun. While the following year, Dylan Roof a 21 year old confirmed white supremacist, was arrested without harm after he killed nine Black people in a South Carolina church. And that is why Minneapolis is burning today.”
-David F. Walker
May 27, 2020

I let the words of Walker speak for themselves because, at the end of the day, my white girl book review isn’t the point. It’s time to help amplify our black brothers and sisters’ voices even in a book review. This graphic novel history is a necessity and should be required reading in a school setting. Instead we are too busy banning books in schools.
...more

May 06, 2021 Jessica rated it really liked it

I remember reading One Crazy Summer about a decade ago and thinking how revolutionary it seemed to be reading a (semi-) positive portrayal of the Black Panther Party. Now, a very positive graphic novel history of the Party doesn't seem odd in any way--how far we've come. This was a comprehensive enough history that it could be taught in school. I could see this being a middle school or high school curriculum assignment, maybe to be paired with March: Book One as a counterpoint, since the book ta I remember reading One Crazy Summer about a decade ago and thinking how revolutionary it seemed to be reading a (semi-) positive portrayal of the Black Panther Party. Now, a very positive graphic novel history of the Party doesn't seem odd in any way--how far we've come. This was a comprehensive enough history that it could be taught in school. I could see this being a middle school or high school curriculum assignment, maybe to be paired with March: Book One as a counterpoint, since the book talks about the frustration with the SNCC and nonviolence in general. I didn't know too much about the Black Panther Party--I knew the names Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis etc. but I didn't know much else. Since there's a film out right now (Judas and the Black Messiah) about Fred Hampton's betrayal, it was also interesting to read about that there. I also didn't know that 41st and Central was the LA chapter's headquarters, which is not too far from a library that I've worked at. Finally, as with all history books, it was fascinating to compare history with where we're at now. The Black Panther Party's Ten Point Program (demands/manifesto) is powerful to read, because these are all demands that are completely relevant today (#7 We want an immediate end to Police Brutality and Murder of Black People). The author's note at the end talking about George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor even further draws connections to current events.
Gr. 7-12
...more

Oct 25, 2021 Rachel rated it it was amazing

An excellent history of the Black Panther Party and its place in the civil rights movement. The Black Panthers moved the struggle to a new level. It is sad that there was so much violence, so many deaths, involved in making their points. It was obvious at the time and in this book that much or most of the violence was initiated by the police or the FBI and their infiltrators. As the book shows, J. Edgar Hoover was a horrible person, and his minions (paid by our tax dollars) did a lot of damage.
T
An excellent history of the Black Panther Party and its place in the civil rights movement. The Black Panthers moved the struggle to a new level. It is sad that there was so much violence, so many deaths, involved in making their points. It was obvious at the time and in this book that much or most of the violence was initiated by the police or the FBI and their infiltrators. As the book shows, J. Edgar Hoover was a horrible person, and his minions (paid by our tax dollars) did a lot of damage.
This book presents a nuanced view. The Panthers were a product of their time. They were fighting the rampant racism, and they, like everyone else at the time, participated in the sexism. (They did include more women in positions of power than, say, the mostly-white SDS. This was partly necessary since so many of the male Panther leaders were jailed.) The macho posturing and in-fighting were a large part of the group's demise, but the murders of members by police and the FBI were more obvious causes, and contributed to the trauma that was a cause of the in-fighting. I would have liked to see more in the book about the breakfast, school, and other social programs, which were very positive community actions. Wikipedia says that the Panthers operated more than 60 social programs, but the book covers only the breakfast program and the Oakland school.

It's interesting to see events that I lived through being presented to people who weren't born then as long-ago history. Also interesting how much progress we have and haven't made since them. Unfortunately, police shootings of young black men, which prompted the formation of the Panthers, are still a big problem, as is racism. So this book, this history, is relevant now.
...more

Nov 19, 2021 Jaden Nettles rated it really liked it

The Black Panther Party was an organization riddled with controversy from the outset. David Walker’s The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History tells the story of Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther party, as they navigate a racist America and attempt to secure rights for African Americans. Chronicling the lifespan of the organization from start to finish, leaving no stone unturned. Showcasing a group of people who were ready to take matters into their own hands when the nonviolent option The Black Panther Party was an organization riddled with controversy from the outset. David Walker’s The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History tells the story of Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther party, as they navigate a racist America and attempt to secure rights for African Americans. Chronicling the lifespan of the organization from start to finish, leaving no stone unturned. Showcasing a group of people who were ready to take matters into their own hands when the nonviolent option was going nowhere.
The Black Panther Party was a very interesting story presented in a unique way. By using the graphic novel format, David Walker makes the information more digestible, with a cool art style to boot. Having known nothing prior about the Black Panther party, the story kept me engaged and intrigued about what would happen next. It was brutally honest about the portrayal of America in the 1950s, namely, the racism black people had to endure. My main problem with the book comes with a fundamental problem with the style of the book. Due to the amount of information that had to be provided, there were times when it was nothing but exposition with information leading into the next point of the book. Overall I found the book a relatively quick, interesting, and informative piece on the Black Panther party, racism in America’s history, and the civil rights movement. It is a 4 / 5 because while very good in my opinion, it dragged in certain areas. If you enjoy informational reads, I strongly recommend this graphic novel. ...more

May 29, 2022 Krista rated it really liked it

I didn't know anything about the history of the Black Panther Party so this was a great learning experience. The illustrations are absolutely top notch too. I like when non-fiction is written in the graphic novel style because it is more appealing to teens and they need to read about history; this is a great way to do it. I don't condone the violent tendencies of the Black Panther Party, but I do understand why they would become militant to demand freedom and equality. White supremacy is so evid I didn't know anything about the history of the Black Panther Party so this was a great learning experience. The illustrations are absolutely top notch too. I like when non-fiction is written in the graphic novel style because it is more appealing to teens and they need to read about history; this is a great way to do it. I don't condone the violent tendencies of the Black Panther Party, but I do understand why they would become militant to demand freedom and equality. White supremacy is so evident in our government and it is proven through out the pages of this book. Our country is still suffering from so much racial injustice today. I liked learning that the Party wasn't all about violence, they set up programs that fed children breakfast and opened a school. These were the programs that the federal government found most threatening, ironically. Also, I find it interesting that Reagan passed California's gun restriction laws after the Panthers began to open carry, yet now those gun restrictions have not been renewed and innocent lives are being forsaken across the country. Anyway, this is a well researched and well written book about a very complicated group during a controversial time in American history, showing both sides of the coin. ...more

Feb 22, 2021 Robert Lee rated it it was amazing

The history of the Black Panthers is a complicated one and is tackled well by writer David F. Walker. In less than 200 pages, he chronicles the rise and demise of the Black Panther Party, covering the same issues and troubles our communities still grapple with.
Written in 2020 while Black Lives Matter protests filled our newsfeeds, the story of the struggles the Black Panthers were addressing is still relevant. Of course, there is some dark history behind the Panthers which is addressed, but wha
The history of the Black Panthers is a complicated one and is tackled well by writer David F. Walker. In less than 200 pages, he chronicles the rise and demise of the Black Panther Party, covering the same issues and troubles our communities still grapple with.
Written in 2020 while Black Lives Matter protests filled our newsfeeds, the story of the struggles the Black Panthers were addressing is still relevant. Of course, there is some dark history behind the Panthers which is addressed, but what is often forgotten is how much they were involved in uplifting their communities. The book is written concisely, yet with great information. The art by Marcus Kwame Anderson is exceptional as well and does not at all feel "comic book" like, but illustrations of our American history.

It is hard to say what would have eventually become of the Black Panther Party if it were not targeted by the powers that be and their counterintelligence programs and truly racist tactics. What can not be denied is the impact they had on our history and other movements not only in America but the world.
...more

May 05, 2022 Carolyn rated it really liked it

The first half of this book had so much information—like a WOWZA amount—but it was a bit flat. As the action steps up in the second half, it really started to fly. I wonder if kids will get bogged down in the first half though... The author’s note talks about how writing the book was a revelation in many ways—some people you come to appreciate more, some you certainly see their flaws more clearly. I definitely felt the same. It is well worth reading this very objective layout of the Panthers, th The first half of this book had so much information—like a WOWZA amount—but it was a bit flat. As the action steps up in the second half, it really started to fly. I wonder if kids will get bogged down in the first half though... The author’s note talks about how writing the book was a revelation in many ways—some people you come to appreciate more, some you certainly see their flaws more clearly. I definitely felt the same. It is well worth reading this very objective layout of the Panthers, their good and their bad, and all the many forces that worked against them, most in extremely underhanded and pernicious ways. Some of this I knew, but not at all as deeply as I do now. SO GLAD that a) this exists and b) I picked it up, a total last minute at-the-cash-register add-on at @afterwordsbookstore, it caught my eye as I was paying. I would love to teach this book in say an 8th grade or HS social studies class. In 6th ELA, I probably can’t fit it in, but I did add it to my classroom library. ...more

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for this eARC of the Black Panther Party.
This graphic novel explains and outlines the history of the Black Panther Party. David F. Walker shows a complete history of the BPP, from its community survival programs to the violence and strife within the organization.

Where this graphic novel really shines, though, is in Marcus Kwame Anderson’s illustrations. Every page is truly a work of art.

My only frustration was reading this in electronic form — the word
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for this eARC of the Black Panther Party.
This graphic novel explains and outlines the history of the Black Panther Party. David F. Walker shows a complete history of the BPP, from its community survival programs to the violence and strife within the organization.

Where this graphic novel really shines, though, is in Marcus Kwame Anderson’s illustrations. Every page is truly a work of art.

My only frustration was reading this in electronic form — the words appeared blurry and flipping from page to page was difficult. I will definitely find a physical form so I can appreciate the words and art.
...more

Apr 11, 2021 Amy rated it really liked it

“Understanding the Black Panther Party is not easy. They were a complicated group that left behind a complex legacy.... But what any one of us thinks about the Panthers -be it positive or negative- doesn’t matter nearly as much as the fact that our feelings should be derived from a place of knowledge and perhaps even some nuance.” - David F Walker, Afterword.
There’s only so much detail and nuance you can get with a graphic history, but Walker did a great job synthesizing events and highlighting
“Understanding the Black Panther Party is not easy. They were a complicated group that left behind a complex legacy.... But what any one of us thinks about the Panthers -be it positive or negative- doesn’t matter nearly as much as the fact that our feelings should be derived from a place of knowledge and perhaps even some nuance.” - David F Walker, Afterword.
There’s only so much detail and nuance you can get with a graphic history, but Walker did a great job synthesizing events and highlighting major figures to shed light on the Party. Reading it was also just depressing to know how much injustice there was and continues to be in this country.
...more

The graphic novel itself is well researched and thought out if not necessarily nuanced (the afterward adds some nuance that I desperately wish was in the novel itself). For example, the novel mentions that Eldridge cleaver wasn’t welcomed in Cuba by Castro’s government and that’s because Castro actually didn’t want Black Cubans to be radicalized and rise up against his own oppressive and racist government. Four stars because the Panthers are complex and this made it clear to me that there was a The graphic novel itself is well researched and thought out if not necessarily nuanced (the afterward adds some nuance that I desperately wish was in the novel itself). For example, the novel mentions that Eldridge cleaver wasn’t welcomed in Cuba by Castro’s government and that’s because Castro actually didn’t want Black Cubans to be radicalized and rise up against his own oppressive and racist government. Four stars because the Panthers are complex and this made it clear to me that there was a lot I never knew. Like the afterward said- there’s a lot that the panthers did right along with the wrongs and we’ll never know what they could have been. ...more

David F. Walker is a writer, filmmaker, and award-winning journalist. He teaches Writing For Comics at Portland State University.

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The Black Panther Party book. Read 266 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. A bold and fascinating graphic novel history of the revo...

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The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

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The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

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The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story offers a revealing vision of the American past and present.

In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years. This is sometimes referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the source of so much that still defines the United States.

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Lee Durham Stone I am reading it now.
From the preface written by Hannah-Jones: "We all suffer from the poor history we've been taught." And, "Our [national] myths hav…more
I am reading it now.
From the preface written by Hannah-Jones: "We all suffer from the poor history we've been taught." And, "Our [national] myths have not served us well."(less)

Community Reviews

·  7,071 ratings  ·  1,224 reviews

Start your review of The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

Nov 27, 2021 Ryan Clifton rated it really liked it

What a ripoff! Conservatives promised me a racist anti-american tirade and all I got was this deeply researched history of black people's struggles and contributions to our democracy and culture, and how there are many disparities stemming from slavery that still need to be fixed. I want my money back dammit! What a ripoff! Conservatives promised me a racist anti-american tirade and all I got was this deeply researched history of black people's struggles and contributions to our democracy and culture, and how there are many disparities stemming from slavery that still need to be fixed. I want my money back dammit! ...more

Nov 07, 2021 Rebecca rated it it was amazing

For those who premise that Historians write truth, I, as an Historian, will boldly disagree. Historians write perspective that is grounded in the interpretation of Primary Source Documents created by people — ordinary people, powerful people, people who did, people who observed, and people who had no voice. Rather than attacking this book for not telling the «Truth» or as undermining the mainstream story of our nation,
The 1619 Project is a much needed opportunity for a candid and painful conver
For those who premise that Historians write truth, I, as an Historian, will boldly disagree. Historians write perspective that is grounded in the interpretation of Primary Source Documents created by people — ordinary people, powerful people, people who did, people who observed, and people who had no voice. Rather than attacking this book for not telling the «Truth» or as undermining the mainstream story of our nation,
The 1619 Project is a much needed opportunity for a candid and painful conversation about race in our nation. The contributors to this book are outstanding in their fields and provide cogent and thoughtful parts of this book. Their voices (and so many others) need to be added to the canon of American History and we owe it to History to consider their value in telling the American story.
...more

Nov 17, 2021 Adrian rated it it was amazing

Read it. Read it because a lot of people don't want you to, and the fact that they don't want you to should tell you something powerful is at work here. And it is. This collection of articles is simply amazing, and no matter what someone might want to think about the conclusions being drawn from these stories, no one can deny the obviously verifiable facts found within them. Whether you think America is still the same nation today that it was in the 16, 18 or 19 hundreds, what can't be denied is Read it. Read it because a lot of people don't want you to, and the fact that they don't want you to should tell you something powerful is at work here. And it is. This collection of articles is simply amazing, and no matter what someone might want to think about the conclusions being drawn from these stories, no one can deny the obviously verifiable facts found within them. Whether you think America is still the same nation today that it was in the 16, 18 or 19 hundreds, what can't be denied is the importance and the power of learning the stories of the enslaved people and the victims of horrible racist violence throughout that history. Too often we only listen to the part of the story told by those still living to tell it, but by presenting the stories of actual lynchings, The 1619 Project at least reframes the conversation around the source and outcomes of that violence. Read it, even though it's hard. Read it precisely because it's hard. But for love of God, Read This Book! ...more

Mar 30, 2022 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing

Audiobook….read by a full cast of authors.
Voice narrator….Nikole Hannah-Jones, and full cast.
….18 hours and 57 minutes long
“This is our national truth: America would not be America without the wealth from black labor, without black striving.. . So much . . .
that we export to the world, that draws the world to us, comes forth from Black Americans m that is Black Americans’ Legacy to the nation . . . We cannot change the hypocrisy upon which we were found it . . . But we can atone for it. We
Audiobook….read by a full cast of authors.
Voice narrator….Nikole Hannah-Jones, and full cast.
….18 hours and 57 minutes long
“This is our national truth: America would not be America without the wealth from black labor, without black striving.. . So much . . .
that we export to the world, that draws the world to us, comes forth from Black Americans m that is Black Americans’ Legacy to the nation . . . We cannot change the hypocrisy upon which we were found it . . . But we can atone for it. We can acknowledge the crime. And we can do something to try to set things right, to erase the hardship and hurt of so many of our fellow Americans . . . None of us can be held responsible for the wrongs of our ancestors. But if today we choose not to do the right and necessary thing, THAT burden we own . . . Yes we are to be redeemed, we must . . . finally live up to the magnificent ideals upon which we were founded”.

A successful purpose….
“It aims to reframe the countries history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.

The ugly truth is really ugly.
The project angers - it also encourages positive change.

5 stars
...more

Jan 28, 2022 Raymond rated it it was amazing

In this expanded version of the 2019 New York Times magazine of the same name, Nikole Hannah-Jones and a collection of scholars, journalists, and poets tell the story of how slavery and its legacy has shaped and impacted America across many facets of American life since the White Lion ship came ashore in Virginia in 1619 carrying at least 20 Africans onboard. Prose and poetry are used throughout the book to show slavery's lingering impact on topics such as: democracy, church, healthcare, medicin In this expanded version of the 2019 New York Times magazine of the same name, Nikole Hannah-Jones and a collection of scholars, journalists, and poets tell the story of how slavery and its legacy has shaped and impacted America across many facets of American life since the White Lion ship came ashore in Virginia in 1619 carrying at least 20 Africans onboard. Prose and poetry are used throughout the book to show slavery's lingering impact on topics such as: democracy, church, healthcare, medicine, self-defense, politics, traffic and so much more. Hannah-Jones the creator of the project is a powerful writer. Her writing opens and closes the book where she focuses on issues of Democracy and Justice, she did not come to play with those chapters. In them she makes the case for how Black people have been crucial in the establishment and expansion of our democracy and as a result have a right to be patriotic about this country; while at the same time makes the case for why Black people must have reparations. It is a well-researched book that is written in an accessible way for a general audience. A perfect book for book clubs and group discussions. It is my hope that this book as whole or its part has an impact on our society in the same way that Du Bois’s Black Reconstruction in America motivated civil rights activists to change and shape America for the better and as it also began to change the racist historical narrative of Reconstruction that was told by the Dunning school. The 1619 Project and other works that have been released in the last decade, many of which are cited in this book, have the potential to also shape how Americans view America’s past and our present moment. ...more

I deleted the review. It was an interesting experiment. Please move on😃. Have a nice day y’all.

Sep 19, 2021 Martin is currently reading it

Thanks PRH/One World for the advanced copy. I’m about 70 pages in and this is clearly the most important American History book written to date. Essential for all High School, Academic, and Public Libraries

4.25 Stars rounded up
I've read this twice and enjoyed it both times.
This has multiple contributors and is able to more than adequately defend its views and claims.
That said its not radical and is inaccurate in regards to capitalism ever being good or a benefit.
Chattel slavery ties directly to capitalism and can't be removed from it.
This is liberal but moderate despite the right wing emotionally rabid response to it.
4.25 Stars rounded up
I've read this twice and enjoyed it both times.
This has multiple contributors and is able to more than adequately defend its views and claims.
That said its not radical and is inaccurate in regards to capitalism ever being good or a benefit.
Chattel slavery ties directly to capitalism and can't be removed from it.
This is liberal but moderate despite the right wing emotionally rabid response to it.
...more

Nov 27, 2021 Christine rated it really liked it

Even though the Adam Hochschild published the review in the New York Times Review of Books, I strongly recommend reading his review.
I read most of this in the NY Times magazine format when it first came out. This books expands on that and addresses some of the legit criticisms from the first publication.

Honesty, you should read this. The book is not a straight forward history, more of an argument for rethinking how we look at history and frame the US origin myth. Considering how much some, if no
Even though the Adam Hochschild published the review in the New York Times Review of Books, I strongly recommend reading his review.
I read most of this in the NY Times magazine format when it first came out. This books expands on that and addresses some of the legit criticisms from the first publication.

Honesty, you should read this. The book is not a straight forward history, more of an argument for rethinking how we look at history and frame the US origin myth. Considering how much some, if not most, US schools leave out, this is an important bit.

Those who take issue with the history presented in this book either are not widely read on American history and/or have not taken an American history class outside of high school. The history here is widely available in other sources, some of which are footnoted/cited. As such, this book is more of an introduction or a push to get more people to think beyond the traditional myth. You may argue with the 1619 date (you could ask, for instance, why not a date from when the Europeans stole the land?) but you cannot deny the outsized impact that Virigina had on the development of the country in the beginning. Just like it should be impossible for the average person to acknowledge the impact that slavery had and still has on this country.

Look, huge parts of this country have had American history taught to them via text books that were approved by the Daughters of the Confederacy. Think about that before you call this collection of essays propaganda. The history here isn't "new" the point- that it should be more widely known, that the origin frame story should be change is the new bit. And it is about time, really.

Towards the end of the book, in her closing essay, Nikole Hannah-Jones writes, "we must do what is just: we must finally live up to the magnificent ideals upon which we were founded". That's the point. Being willfully blind to the history that includes slavery and racism, doesn't do this. This book provides a framework to dismantle that willful blindness and learn more.
...more

Dec 08, 2021 Obsidian rated it it was amazing

This is a great book to have and read slowly. It is a combination of history, essays, poems, historical blurbs, that traces the Black American experience since 1619 through the present day. I get why so many people don't like The 1619 Project. It is an unflinching look at some of the terrible things that Americans have done to each other because of the color of someone's skin. You read this and you tell yourself that we have progressed and we have. But we still strive to make a more perfect unio This is a great book to have and read slowly. It is a combination of history, essays, poems, historical blurbs, that traces the Black American experience since 1619 through the present day. I get why so many people don't like The 1619 Project. It is an unflinching look at some of the terrible things that Americans have done to each other because of the color of someone's skin. You read this and you tell yourself that we have progressed and we have. But we still strive to make a more perfect union for all Americans. And it's plain to see by this compilation, Black Americans are still struggling to get on the same footing as White Americans. I loved how the book was put together and the 18 different chapters that we get into. I think that some of the essays/poems are honestly what hit me the hardest in some cases. I wish that we had gotten a second book that just had poems/essays based on The 1619 Project with maybe some art included. That would be an awesome coffee table book.
My favorite essay was by Berry Jenkins called "Troubled Water" where he tells the story of a slave named Gabriel in the 1800s. Gabriel was 24 years old and was an enslaved blacksmith held captive on a forced labor camp by Thomas Prosser in Henrico County, Virginia. He organized and planned a rebellion. After others shared details about the plot, "Gabriel's Rebellion" is thwarted. He is later tried, found guilty, and hanged.

My favorite poem was by Tim Seibles called "Before His Execution" which is a poem about Denmark Vesey. He was a free Black man. He and 5 others were captured and put on trial for planning a rebellion. He was executed.

My favorite chapter was chapter 8, "Citizenship" I loved the history in this one and it was interesting to find out things I never knew like there was a Colored Convention movement that started in 1830. They started discussing many of the so-called "Black" laws and the prospect of leaving the United States. I found out about Hezekiah Grice who organized the Legal Rights Association, which aimed to prove that Black Americans were citizens.

Most shocking history blurb was "July 30, 1866"

A white mob consisting of many Confederate veterans attacks protestors outside a convention in New Orleans, which has been called by Republican leaders in response to the state's legislature's passage of a law denying African Americans the right to vote. Among those killed in the ensuing violence is Anthony Paul Dostie, a white abolitionist who led the march on the convention. The mob also kills more than thirty-five other people, mostly Black men. National outrage over the violence helps lead to Republicans gaining control of both houses of Congress in that year's midterm elections.

Another shocking one goes into Black Wall Street which I already knew about as well as the blurb about Emmett Till.
...more

Sep 29, 2021 Kim McGee rated it really liked it

Slavery arrived on America's shores well before the Founding Fathers - 1619 in Virginia. This is an expanded book based on a groundbreaking piece that appeared in the New York Times Magazine. Including 18 essays, 36 poems and a variety of fiction, it had my attention from the first page. Starting from that first slave ship through modern day all aspects of slavery and oppression are explored as well as daily life, society, the arts and politics. I was absorbed by the essay that discussed how our Slavery arrived on America's shores well before the Founding Fathers - 1619 in Virginia. This is an expanded book based on a groundbreaking piece that appeared in the New York Times Magazine. Including 18 essays, 36 poems and a variety of fiction, it had my attention from the first page. Starting from that first slave ship through modern day all aspects of slavery and oppression are explored as well as daily life, society, the arts and politics. I was absorbed by the essay that discussed how our forefathers denied basic rights to African slaves while stealing land from all the indigenous tribes to further the white expansion and keep the top spot in the caste system. Unlike African Americans however, the Native People were given some rights but only after they converted to Christianity and further rewarded for taking slaves. We can only hope that this tome will open dialogue and foster understanding. This works for readers of books on social change as well as historians. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy. ...more

Nov 26, 2021 James rated it it was amazing

Good primer. Most of this history is well known—and uncontroversial—to serious history readers but having it all in one place is useful. Given the excellent writing, it is not surprising it has become a lightning rod.

This is a must-read.
Like, every single American needs to have this in their hands and have read it. Require it in schools, require it everywhere. Gift it to your conservative family members who are racist as hell. Give it to your liberal whyte family members who are colorblind and practice tolerance.

Give it to all others, so we can have to smashed into our faces like we do the puppy who pees on the carpet for the 50th time that racism in America is baked into its foundations and spins like a pe
This is a must-read.
Like, every single American needs to have this in their hands and have read it. Require it in schools, require it everywhere. Gift it to your conservative family members who are racist as hell. Give it to your liberal whyte family members who are colorblind and practice tolerance.

Give it to all others, so we can have to smashed into our faces like we do the puppy who pees on the carpet for the 50th time that racism in America is baked into its foundations and spins like a pernicious weed throughout every single system within this country.
...more

It’s kind of funny that this book is so controversial. Maybe I’m more radicalized than I thought but none of this felt like a huge overturning of what I knew of American history, at least the major parts. The 1619 Project looks at Black history, which is American history, in order to broaden our understanding of our country’s founding and progress. It adds a lot of nuance to American history, forcing its readers to look at how slavery, anti-slavery, and black lead civil rights movements have inf It’s kind of funny that this book is so controversial. Maybe I’m more radicalized than I thought but none of this felt like a huge overturning of what I knew of American history, at least the major parts. The 1619 Project looks at Black history, which is American history, in order to broaden our understanding of our country’s founding and progress. It adds a lot of nuance to American history, forcing its readers to look at how slavery, anti-slavery, and black lead civil rights movements have influenced us from the start. A lot of reviews chastise this collection of essays of being a “myopic” or “reductive” or “tunnel vision” view of history…but our current view of American history is reductive if we ignore (out of shame or ignorance or whatever) that slavery was a major factor in the foundation of the country. The book is a mix of nonfiction essays and fiction pieces, which I loved. You get meticulously researched, through essays, then emotionally evocative poetic or prosaic reflection upon the same topic.
I flip flopped between reading & listening and both options are great experiences:

Physical book pros: Pictures! Footnotes! Notes, references and an index in the back!

Audio book pros: A lot of the essays are read by their respective authors, including the poetry, which is great!
...more

Honestly, this book should be required reading in all US schools.
It is so incredibly well crafted, with a mix of factual articles and essays mixed in with poetry and flash fiction, all wrapped up in chronological order from when enslaved people first were brought against their will to this continent to the 2021 Insurrection at the US Capitol last year.

It spans over topics such as medical myths and mistreatment to how much chattel slavery has built the foundation of the US to mass incarceration.
Honestly, this book should be required reading in all US schools.
It is so incredibly well crafted, with a mix of factual articles and essays mixed in with poetry and flash fiction, all wrapped up in chronological order from when enslaved people first were brought against their will to this continent to the 2021 Insurrection at the US Capitol last year.

It spans over topics such as medical myths and mistreatment to how much chattel slavery has built the foundation of the US to mass incarceration.

Everything weaves together so well and it really opened my eyes to a lot that I didn't realize and its such an important tool on my anti-racism journey.

I highly, highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to continue to work on themselves on being a better ally to the Black community but also to anyone who maybe doesn't know where to start and is looking for a comprehensive book to cover a lot of undiluted history.

As an aside, the reason I picked this book up to read now was because the church we've been visiting had a 6 week zoom course over this book and the topics discussed within it. Each week had a different guest speaker from the Black community to talk about the topic of the week and to help educate those of us on the zoom calls and to really delve into these topics discussed in the book and the effects that they've had throughout the years. We listened to the 1619 podcast and read excerpts and extra articles and information along the way and reading this book and talking about these things with a group like that was really such an enhancement to my reading experience of this book. Sometimes we have to sit in the uncomfortable feelings and really reflect on them instead of pushing them away, and getting to talk about it with others was a good way to do that for me.
...more

Oct 26, 2021 Ron rated it did not like it

Do yourself a favor and skip this one

Apr 11, 2022 Rama Rao rated it did not like it

The 1619 project is a politically motivated story
U.S. history documents the success of American revolutionaries in establishing a new nation for freedom and prosperity. The Founding Fathers were at enormous odds to fight a formidable enemy to end English authority in colonial America. But author Nikole Hannah-Jones, calls her work the 1619 Project named after the arrival of first Africans on American soil. And she seeks to place slavery at the center of American history. According to her, the r
The 1619 project is a politically motivated story
U.S. history documents the success of American revolutionaries in establishing a new nation for freedom and prosperity. The Founding Fathers were at enormous odds to fight a formidable enemy to end English authority in colonial America. But author Nikole Hannah-Jones, calls her work the 1619 Project named after the arrival of first Africans on American soil. And she seeks to place slavery at the center of American history. According to her, the reason for the declaration of independence from England was colonial America wanted to protect the institution of slavery when abolitionist sentiment grew in England. The story of American founding fathers in this book is different from what we find in the U.S Constitution or American history. It portrays slavery as a uniquely American phenomenon and the revolutionary war was fought to preserve slavery. Hannah-Jones proclaims that Black Americans’ struggle made American democracy real. She claims that the U.S. Constitution gave ironclad protections to slavery without mentioning it. How is that possible when the constitution explicitly states that “all men are created equal.” There are other factual errors, enslavement did not start in 1619 but it was present decades before that.

Quakers comprised of only white population fiercely opposed slavery since colonial days and they were active in freeing slaves, documenting their stories, and connecting freed slaves with long lost relatives. American Revolution was kindled in New England, where anti-slavery sentiment was strongest. Early patriots like James Otis, John Adams, and Thomas Paine were opposed to slavery, and the revolution helped to fuel abolitionism in the North.

The publication of 1619 Project by the New York Times demonstrates that it does not care about the truth, as it has progressively moved to the Far-Left of the political spectrum. It hires and promotes journalists who belong to the woke culture, they misinterpret facts and glorify racism. This is an effort to falsify the history that focus on Black issues rather than the class conflict that occurred prior to 1776. The 13 states were deeply divided over the property right issues, economy, wealth and how a federal government may dominate individual states. The NY Times project is a conspiracy theory developed from the chair of ultimate cultural privilege in America that tries to discredit the American values. The book is malicious and inaccurate which offers a distorted economic history, misrepresents the intentions of Founding Fathers, and the legacy of President Abraham Lincoln.

The 1619 Project curriculum is not an educational enterprise. It is a tool of political indoctrination. Since its publication, school students in all 50 states have been taught parts of its curriculum. The core of the social justice training uses the ideologies Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the Marxism. To teach children that the American Revolution was fought to strengthen slavery would result in misunderstanding the American Revolution, and the loss of one million lives during American Civil War that ended slavery. The future American population will have the notion that their country is racist since day one. Currently, the 1619 Project applies a wide-ranging topics like the broken healthcare system, crime, American music, and the wealth gap.
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"The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story" began as a project by the journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and others for "The New York Times" magazine, in 'honor" of the upcoming 400th anniversary of Africans arriving in the future United States of America, in 2019. It was so well-received that Ms. Hannah-Jones et al turned it into this seminal, gob-smacking book, w/ mostly-chronological chapters written by noted historians and journalists. Each chapter begins w/ a historical fact accompanied by a poem or "The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story" began as a project by the journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and others for "The New York Times" magazine, in 'honor" of the upcoming 400th anniversary of Africans arriving in the future United States of America, in 2019. It was so well-received that Ms. Hannah-Jones et al turned it into this seminal, gob-smacking book, w/ mostly-chronological chapters written by noted historians and journalists. Each chapter begins w/ a historical fact accompanied by a poem or a short story, and then the chapter ensues. Chapters include topics Democracy, Justice, Politics, Capital, and Healthcare, to name a few. Some of the chapters contain new information, and all contain information that is uncomfortable, and sometimes, searingly difficult to read. The writing is universally stellar.
I cannot imagine the pain suffered by so many at the hands of their owners, white folks in general — all aided and abetted by the government.

A couple of thoughts that I particularly liked come toward the beginning of the book:
1) That "Black" folks were "born on the water." This means that they were Africans until stolen from their homelands and stuffed into coffin-like quarters on slave ships bound for the Americas. Then they became "Black" - signifying otherness, eg, inferior. I just LOVE this metaphor.
2) Inherent in creating "Black" folks, this also created "white" people - ALWAYS superior, simply b/c of the color of their skin. Before that, there were no white folks; there were Europeans, mostly. To paraphrase Lyndon Johnson: the lowliest white man can be made to feel superior to any Negro simply b/c of the color of his skin. Just typing this sentence raises my blood pressure at the inherent unfairness of judging by skin color.

But to leave off my editorializing, I will include a couple of quotes, b/c my writing skills in no way compare to those of the authors in this book.

"This is our national truth: America would not be America without the wealth from Black labor, without Black striving, Black ingenuity, Black resistance. So much of the music, the food, the language, the art, the scientific advances, the athletic renown, the fashion, the guarantee of civil rights, true oratory and intellectual inspiration that we export to the world, that draws the world to us, comes forth from Black Americans, from the people born on the water. That is Black Americans' legacy to this nation." p. 475.

"...What happened in 1619, the tragic origin story unveiled throughout this book, set in motion the defining struggle of American life, between freedom and oppression, equality and racism, between the lofty ideals of democracy and the fight to make them real. We must confront this four-hundred-year war between these opposing forces, and then we must make a choice about which America we want to build for tomorrow. The time for slogans and symbolism and inconsequential actions has long passed. Citizens inherit not just the glory of their nation but its wrongs, too. A truly great country does not ignore or excuse its sins. It confronts them, and then works to make them right.
If we are to be redeemed, we must do what is just: we must, finally, live up to the magnificent ideals upon which we were founded." p. 476.

What a thought-provoking, beautifully-written way to end my 2021 reading life.
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From my IG post: Do you know about the #1619Project? It started with @nikolehannahjones and @nytimes commemorating in 2019 the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans landing in Virginia. Articles, essays, and poetry center the American narrative around enslavement and the tool of racism in maintaining the country’s power and wealth structures. Woooo boy! I learned some thangs!
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The book is fantastic and will give you all the feels and also crack a little dust off a few eyelids. I did re From my IG post: Do you know about the #1619Project? It started with @nikolehannahjones and @nytimes commemorating in 2019 the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans landing in Virginia. Articles, essays, and poetry center the American narrative around enslavement and the tool of racism in maintaining the country’s power and wealth structures. Woooo boy! I learned some thangs!
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The book is fantastic and will give you all the feels and also crack a little dust off a few eyelids. I did read it in #audiobook because I can’t do #nonfiction in my eyeballs. 👁🚫 ...more

Apr 21, 2022 Owlseyes rated it really liked it

(An 1872 portrait of African-Americans serving in Congress (from left): Hiram Revels, the first black man elected to the Senate; Benjamin S. Turner; Robert C. De Large; Josiah T. Walls; Jefferson H. Long; Joseph H. Rainy; and R. Brown Elliot)
"Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written."

"I had been taught, in school, through cultural osmosis, that the flag wasn’t really ours, that our history as a people began with enslavement and that we had contributed lit

(An 1872 portrait of African-Americans serving in Congress (from left): Hiram Revels, the first black man elected to the Senate; Benjamin S. Turner; Robert C. De Large; Josiah T. Walls; Jefferson H. Long; Joseph H. Rainy; and R. Brown Elliot)
"Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written."

"I had been taught, in school, through cultural osmosis, that the flag wasn’t really ours, that our history as a people began with enslavement and that we had contributed little to this great nation."

"Anti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this country, as does the belief, so well articulated by Lincoln, that black people are the obstacle to national unity."
In the book

The book is well researched regarding facts and historical landmarks pertaining to the once opressed and enslaved black men and women since 1619. It's a reminder to Americans that some (noble) ideals took time to become reality for a section of the population. Very true.

But, framing Jefferson for being a hypocrite it's a hard stance, on Hannah's side. I don't believe so. Jefferson had life-contradictions. Sure. Who didn't have at that time? (or now?) Lincoln had them too. That does not invalidate the noble ideals [namely that "all men are created equal"] ensconsed within the Declaration of Independence. Granted, he was an idealist. But his ideals were good: "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Who doesn't want those ideals to become true? Plainfully, some day?

Hannah's suggestion that year 1619 was even more important than 1776 is, for sure, another negative aspect of the book. 1619, when the first African slaves arrived to Virginia.

(Newsweek, February 24th 1997. I bought the issue)

The Project was polemic* in the USA, not only at the educational level, some seeing in it a way to teach Critical Race Theory in schools.

This sentence by Nikole Hannah-Jones seems problematic as well: "But the real goal of the project,..., is to get “white people to give up whiteness.” **
She believes in the "control of [collective] memory" via the teaching of History.

I think she should consider Asian-Americans in her analysis, as well. Maybe she'll arrive at different conclusions. I do recommend "An Inconvenient Minority" by Kenny Xu.

*https://historynewsnetwork.org/articl...

**In: https://www.heritage.org/american-fou...
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Jan 31, 2022 Russell rated it it was ok

I graduated from High School in 2010 from a school in Upstate NY that did an excellent job teaching us about the history of African Americans in America. I learned correctly about the absolute brutality and down right evil that was inflicted upon those who were literally stolen from their homes and sold as property. I learned about the grueling middle passage as well as about the unrelenting labor they were forced to endure day in and day out with absolutely no regard to these men and women as i I graduated from High School in 2010 from a school in Upstate NY that did an excellent job teaching us about the history of African Americans in America. I learned correctly about the absolute brutality and down right evil that was inflicted upon those who were literally stolen from their homes and sold as property. I learned about the grueling middle passage as well as about the unrelenting labor they were forced to endure day in and day out with absolutely no regard to these men and women as image-bearers of God.
I also learned about the Underground Railroad and the brave abolitionists (both black and white) who took great risks to see men and women freed from their prisons. I still remember even from an elementary school age learning songs in music class such as ‘Follow the Drinking Gourd’ and their significance to our history.

With all of that being said, I appreciate being reminded once more of the atrocities of our past as a nation in this book… we must never forget or seek to diminish this great stain caused by sin and absolute depravity.

Why, then, would I offer only two stars for this work?

Because although it is littered with historical truths (and many that I was not aware of), I cannot get past the subjective commentary that seeks to further divide an already divided culture.

What’s just as surprising as what you do find in this work is what you don’t find… grace and forgiveness. Even the slightest admission to a white man’s involvement in the American journey toward African American freedom and civil rights is immediately walked back with three reasons why their help wasn’t really in good faith… really?

I read this book because I wanted to know why Republicans and the right were so against it. Although the words ‘critical theory’ don’t appear in this work, the tone is clearly one of ‘us’ (the oppressed) vs ‘them’ (the oppressors). It’s blatantly obvious that at least some of the authors of these works were heavily influenced by the works of Karl Marx.

Why is it so hard for us to see that no one wins if it’s oppressors vs the oppressed? What do we gain by the oppressed overcoming the oppressors only to in-turn become the oppressors in a new age of an endless cycle of turmoil?

There is another way to see this world: “… our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

There is a sickness in ALL of us that so many are trying to define. Some call it “systemic racism”, but I see ALL of our insistence to show partiality to one another; through race, sex, social status, income status, physical appearance, cognitive ability, ethnicity, etc, as a symptom of our deeper disease (James 2).

We all know that this world is truly broken in far more than one way. But do you know that the bill always comes due? Justice will be exacted for every egregious action and every careless word we have spoken regardless of our pigmentation.

The good news is that you and I don’t have to make our defense before The Judge without representation. But it’s our choice. Are we going to plead our case explaining how our good outnumbered our bad and hope He agrees? Or are we going to see, like so many before us, that the cost of that debt we add to daily is more than we can pay and put our trust in One who advocates for us on our behalf because of what He, alone, accomplished?

Read this book. You will learn something and hopefully you’ll walk in the shoes of some of these incredible Americans who overcame so much and at the end of the day were able to raise an American flag and be proud to live in this Country despite the evil overshadowing it’s past, like Nikole’s father.

But ask yourself if dehumanizing an entire group of people based on skin pigment is really the solution to the damage that has already been done by some who had… and some who do today blindly do the same. Is that really what we want to instill in our kids and in their kids? Is this really the answer?
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Mar 27, 2022 Andy rated it it was amazing

I read this as part of a group on Instagram lead by my friend Bee in partnership with Reading Revolutionaries.
Wow. I don't have enough words for how life changing this book is. There is so much information in the 600+ pages and all of it is so important. This is a book everyone in the USA should be reading, but especially white people.

The 1619 Project traces the roots of slavery in the USA, which started in 1619, and shows how this brutality has shaped the nation. The history is violent and bl
I read this as part of a group on Instagram lead by my friend Bee in partnership with Reading Revolutionaries.
Wow. I don't have enough words for how life changing this book is. There is so much information in the 600+ pages and all of it is so important. This is a book everyone in the USA should be reading, but especially white people.

The 1619 Project traces the roots of slavery in the USA, which started in 1619, and shows how this brutality has shaped the nation. The history is violent and bloody and much of it has not been reckoned with, but it still plays a role in politics to this day.

The way this is set up is truly amazing. Each chapter is followed by a timeline and we trace history as it unfolds. Almost every chapter is written by a different Black expert (besides NHJ who does 2 chapters and the intro), and focuses on different areas. This book is expansive and it does it's best to cover everything. In the pages it has, it really nails it. The information might be new and challenging, but it is presented in easily digested bits. I was never confused by any of the conclusions presented, as all the facts are well laid out before them.

This book is also so easy to read. The chapters each have a compelling factor to them that I don't know how to describe. But every time I started a new chapter, I would have to finish it. The information was too interesting to think to put it down. I know I have a privilege reading this because I can disconnect from many of the stories. Many Black people do not have that privilege. Maybe they can't trace their family all the way back to slavery, but they know that's their history. Seeing that trauma recounted and how it still impacts the Black community to this day can be painful to read. So white readers, make sure you are reading responsibly. This book is important. It deserves the respect and reverence it is due. The USA is past due to reckon with it's past for slavery and colonization of Native peoples to start with, and yes that would include reparations.

I will for sure be reading this again. The information in this book is essential to dismantling the systems of power and understanding how this nation was intentionally and deliberately shaped to exclude and make people of color, but especially Black people, feel inferior. I thank Nikole Hannah-Jones for starting and leading this project, she deserves so many accolades for this and I hope she, and every other contributor get their due for this project.

Buy this one immediately.

CWs: Racism, slavery, racial slurs, violence, death, murder, hate crime, physical abuse, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, torture, police brutality, colonisation, confinement, emotional abuse, genocide, gun violence, grief, medical trauma, war, classism, cancer, child abuse, chronic illness, mental illness, misogyny, sexism, forced institutionalization, xenophobia, trafficking, kidnapping, fire/fire injury, cultural appropriation, gaslighting, abandonment, injury/injury detail, medical content, mentions of COVID-19. Minor: abortion.
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Anyone interested in American history should be interested in African American history, and scholarly thought over the past forty years or so has built a strong basis for the idea that what used to be called “the Negro problem” stands at the center of U.S. history, past and present. The nation’s prosperity, northern as much as southern, was built on uncompensated labor, mostly the labor of Black people, and slavery and its aftermath have driven much of the nation’s policy debates up to the prese Anyone interested in American history should be interested in African American history, and scholarly thought over the past forty years or so has built a strong basis for the idea that what used to be called “the Negro problem” stands at the center of U.S. history, past and present. The nation’s prosperity, northern as much as southern, was built on uncompensated labor, mostly the labor of Black people, and slavery and its aftermath have driven much of the nation’s policy debates up to the present, in terms that limit our ability to achieve our national aspirations. This is a view no longer controversial or even fresh among historians, but it has not sunk into the public consciousness to any great extent.
The 1619 Project—both in its original form in the New York Times Magazine and in the expanded book form presented here—has done a lot to raise the profile of this idea, though a lot of the discussion it has sparked has been misleading, reductionist, or defensive. That’s a pity, because it’s a very well-reasoned and reasonable argument well supported by documentation. But like so many hot-button issues in the United States, it has not been well served by exposure to the popular consciousness, which magnifies cartoon versions of ideas and obsesses about details.

This book does make a laudable attempt to present a comprehensive survey of the ways slavery and post-slavery policies affecting Black people are central to our history, but in the present form The 1619 Project has its flaws. One of the flaws lies in its conception, as a team-produced effort of essays by multiple authors, punctuated by poems and short creative-writing pieces. Reading it reminded me of my early years in academic publishing, when every other volume seemed to be a festschrift—a collection of essays in honor of a senior scholar. Those books, like this one, included essays of uneven quality and so much repetition that they were painful to read as a single volume. Here, certain historical moments are described over and over again; this reader found them painful and traumatic enough on a single reading, and their lessons easily enough absorbed, without the recurrent pain of the third and fourth and fifth recounting. The intensity combined with repetition ultimately led me to read only about a chapter a day, which made the process somewhat more manageable. As for the poetry and creative-writing bits that led into each chapter, I felt they detracted from the didactic integrity of the work. Many of them were very well written and most very moving, so rather than eliminate them altogether I would have preferred to see them in a short companion volume partnered with the main one. But I’ve always been resistant to genre-mixing, so that might just be my personal bias.

There were some standout chapters I’d like to see every American read: “Capitalism,”“Punishment,” and “Progress” were especially enlightening for me, eloquent and persuasively argued. And Nikole Hannah-Jones’s pieces at the beginning and end establish the framework well. Someone coming to this subject for the first time, however, might prefer a book written by a single author, such as How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith, even though a single volume can’t address as many aspects of the issue as this one does. Then progress to dipping into this book, and if you get really engaged, check the extensive endnotes in this volume for other titles focusing on particular subjects.
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May 09, 2022 Leslie rated it it was amazing

My copy is now full of underlinings, brackets, and all manner of notation penciled in the margins (including expletives). I'm so glad I read this and so grateful to Nikole Hannah-Jones for conceiving this project. My copy is now full of underlinings, brackets, and all manner of notation penciled in the margins (including expletives). I'm so glad I read this and so grateful to Nikole Hannah-Jones for conceiving this project. ...more

Feb 14, 2022 Stetson rated it it was ok

For those who follow U.S. news and current events, "The 1619 Project" is likely familiar - the NYT journalistic effort organized by the claim that the start of the slave trade was the start and defining ethos of America. The controversies surrounding the project are likely familiar as well, including the volley of responses from lay and academic critics. My sympathies are definitively with those critics.
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story is a transparent revisionist attempt to do history as a
For those who follow U.S. news and current events, "The 1619 Project" is likely familiar - the NYT journalistic effort organized by the claim that the start of the slave trade was the start and defining ethos of America. The controversies surrounding the project are likely familiar as well, including the volley of responses from lay and academic critics. My sympathies are definitively with those critics.
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story is a transparent revisionist attempt to do history as a variant of literary criticism - essentially an editorial review of the American Canon but of cultural myths instead of texts. Hannah-Jones and her colleagues aim to provide a "questioning" of hegemonic popular myths, such as America's inevitable social progress on race relations, the material bounty of liberal democratic capitalism, and whether America actually is a vaunted democracy. The authors generally argue that this teleological and optimistic view of America entrenches white dominance and black oppression, accounting for enduring disparities despite the legal defeat of all forms of institutional racism. They in turn assert America's original sins of slavery, institutional racism (i.e. Jim Crow), and racial hierarchy (i.e. wealth and health gaps) have not been sufficiently repented for nor has the role of Black Americans been properly recognized by the white majority.

I applaud The 1619 Project for their academic interest and ethical concerns about disparities and differences between groups, though I think the racial aspect is poorly defined in this work and generally by society, and I was happy to see that many of the authors are still somewhat committed to certain core American ideals. However, the project itself is riddled with fatal flaws. Primarily, it isn't history in any real sense of history as an actual scholastic discipline. The authors aren't deeply concerned with applying a scientific epistemology, comprehensively exploring the historical record and socioeconomic context without applying 21st century ethics, or participating in an open and level debate about interpretation and meaning of the salient takeaways from said historical record. The 1619 Project is a hodgepodge work largely of cultural criticism or sloppy economic analysis that draws on a particular perspective of American history, and it dogmatically insists that this is the only ethically correct perspective. Superior works on these same topics can easily be found - most mainstream, non-polemical scholarship, journalism, or popular books before "The Great Awokening" (circa 2014) will be more edifying.

There are also gallingly hypocritical (i.e. retributive justice for thee, restorative justice for me) and disastrously partisan elements in this collection that make the work hard to take seriously. Ultimately, the application of radical subjectivity so as to re-write cultural myths and then pass them off as legitimate history is destructive to pedagogical and scholastic ends. We should strenuously resist politicizing these institutions even if we think that such an effort is impossible or that the institutions are already politicized; political efforts should be labeled as such and subsequently shouldn't be foregrounded in the paper of record.
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Dec 15, 2021 Joelle rated it it was amazing

Joelle Still Reads Her Bookcase #60
Last year I read a book about democracy from Jefferson to Lincoln. Every single word in that book showed that American democracy was bound together by one thread: slavery. And when that thread was pulled, democracy fell apart.

This project shows the intricate, yet interrelated, strands that made up the thread of slavery. Strands, that when the thread was pulled, then wove their way into the heart of America's post - Civil War society.

We cannot keep closing our
Joelle Still Reads Her Bookcase #60
Last year I read a book about democracy from Jefferson to Lincoln. Every single word in that book showed that American democracy was bound together by one thread: slavery. And when that thread was pulled, democracy fell apart.

This project shows the intricate, yet interrelated, strands that made up the thread of slavery. Strands, that when the thread was pulled, then wove their way into the heart of America's post - Civil War society.

We cannot keep closing our eyes and pretending that the wealth gaps are not still present; we cannot keep refusing to acknowledge that racism does still have our country in its grips.

When we are all benefiting, we are all benefiting. Providing options that benefit poor Black people will not happen in a vacuum; poor white people, poor Latinx people, poor queer people, middle class white people...etc. All races, genders, and classes benefit when we push for inclusion and decency.

Until we - to use the paraphrase that Ibram X. Kendi discusses in the chapter "Progress" - "bend an arc towards justice in America", there won't be true reconciliation. There won't be an end to the wealth disparities, the poor inner cities and their lack of transit, housing, decent schooling, and ending of crime.

You can argue all you want about "black on black crime" or how "rap music makes black men beat their women." You can argue anything but the naked truth, and you will be an ignoramus. The truth is is that racist is still strongly present in every aspect of our society, and we are not getting very fair on ending it.
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Nov 30, 2021 Nancy rated it it was amazing

I’m very impressed …Nikole Hannah-Jones’s
chapters Origins - Democracy - Justice
…they are riveting!
Personally enjoyed the writings of Linda Villarosa,
Leslie and Michelle Alexander, Trymaine Lee, Jamelle Bouie
and Jeneen Interlandi the most.
This book should NOT BE MISSED!

Apr 19, 2022 Nicole Ediss rated it really liked it

I definitely think that this book is worth the read. The historical information and primary sources are heartbreaking and the verbal reactions I repeatedly said throughout my reading were, "Holy Fuck," "Noooo," "Oh my God," "Holy God," and a few other verbal coughs of shock and disgust. The thing that I disliked about the book was the organization and the modern sections. The modern sections were not as objectively presented and because of that, it made the older sections cloud with suspicion of I definitely think that this book is worth the read. The historical information and primary sources are heartbreaking and the verbal reactions I repeatedly said throughout my reading were, "Holy Fuck," "Noooo," "Oh my God," "Holy God," and a few other verbal coughs of shock and disgust. The thing that I disliked about the book was the organization and the modern sections. The modern sections were not as objectively presented and because of that, it made the older sections cloud with suspicion of bias or agenda, and I really don't want to believe a book of this nature has any agenda besides truth and vindication. The chapters that I loved were nine and ten. My favorite quote is "Europe plus slavery plus the circus, times harmony, comedy and drama, equals Americana." ...more

Nikole Hannah-Jones is an American investigative journalist known for her coverage of civil rights in the United States. In April 2015, she became a staff writer for The New York Times.

Articles featuring this book

Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. To create our...

“While history is what happened, it is also, just as important, how we think about what happened and what we unearth and choose to remember about what happened” — 6 likes

“White Americans desire to be free of a past they do not want to remember, while Black Americans remain bound to a past they can never forget.” — 5 likes
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The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story offers a revealing...

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Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones & Renee Watson

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Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones & Renee Watson

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Best for 4th-12th Grade
Picture Book

The 1619 Project’s lyrical picture book in verse chronicles the consequences of slavery and the history of Black resistance in the United States, thoughtfully rendered by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and Newbery honor-winning author Renée Watson.

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4.5 rounded up

This is not your typical children's book. Hannah-Jones and Watson have masterfully crafted prose and poetry that tell the story of the Black experience and history in the United States. The narratives are shaped for children while being honest, and at times brutal, about the details and consequences of slavery and racism. If you have read The 1619 Project or listened to its sister podcast, much of this content will be familiar to you.

Hannah-Jones gives a stunning performance in the...more

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4.5 rounded up This is not your typical children's book. Hannah-Jones and Watson have masterfully crafted prose and poetry that tell the story of the Black experience and history in the United States. The narratives are shaped for children while being honest, and at times brutal, about the details and consequences of slavery and racism.

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Best for 8th-12th Grade
Graphic Memoir

A teen graphic novel memoir about a Korean-born, non-English-speaking girl who is abruptly transplanted from Seoul to Huntsville, Alabama, and struggles with extreme culture shock and isolation, until she discovers her passion for comic arts.

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"I didn't exactly fit in in Korea or America. I had become Korean American. And that was okay with me." representation: Korean (own voices). [trigger warnings are listed at the bottom of this review and may contain spoilers] ★★★★ Wow, I absolutely loved this. I couldn't put it down!

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Best for 5th-8th Grade
Historical Racism in Sports

From Nic Stone, the New York Times bestselling author, comes a challenging and heartwarming coming-of-age story about a softball player looking to prove herself on and off the pitch.

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Fast Pitch is a fast-paced, poignant sports mystery about family, racism, and community. Fans of Clean Getaway will enjoy this companion title focused on Scoob's crush Shenice. With engaging sports scenes and a diverse cast of characters, this story shines a light on the history of Black men in sports and how we can honor that legacy.

Read my full review on my blog and enter a giveaway (US only, closes Sept 13).

Many thanks to the publisher for a free eARC of this book....more

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Fast Pitch is a fast-paced, poignant sports mystery about family, racism, and community. Fans of Clean Getaway will enjoy this companion title focused on Scoob's crush Shenice. With engaging sports scenes and a diverse cast of characters, this story shines a light on the history of Black men in sports and how we can honor that legacy.

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Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles

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Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles

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Best for 5th-7th Grade
Gentrification and advocacy

Wes has the best style in sixth grade. That--and hanging out with his crew and playing video games--is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to. But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes.

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Put this book on your to-read lists immediately.
Take Back the Block is a story about gentrification, fighting for what is important, while also navigating change, friendships, and school. I loved loved LOVED this and I think everyone should read this come 2021.
- Follows Wes, a Black boy who reluctantly follows his activist mum to protests - but later grows to care and learn about gentrification in his neighbourhood and fights to stop it.
- Young people in activism!!!! I honestly loved this book
Put this book on your to-read lists immediately.
Take Back the Block is a story about gentrification, fighting for what is important, while also navigating change, friendships, and school. I loved loved LOVED this and I think everyone should read this come 2021.
- Follows Wes, a Black boy who reluctantly follows his activist mum to protests - but later grows to care and learn about gentrification in his neighbourhood and fights to stop it.
- Young people in activism!!!! I honestly loved this book and how it explores activism - how it can be big and loud like protests, but also involves a lot of behind-the-scenes work, learning, growing, and working with others.
- I loved how this book approached gentrification. It seems like a huge and intimidating topic, but Giles explores and educates this in such an accessible and easy-to-understand way through Wes's eyes. By the end, I can guarantee that you'll be thoughtful about gentrification and institutional, modern racism, and its wider social impacts (especially on people who are poor).
- I loved Wes so much!! He was honestly such a cool kid. He's got style, he cares about his friends, he's definitely not perfect, but he does his best, grows a lot, and learns so much across the story. And I also just... loved how Wes gets to be a kid in the story with real and relatable kid problems and worries.
- I honestly loved this; loved how Giles just blended all the themes together to create this really genuine and holistic picture of Wes's life. All aspects of Wes's life - from school to family to his friendships to even those moments he has to himself to think and reflect- are so well balanced.

Trigger/content warning: one instance of police brutality
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This book needs to be on the shelves of EVERY elementary school and public library. I can't wait for the world to meet Wes. I'm glad I did. Grateful to the publisher for providing me an early copy in advance of publication. This book needs to be on the shelves of EVERY elementary school and public library. I can't wait for the world to meet Wes. I'm glad I did. Grateful to the publisher for providing me an early copy in advance of publication. ...more

May 06, 2022 Ms. B rated it liked it

Give this to fans of From the Desk of Zoe Washington who are looking for more stories about young people who take on (what many will perceive as adult issues) societal injustices to make the world a better place. (view spoiler)[In Zoe Washington . . ., it is wrongful incarceration and in this book; it's the gentrification of Wes's neighborhood. (hide spoiler)] Give this to fans of From the Desk of Zoe Washington who are looking for more stories about young people who take on (what many will perceive as adult issues) societal injustices to make the world a better place. (view spoiler)[In Zoe Washington . . ., it is wrongful incarceration and in this book; it's the gentrification of Wes's neighborhood. (hide spoiler)] ...more

Thank you to the author and publisher for an eARC of this book.
Here’s an example of a great debut middle grade novel; it’s an excellent length at 240 pages, has short chapters, and tells a story that focuses on community and taking action to protect things that matter. It sheds light on the important issue of Black neighborhoods that are being sold and transformed into middle or upper class areas, and the history that is lost in the process.

Wes has grown up in Kensington Oaks, in the same house
Thank you to the author and publisher for an eARC of this book.
Here’s an example of a great debut middle grade novel; it’s an excellent length at 240 pages, has short chapters, and tells a story that focuses on community and taking action to protect things that matter. It sheds light on the important issue of Black neighborhoods that are being sold and transformed into middle or upper class areas, and the history that is lost in the process.

Wes has grown up in Kensington Oaks, in the same house his mom grew up in, and that his grandfather spent ten years saving to purchase. He knows his neighbors, his friends all live here, and he’s got lots of wonderful memories from his neighborhood. But things start to change when a development group offers to buy the homes in the area to make way for new ventures. Not only does it divide the residents as people wonder what to do, but it also starts to break up Wes’s group of friends. Wes tries to bring everyone together in an effort to Take Back The Block and save it from being demolished, but even with hard work there are some changes that just can’t be prevented. Wes and his friendships are transformed, as is Kensington Oaks, in ways that no one could have predicted.

There are a lot of elements of this story that I really liked. I loved the sense of community that existed in Kensington Oaks, even when people where fighting over whether to stay or leave. Seeing a close-knit Black community in a positive light, with little crime and families who cared about their neighbors, broke many stereotypes that we often find in books. I loved that the history of the neighborhood was tied to the only Black lumber mill owner, and that his legacy is remembered as the story unfolds. The characters come from very different family situations and backgrounds, so we get a chance to see a wide-range of experiences, while the group of friends maintain their connections. The involvement of Wes and his family in protests for different causes, Wes’s social studies project on a modern issue in today’s society, and his involvement with Save Our City and other aid organizations is inspiring for young readers who desperately want to find ways to bring about change.

I was reminded many times of TIGHT by Torrey Maldonado and his books that focus on young middle graders, while at the same time I thought of SO DONE by Paula Chase and her characters that dealt with Black friendships and the bonds of the neighborhood. I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from the author.
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Take Back the Block is an insightful, inspiring, and hearty middle-grade book about community, friendship, and speaking up. This realistic debut also touches on poverty and homelessness as well as navigating a pre-pubescent crush. If you enjoy reading books by Black authors about social issues, then you should definitely add this one to your TBR!
Read my full review on the blog.

Thanks to author Chrystal Giles and the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley!
Take Back the Block is an insightful, inspiring, and hearty middle-grade book about community, friendship, and speaking up. This realistic debut also touches on poverty and homelessness as well as navigating a pre-pubescent crush. If you enjoy reading books by Black authors about social issues, then you should definitely add this one to your TBR!
Read my full review on the blog.

Thanks to author Chrystal Giles and the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley!
...more

Take Back the Block is a great and necessary book that sheds light on the impact of gentrification on the communities and people that it's happening to. Main character Wes is a totally relatable hero kids will want to cheer on as he takes on a corporation to save his own home neighborhood. I loved how it shows that kids are empowered to fight for what they believe in, and I know it will inspire more kids to get involved in their own communities. Take Back the Block is a great and necessary book that sheds light on the impact of gentrification on the communities and people that it's happening to. Main character Wes is a totally relatable hero kids will want to cheer on as he takes on a corporation to save his own home neighborhood. I loved how it shows that kids are empowered to fight for what they believe in, and I know it will inspire more kids to get involved in their own communities. ...more

Chrystal D. Giles' TAKE BACK THE BLOCK does a remarkable thing: it makes issues of social justice accessible for middle grade readers. By presenting difficult subjects in the context of a great story populated by memorable characters, the issues come alive with incredible poignancy. Wes and his crew feel so real. Readers will cheer for him as he fights to save his neighborhood from gentrification. They will cry for him when he and a friend are victims of racial profiling. They will identify with Chrystal D. Giles' TAKE BACK THE BLOCK does a remarkable thing: it makes issues of social justice accessible for middle grade readers. By presenting difficult subjects in the context of a great story populated by memorable characters, the issues come alive with incredible poignancy. Wes and his crew feel so real. Readers will cheer for him as he fights to save his neighborhood from gentrification. They will cry for him when he and a friend are victims of racial profiling. They will identify with and admire his journey from a reluctant participant in his parents' activism to an independent and passionate leader ready to fight for what he knows is right. And they will come away with a better understanding of the importance of community and shared history. This story is so very timely and so very necessary. If I were a middle school/late elementary teacher, I would make TAKE BACK THE BLOCK part of my curriculum. Highly recommend. Many thanks to Random House Kids for the opportunity to read this advanced review copy ...more

Jan 05, 2021 Alexandra rated it it was amazing

I laughed, I cried, I finished it in under two hours. This is an essential book to keep in your classrooms, and could serve as a really interesting complement to All American Boys by Jason Reynolds. Take Back the Block breaks down gentrification and explains it in a way that is accessible yet not over simplified. The characters are scary real, and the situations feel true to life. Giles is absolutely going to be part of the new YA canon.

An important issue made accessible to middle school readers.

TAKE BACK THE BLOCK takes me back to that special time when I was in middle school trying to find my voice as a young Black man starting to see how my city was changing around me and how my friends and I were brought up. This book confronts so many topics head on impacting the Black community. Chrystal D. Giles did an OUTSTANDING job with depicting each kid’s personality, while also finding the perfect balance of informing young people about gentrification without preaching. This book oozes auth TAKE BACK THE BLOCK takes me back to that special time when I was in middle school trying to find my voice as a young Black man starting to see how my city was changing around me and how my friends and I were brought up. This book confronts so many topics head on impacting the Black community. Chrystal D. Giles did an OUTSTANDING job with depicting each kid’s personality, while also finding the perfect balance of informing young people about gentrification without preaching. This book oozes authenticity! The author’s use of historic symbols show the connection between Jim Crow and racial inequality that we’re still facing today. While we’ve come a long way we still have a ways to go, and Wes and his friends experience this directly. This book also shows how being surrounded by love and fighting for what you believe in can change the trajectory of a young person’s life forever. I look forward to reading more of Chrystal’s work. She is a rising-star! ...more

It’s just after summer in Carolina, and shoe-obsessed eleven-year-old Wes Henderson is thirsty and hot. It’s his BIRTHDAY, and he could be playing basketball with the crew. Instead, he’s holding a sign: “WE WERE HERE FIRST.”
It’s LOUD. Neighbors, demolition, news crews, people fighting...Wes has lived in Kensington Oaks his whole life, and now it’s just for sale? His mom, a board member, has all but forced him to join her cause. And Wes goes along with it. He’d “rather eat dirt than listen to ano
It’s just after summer in Carolina, and shoe-obsessed eleven-year-old Wes Henderson is thirsty and hot. It’s his BIRTHDAY, and he could be playing basketball with the crew. Instead, he’s holding a sign: “WE WERE HERE FIRST.”
It’s LOUD. Neighbors, demolition, news crews, people fighting...Wes has lived in Kensington Oaks his whole life, and now it’s just for sale? His mom, a board member, has all but forced him to join her cause. And Wes goes along with it. He’d “rather eat dirt than listen to another lecture on counting blessings.”

One thing’s for sure. Wes is NOT going to get in front of the news cameras again. The last time, he ended up completely immobile. This time, he ends up in a porta-potty filled with “somebody else’s stink juice.”

Still, it’s not fair, turning homes into twenty stories of shiny new condos and shops. Will Wes find the missing piece to saving his neighborhood?

Debut author Chrystal D. Giles’ TAKE BACK THE BLOCK inspires young readers to speak up against what’s not right, to try to change what’s unjust. A 2018 We Need Diverse Books Mentee, Giles’ strong, compassionate, hopeful voice lends itself to empowering this generation of middle graders, showing that what they think—and do—matters.
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I read Chrystal D. Giles's TAKE BACK THE BLOCK at the right time. As many of you know, I'm a big fan of The Chi on Showtime (stay with me here, I promise this is relevant), and one of the main reasons I love it is because it does such a great job at illustrating the rich inner and outer worlds of its young characters, never treating their worries and issues as lesser than. But! The kids on that show aren't so young anymore so you know I needed something to fill that void. Enter Wes, the crew, an I read Chrystal D. Giles's TAKE BACK THE BLOCK at the right time. As many of you know, I'm a big fan of The Chi on Showtime (stay with me here, I promise this is relevant), and one of the main reasons I love it is because it does such a great job at illustrating the rich inner and outer worlds of its young characters, never treating their worries and issues as lesser than. But! The kids on that show aren't so young anymore so you know I needed something to fill that void. Enter Wes, the crew, and Kensington Oaks.
TAKE BACK THE BLOCK is phenomenal at letting the reader dig into Wes' world, understand his bonds with the crew, and give us a truthful, heartfelt perspective on what gentrification means on an individual level. What I loved the most is that it made the subject matter accessible for young readers. It made it accessible for me too. Highly recommend this book for eager middle grade readers!
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Wes has been raised to speak up and speak out against Injustice, and while he dutifully attends the protests his activist mother organizes, Wes doesn’t see how the fight for social justice relates to him. But then his beloved neighborhood is targeted by a developer offering big money to buy people out of their homes.
Now the fight becomes personal. Along with his friends, Wes learns what it means to fight for what you believe in, how to stand up and fight for what’s right.
Wes’s journey from pass Wes has been raised to speak up and speak out against Injustice, and while he dutifully attends the protests his activist mother organizes, Wes doesn’t see how the fight for social justice relates to him. But then his beloved neighborhood is targeted by a developer offering big money to buy people out of their homes.
Now the fight becomes personal. Along with his friends, Wes learns what it means to fight for what you believe in, how to stand up and fight for what’s right.
Wes’s journey from passive participant in his mother’s protests to a a leader and active voice for civic and social justice is powerful and beautifully crafted.
This MG should be in every classroom and school library as a primer for kids to see that their voices not only matter, but that they carry weight and can help affect real change. ...more

YES, YES, and YES. All elementary and middle school libraries and classroom libraries need this debut from Giles. Wes Henderson is a little anxious about the start of the school year. He'll be in sixth grade and wants nothing more than to make sure his outfits are spot on. He has the best style in school, and he doesn't want to worry about anything else, but his parents are always dragging him to protests. School starts off in a way that he was not expecting, too. He has a friend who is slowly d YES, YES, and YES. All elementary and middle school libraries and classroom libraries need this debut from Giles. Wes Henderson is a little anxious about the start of the school year. He'll be in sixth grade and wants nothing more than to make sure his outfits are spot on. He has the best style in school, and he doesn't want to worry about anything else, but his parents are always dragging him to protests. School starts off in a way that he was not expecting, too. He has a friend who is slowly distancing himself, another who is moving to an uppity school, and another who is now living in a rough hotel. What gets even worse is a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks—Wes' neighborhood. No one is taking immediate action (not even the parents), so it is up to Wes and his friends to do something. A mix of Black Joy, activism, justice, community, family, and friendship. Such a refreshing read that gives hope! I will book talk and share this book like crazy! ...more

Dec 10, 2021 Laura Gardner rated it it was amazing

Forgot to post this one! I LOVED it. One of my top 10 of 2021. Love how it addresses gentrification and the way it impacts communities. My sister-in-law Steffi lives in Charlotte where the author is from. Steffi is involved in trying to protect the historically Black neighborhood called Cherry in Charlotte and in particular the Morgan school. This book was a perfect recommendation for she and her two sons!
Gentrification, social justice, police discrimination, friendship, Black history…there’s so
Forgot to post this one! I LOVED it. One of my top 10 of 2021. Love how it addresses gentrification and the way it impacts communities. My sister-in-law Steffi lives in Charlotte where the author is from. Steffi is involved in trying to protect the historically Black neighborhood called Cherry in Charlotte and in particular the Morgan school. This book was a perfect recommendation for she and her two sons!
Gentrification, social justice, police discrimination, friendship, Black history…there’s so much here and it’s all anchored by a fabulous main character who is flawed, but learning and growing. Definitely adding this to my list of books that involve teen/youth activism. Great fit for the 10 questions for young Changemakers.

I can’t wait to see what else this Chrystal Giles writes. What an incredible debut!
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What an incredible book! I enjoyed every page of it.
I LOVE reading a middle grade novel every now and then and I'm so happy I picked this one up. The subject matter is excellent, especially for young readers, but the characters are what make this story magical.

What I loved about Wes (the protagonist) is that he was very much a kid. I think it was important to make that clear given the rather mature conflict. Yes, he spends a lot of time in the story doing volunteer work, protesting, and resear
What an incredible book! I enjoyed every page of it.
I LOVE reading a middle grade novel every now and then and I'm so happy I picked this one up. The subject matter is excellent, especially for young readers, but the characters are what make this story magical.

What I loved about Wes (the protagonist) is that he was very much a kid. I think it was important to make that clear given the rather mature conflict. Yes, he spends a lot of time in the story doing volunteer work, protesting, and researching, but he's also gaming, complaining about homework, fighting with his friends, and just...doing what kids do. I absolutely adored him. His friends and parents are also lovable, well-developed characters. The side action of the plot is strong. It was just so easy for me to care about every aspect of the book.

I highly recommend Take Back the Block to readers of all ages.
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Thank you to Random House Kids, for the eArc of Take Back the Block, which I loved. Authors that tackle current issues like gentrification, in their own voice and using their own life experience, are powerful for kids to read. Gentrification is a complex issue that negatively affects people of color all across the country. Giles did an incredible job not only explaining what gentrification is, but also helping young readers see the effects it has through her characters' experiences.
I hope my stu Thank you to Random House Kids, for the eArc of Take Back the Block, which I loved. Authors that tackle current issues like gentrification, in their own voice and using their own life experience, are powerful for kids to read. Gentrification is a complex issue that negatively affects people of color all across the country. Giles did an incredible job not only explaining what gentrification is, but also helping young readers see the effects it has through her characters' experiences.
I hope my students take Wes' lead and use their voices to help the "arc of moral universe bend toward justice." I will definitely be adding this realistic fiction middle-grade novel to my classroom library and booktalking it with my students. ...more

Nov 13, 2021 Susan rated it really liked it

TAKE BACK THE BLOCK is an inspiring, empowering story about the importance of speaking out and working to further causes you believe in. The characters are a likable bunch, easy to root for. For the most part, the kids speak and act like kids, which isn't always true in MG books. My only beef is the romance-y bits between Wes and Alyssa. West JUST turned ELEVEN—I really don't think a romantic subplot (even as minor as it is) rings very true. It felt odd to me. As far as plot goes, TAKE BACK THE TAKE BACK THE BLOCK is an inspiring, empowering story about the importance of speaking out and working to further causes you believe in. The characters are a likable bunch, easy to root for. For the most part, the kids speak and act like kids, which isn't always true in MG books. My only beef is the romance-y bits between Wes and Alyssa. West JUST turned ELEVEN—I really don't think a romantic subplot (even as minor as it is) rings very true. It felt odd to me. As far as plot goes, TAKE BACK THE BLOCK takes a bit to get warmed up, but once it does, it moves along at a fair pace. Upbeat and uplifting, the story teaches some valuable lessons about being a friend, serving others, the power of found family, and the importance of putting one's energy behind worthy causes. With a mostly Black cast, it's also a diverse read about the kind of community that is severely underrepresented in MG literature. All of these elements combine to make this book an engaging, enjoyable, and thought-provoking read. ...more

Take Back the Block follows the life of Wes Henderson and his community. It's summer break and all Wes wants to do is hangout and play video games with his friends, but instead his parents have him protesting and marching for different social justice issues. Wes isn't really interested in them, except when a real estate developer wants to buy all of the houses in Kensington Oaks, including his. He is not about to let someone take his home away.
Wes learns about what the real estate developer want Take Back the Block follows the life of Wes Henderson and his community. It's summer break and all Wes wants to do is hangout and play video games with his friends, but instead his parents have him protesting and marching for different social justice issues. Wes isn't really interested in them, except when a real estate developer wants to buy all of the houses in Kensington Oaks, including his. He is not about to let someone take his home away.
Wes learns about what the real estate developer wants to do, what gentrification means and what it does to a community. With the help of his friends, teachers, and parents, Wes comes up with the idea to have a block party to bring the community together and fight to save Kensington Oaks. This story shows what it means to belong to a community and what it takes to fight for what you believe in.
--Reviewed by LR
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This was SUCH a good read! (5 stars, in fact 👀.) Wesley's voice sucked me in from the very first chapter & I will definitely be advocating for a copy to get added to my elementary school library.
Check this one out if you're looking for a middle grade with:

- A Black Boy MC
- A BIPOC Neighborhood Setting
- Discussions on Gentrification & Segregation
- Complex Friend Dynamics
- Loving & Supportive Family
- Kids Researching & Learning Independently
- Kids Fighting For What They Believe In
- Character Growt
This was SUCH a good read! (5 stars, in fact 👀.) Wesley's voice sucked me in from the very first chapter & I will definitely be advocating for a copy to get added to my elementary school library.
Check this one out if you're looking for a middle grade with:

- A Black Boy MC
- A BIPOC Neighborhood Setting
- Discussions on Gentrification & Segregation
- Complex Friend Dynamics
- Loving & Supportive Family
- Kids Researching & Learning Independently
- Kids Fighting For What They Believe In
- Character Growth Arcs

Seriously, this book might be one of my favorites I've read with the #WeLoveMGLit book club this year. Can't wait for the discussion!
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Fast-paced and exciting story about one boy's growing awareness of social justice. I'm so impressed by the voice in this novel! Twelve-year-old Wes feels like a real boy to me, with real worries about his friends and his neighborhood. His growth, from someone in the beginning who cares most about his shoes and clothes and video games, to a socially-aware and strong leader among his neighbors and classmates, is phenomenal! The writing style is highly accessible, and middle-grade readers will lear Fast-paced and exciting story about one boy's growing awareness of social justice. I'm so impressed by the voice in this novel! Twelve-year-old Wes feels like a real boy to me, with real worries about his friends and his neighborhood. His growth, from someone in the beginning who cares most about his shoes and clothes and video games, to a socially-aware and strong leader among his neighbors and classmates, is phenomenal! The writing style is highly accessible, and middle-grade readers will learn about gentrification and social injustice without even realizing they're learning. A powerful, timely read.
Thanks to the publisher for an e-arc.
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Sep 03, 2020 Ms. Caliendo rated it really liked it

Great middle grade story about a young boy grappling with gentrification and how it impacts himself and his friends. Love that this young boy is engaged in protesting. I want more on his friend Kari, my heart breaks for him. And the way this text tackled the erasure of Black excellence in an accessible way was great!

Feb 20, 2022 Andrea rated it really liked it

This was a powerful yet sweet story of a 6th grade boy who wants to do something about his neighborhood being broken apart. A development company has been buying up homes and building condos, already forcing one of his best friends to move, and his block stands to be next. Even though my son read this first for school, I learned something too from this one.

May 27, 2021 Kimberley rated it it was amazing

I'm so here for these kids taking back what's theirs!!! I'm so here for these kids taking back what's theirs!!! ...more

Jul 04, 2021 Kim Bahr rated it really liked it

I strong story about fighting for what is important. I also learned about gentrification.

Wes Henderson wants to focus on championing his swag in middle school but instead confronts a larger challenge as his neighborhood is threatened by the forces of gentrification. [from Kirkus Reviews]

Apr 22, 2022 Summer rated it really liked it

It’s more 3.5 ⭐️ for me, mostly because I just generally don’t enjoy juvenile fiction as much as YA or adult fiction. This is such an important topic of gentrification, and the book tackles it in a way that younger kids would be able to understand. It’s a must for upper elementary and middle school libraries and classrooms. The characters were distinct and interesting. The humor and personality of the narrator was good as well.

Mar 14, 2021 Dee Ouellette rated it really liked it

Great book. I like that it was written from a child's point of view. I had never heard of the word gentrification, and now I understand what that word means. I like that the book makes everyone aware of the importance of community, diversity, justice, and problem-solving. Kids will enjoy this book and maybe have a better understanding of community and heritage. Middle-grade students should be able to identify themselves with the characters in this book. Great job, Chrystal Giles! Great book. I like that it was written from a child's point of view. I had never heard of the word gentrification, and now I understand what that word means. I like that the book makes everyone aware of the importance of community, diversity, justice, and problem-solving. Kids will enjoy this book and maybe have a better understanding of community and heritage. Middle-grade students should be able to identify themselves with the characters in this book. Great job, Chrystal Giles! ...more

Sep 12, 2020 Christina rated it it was amazing

So many young people are leading the charge for change in this country and I’d confidently follow twelve-year-old Wes Henderson’s call to action. In debut author Chrystal D. Giles’ completely absorbing TAKE BACK THE BLOCK (1/26/20), the inner-city neighborhood Wes loves and has always called home is at risk and neighbors, friends, and his own family may be forced out. He is no stranger to activism and peaceful protest (thanks to an awesome mom), but now he has found a cause he truly believes in So many young people are leading the charge for change in this country and I’d confidently follow twelve-year-old Wes Henderson’s call to action. In debut author Chrystal D. Giles’ completely absorbing TAKE BACK THE BLOCK (1/26/20), the inner-city neighborhood Wes loves and has always called home is at risk and neighbors, friends, and his own family may be forced out. He is no stranger to activism and peaceful protest (thanks to an awesome mom), but now he has found a cause he truly believes in and will do everything he can to fight the gentrification of his beloved Kensington Oaks. Wes is a force and I admired his passion, determination, and drive. I loved getting to know him (and his award-winning style) as he researched, planned, and pursued his goals. His sometimes messy interactions with his friends were utterly relatable and engaging as they all came across so distinctly with unique personalities and interests. I especially felt so deeply for his friend, Kari, who has many personal stories to share. Wes’ voice is humorous and inviting, which made this novel so accessible for young readers as it explored social injustices and racial inequality. His inquisitive nature leads to many poignant scenes about racism and privilege and will leave a lasting impact on readers—I will absolutely be adding this to my classroom library upon its release. An incredible must-read, TAKE BACK THE BLOCK is a powerful and uplifting story that will educate and inspire all to stand up and speak out! ...more

So many young people are leading the charge for change in this country and I’d confidently follow twelve-year-old Wes Henderson’s call to action. In debut author Chrystal D. Giles’ completely absorbing TAKE BACK THE BLOCK (1/26/20), the inner-city neighborhood Wes loves and has always called home is at risk and neighbors, friends, and his own family may be forced out. He is no stranger to activism and peaceful protest (thanks to an awesome mom), but now he has found a cause he truly believes in So many young people are leading the charge for change in this country and I’d confidently follow twelve-year-old Wes Henderson’s call to action. In debut author Chrystal D. Giles’ completely absorbing TAKE BACK THE BLOCK (1/26/20), the inner-city neighborhood Wes loves and has always called home is at risk and neighbors, friends, and his own family may be forced out. He is no stranger to activism and peaceful protest (thanks to an awesome mom), but now he has found a cause he truly believes in and will do everything he can to fight the gentrification of his beloved Kensington Oaks. Wes is a force and I admired his passion, determination, and drive. I loved getting to know him (and his award-winning style) as he researched, planned, and pursued his goals. His sometimes messy interactions with his friends were utterly relatable and engaging as they all came across so distinctly with unique personalities and interests. I especially felt so deeply for his friend, Kari, who has many personal stories to share. Wes’ voice is humorous and inviting, which made this novel so accessible for young readers as it explored social injustices and racial inequality. His inquisitive nature leads to many poignant scenes about racism and privilege and will leave a lasting impact on readers—I will absolutely be adding this to my classroom library upon its release. An incredible must-read, TAKE BACK THE BLOCK is a powerful and uplifting story that will educate and inspire all to stand up and speak out! ...more

Chrystal D. Giles is a champion for diversity and representation in children’s literature. Chrystal made her debut with Take Back the Block, which received multiple starred reviews, was a Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and an NPR Best Book. Her next middle-grade novel, Not An Easy Win, will publish in February 2023. Chrystal lives outside Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and so Chrystal D. Giles is a champion for diversity and representation in children’s literature. Chrystal made her debut with Take Back the Block, which received multiple starred reviews, was a Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and an NPR Best Book. Her next middle-grade novel, Not An Easy Win, will publish in February 2023. Chrystal lives outside Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and son.
Chrystal is represented by Elizabeth Bewley at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc.
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Best for 5th-7th Grade
Navajo Nation

One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds something extraordinary. A Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story—a Water Monster—in need of help. Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to help Uncle Jet heal from his own pain.

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Healer of the Water Monster book. Read 20 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Brian Young's debut novel, inspired by Navajo beliefs, ...

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Best for 8th-12th Grade

When his best friend Delaney manages to secure both her and Cash full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he would have to leave behind.

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I haven't read it yet, but our school district has chosen it as a quiz bowl competition book for high school, which would be ninth through twelfth graI haven't read it yet, but our school district has chosen it as a quiz bowl competition book for high school, which would be ninth through twelfth grades. (I volunteer for the competitions, so I will be reading it. I'll try to remember to update.) ...more (less)

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I haven't read it yet, but our school district has chosen it as a quiz bowl competition book for high school, which would be ninth through twelfth graI haven't read it yet, but our school district has chosen it as a quiz bowl competition book for high school, which would be ninth through twelfth grades.

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Best for 5th-8th Grade
Discusses drug addiction

Twelve-year-old Wren loves makeup—special effect makeup, to be exact. When she is experimenting with new looks, Wren can create a different version of herself. A girl who isn’t in a sort-of-best friendship with someone who seems like she hates her. A girl whose parents aren’t divorced and doesn’t have to learn to like her new stepmom.

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Stacey DeCotis (Reading in the Middle Grades)

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Violets Are Blue book. Read 154 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. From the author of the acclaimed My Life in the Fish Tank and May...

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Unique writing style - no quotation marks and lots of Deaf history

A transporting novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the Deaf.

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5⭐️

I will read any book that has deaf representation and the minute I saw this book, I knew I had to get it.

The book has three main Characters;
- February, the headmistress of a Deaf School, who is hearing and has Deaf parents.
- Charlie, a 16 year old deaf girl born to hearing parents who had her get a Cochlear Implant when she was a toddler and go to mainstream school.
- Austin, a 16/17 year old Deaf boy, who is part of a multi generation Deaf family and attends the Deaf School.

The book foll...more

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5⭐️ I will read any book that has deaf representation and the minute I saw this book, I knew I had to get it. The book has three main Characters; - February, the headmistress of a Deaf School, who is hearing and has Deaf parents.

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Best for 7th-12th Grade
Graphic Novel Series
Recently adapted into a Netflix series

Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more...?

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i went into this expecting a heart-skipping-a-beat level of adorable.

and much as it hurts my hateful heart to admit it...i'd call this a success.

i hate writing graphic novel reviews, so here's a sentence:

this was cute and nice and i liked the art even if it felt like the shortest thing ever. and if the emotional aspect didn't always hit.

(bonus half sentence so i can be a grump.)

---------------

reading all books with LGBTQ+ rep for pride this month!

book 1: the gravity of us
book 2: the great americ...more

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i went into this expecting a heart-skipping-a-beat level of adorable. and much as it hurts my hateful heart to admit it...i'd call this a success. i hate writing graphic novel reviews, so here's a sentence: this was cute and nice and i liked the art even if it felt like the shortest thing ever.

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A Reese's Book Club Pick

Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena—a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man—Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past.

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I agree that there are an enormous number of hints but that the actual story is told too late in the book. I would say that feelings about trauma are I agree that there are an enormous number of hints but that the actual story is told too late in the book. I would say that feelings about trauma are generally complicated and justified, particularly when the victim has never processed the trauma in any healthy manner. ...more (less)

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I agree that there are an enormous number of hints but that the actual story is told too late in the book. I would say that feelings about trauma are I agree that there are an enormous number of hints but that the actual story is told too late in the book.

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Best for 5th-7th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Based on the author's experience

Free Lunch is the story of Rex’s efforts to navigate his first semester of sixth grade—who to sit with, not being able to join the football team, Halloween in a handmade costume, classmates and a teacher who take one look at him and decide he’s trouble—all while wearing secondhand clothes and being hungry.

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Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

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Best for 5th-8th Grade

In this debut middle-grade girl-power friendship story, an eighth grader starts a podcast to protest the unfair dress code enforcement at her middle school and sparks a rebellion.

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"...I witnessed a piece of her soul leave her body. Until that day, I had thought souls left bodies at the time of death, all at once. But when I saw Olivia's face, her arms crossed in front of her, the tears streaming down her cheeks, and the rose-colored hives blooming upward and outward across her chest, I knew everything I had believed about souls leaving bodies was wrong. Souls leave bodies in tiny gasps, like when you hold the lip of a balloon tightly and let out the air a little bit at a time" -Molly"

"No, we won't forget this." I pull a lilac off a low branch and tuck it behind Liza's ear. "Bonita," I say. Before we get up, I kiss her on the cheek. "We're going to make memories this summer so when high school is over we can meet back on this bench and remember it all, okay?" Liza smiles. "It's a date."

More quotes...

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"...I witnessed a piece of her soul leave her body. Until that day, I had thought souls left bodies at the time of death, all at once. But when I saw Olivia's face, her arms crossed in front of her, the tears streaming down her cheeks, and the rose-colored hives blooming upward and outward across her chest, I knew everything I had believed about souls leaving bodies was wrong.

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Best for 5th-8th Grade
2020 ALA Notable Children's Book

Barbara Dee explores the subject of #MeToo for the middle grade audience in this heart-wrenching—and ultimately uplifting—novel about experiencing harassment and unwanted attention from classmates.

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3.5 STARS

SPOILERS

When Mila is sexually harassed, she finds little support and understanding from her friends and the school. At home, she protects her stressed-out, single mom from the pain.

Barbara Dee has written an important, yet often unrealistic, middle grade novel about middle school sexual harassment. Dee gets right through lack of understanding among her friends (one thinks it's flirting) and their different reactions. The diverse characters in MAYBE HE JUST LIKES YOU give depth to the st...more

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Stacey DeCotis (Reading in the Middle Grades)

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3.5 STARS SPOILERS When Mila is sexually harassed, she finds little support and understanding from her friends and the school. At home, she protects her stressed-out, single mom from the pain. Barbara Dee has written an important, yet often unrealistic, middle grade novel about middle school sexual harassment.

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Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson & Ellen Hagan

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Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson & Ellen Hagan

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Best for 9th-12th Grade
Dual Narration
Also deals with racial identity and weight

Jasmine and Chelsea are 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 everything online—poems, essays, videos of Chelsea performing her poetry, and Jasmine's response to the racial macroaggressions she experiences—and soon they go viral. But with such positive support, the club is also targeted by online trolls. When things escalate, the principal shuts the club down. Jasmine and Chelsea will risk everything for their voices—and those of other young women—to be heard.

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You know how, sometimes, you can tell almost immediately that a writing style isn't going to work for you? Yeah... sigh. That was me with this book. I disliked the narrative voice from literally the first page, and a few chapters in, it hadn't gotten any less frustrating. It's not bad, it's just extremely heavy-handed, if that makes sense. It feels like the authors tried to hold the readers' hands through every step of the messages about intersectionality, diversity, and feminism, which is great...more

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Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

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Kristi Housman Confessions of a YA Reader

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You know how, sometimes, you can tell almost immediately that a writing style isn't going to work for you? Yeah... sigh. That was me with this book. I disliked the narrative voice from literally the first page, and a few chapters in, it hadn't gotten any less frustrating.

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Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom

Inspired by Frederick Douglass's abolitionist call to action, “it is not light that is needed, but fire”, author Matthew Kay has spent his career learning how to lead students through the most difficult race conversations.

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Inspired by Frederick Douglass's abolitionist call to action, “it is not light that is needed, but fire”, author Matthew Kay has spent his career learning how to lead students through the most difficult race conversations. In Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom, Kay realizes we often never graduate to the harder conversations so in this text he offers a method for getting them right, providing candid guidance on:
How to  recognize  the difference between meaningful and inconsequential race conversations.
How to  build  conversational “safe spaces,” not merely declare them.
How to  infuse  race conversations with urgency and purpose.
How to  thrive  in the face of unexpected challenges.
How administrators might  equip  teachers to thoughtfully engage in these conversations.

With the right blend of reflection and humility, Kay asserts, teachers can make school one of the best venues for young people to discuss race.

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Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conver…

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Read reviews from the world’s largest community for readers. undefined

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Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

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Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

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Best for 9th-12th Grade
Mystery

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.

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Read 19.1k reviews from the world's largest community for readers. As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine ha...

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Best for 4th-7th
Project LIT Pick
Also discusses neurodivergence and biracial identity

When Collin asked to leave yet another school, his dad decides to send him to live in Minnesota with the mother he's never met. She is Ojibwe, and lives on a reservation. Collin arrives in Duluth with his loyal dog, Seven, and quickly finds his mom and his new home to be warm, welcoming, and accepting of his condition.

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Read 356 reviews from the world’s largest community for readers. The Brave is about a boy with an OCD issue and his move to a reservation to live with his …

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S.A. Cosby is perfect for those who love gory thrillers and a revenge plot.

Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.

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Superb!
Two southern ex-cons, one black one white... come together to avenge the brutal murder of their sons who were gay and married to each other.
These dudes have turned their life around since being let out of jail.. and they couldn't be more different.. except in the fact that they both were quite homophobic and didn't treat their son's well regarding their sexuality.
When their sons are murdered, and leave behind a three year old daughter, and the police make no headway in the case- they take m...more

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Superb!Two southern ex-cons, one black one white... come together to avenge the brutal murder of their sons who were gay and married to each other.These dudes have turned their life around since being let out of jail.. and they couldn't be more different..

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Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfold and Nicola Yoon

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Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfold and Nicola Yoon

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Best for 7th-12th Grade
All Star Team of Authors

A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks…
A first meeting.
Long-time friends.
Bitter exes.
And maybe the beginning of something new.

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The stories are much too short for any explicit romance, but there is some language, varying between the stories. Nothing as bad as what you'd hear atThe stories are much too short for any explicit romance, but there is some language, varying between the stories. Nothing as bad as what you'd hear at high school. Sydney | sydneys.books...more (less)

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Kathryn Speckels (Metaphors and Miscellanea)

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The stories are much too short for any explicit romance, but there is some language, varying between the stories. Nothing as bad as what you'd hear atThe stories are much too short for any explicit romance, but there is some language, varying between the stories. Nothing as bad as what you'd hear at high school.

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by Colson Whitehead

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The long string of horrors that took place at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys wasn't a secret, but it might as well have been. Former students of the Florida reform school had spoken out for years about the brutal beatings that they endured at the hands of sadistic employees, but it wasn't until 2012, when University of South Florida anthropologists began to uncover unmarked graves on the school's campus, that the world began to care.

The discoveries weren't news to the "White House Boys," a group of men who say they survived brutal assaults by Dozier staffers in a school building known as the White House. The men had raised the alarm for years, but their testimonies were essentially shrugged off. As Colson Whitehead writes in his stunning new novel, inspired by the revelations about the Dozier School, "Plenty of boys had talked of the secret graveyard before, but as it had ever been ... no one believed them until someone else said it."

In Whitehead's novel, set in the early 1960s, the reformatory in question is called the Nickel Academy, named after a former leader of the school, although some students say it's really "because their lives weren't worth five cents." The novel follows Elwood Curtis, a young man whose dreams of going to college are dashed when he's sentenced to do time at the school.

Elwood isn't in need of reform. Abandoned by his parents at a young age and raised by his grandmother, the young man is scrupulously honest; his great loves are reading and education. Forbidden from listening to popular music by his religious grandmother, he wears out the grooves on a record by Martin Luther King Jr., which stokes his interest in the civil rights movement. Elwood is "as good as anyone"; he "bent to a code - Dr. King gave that code shape, articulation, and meaning."

When Elwood gets the chance to take college classes as a high school student, he jumps at it. But his life is upended when he hitches a ride to his first class with the driver of what turns out to be a stolen car - African Americans weren't afforded the presumption of innocence in a region still hanging on to Jim Crow, so Elwood is forced to spend the rest of his days as a juvenile at the Nickel Academy.

At the school, Elwood befriends a young man named Turner, who's harder and more cynical than his new friend. It doesn't take Elwood long to realize that his original plan to survive Nickel - "he just had to keep doing what he'd always done: act right" - is doomed to failure. After Elwood tries to break up a fight among students, staffers take him, in the middle of the night, to the school's de facto torture chamber: "The white boys bruised differently than the black boys and called it the Ice Cream Factory because you came out with bruises of every color. The black boys called it the White House because that was its official name and it fit and didn't need to be embellished." The savage beating Elwood endures "had him scarred all over, not just his legs," Whitehead writes. "It had weeviled deep into his personality."

Whitehead's description of the brutalities that Elwood and his schoolmates are subjected to are necessarily shocking, and as painful as it is to read about the violence against children, it's somehow even more sickening to read what it does to the young men's psyches. Whitehead writes about the cruelties inflicted by the school's staff with a calm matter-of-factness that actually amplifies the horror; the understated beauty of his writing, combined with the disquieting subject matter, creates a kind of dissonance that chills the reader.

'The Nickel Boys' is a beautiful, wrenching act of witness, a painful remembrance of an 'infinite brotherhood of broken boys.'

Whitehead has long had a gift for crafting unforgettable characters, and Elwood proves to be one of his best. The young man aspires to take part in the civil rights movement, and certainly knows about the realities of American racism, but is just naïve enough to think that if he behaves and works hard, he'll be spared the worst of the violence at Nickel. (The violence at Nickel isn't just limited to African Americans, but that's cold comfort for the school's black students: "The white boys didn't get it as bad as the black boys," Whitehead writes, "but they were not in Nickel because the world cared overmuch.")

The Nickel Boys ends with alternating chapters, some chronicling Elwood's last days at the school and some set in the years after his departure. "That's what the school did to a boy," Whitehead writes. "It didn't stop when you got out. Bend you all kind of ways until you were unfit for straight life, good and twisted by the time you left." The final pages of the book are a heartbreaking distillation of the story that preceded them; it's a perfect ending to a perfect novel. The Nickel Boys is a beautiful, wrenching act of witness, a painful remembrance of an "infinite brotherhood of broken boys," and it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Whitehead is one of the most gifted novelists in America today.

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For The 'Nickel Boys,' Life Isn't Worth 5 Cents

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The long string of horrors that took place at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys wasn't a secret, but it might as well have been.

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Legend of Auntie Po
by Shing Yin Khor
Graphic Novel
Grades 5-8

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Best for Grades K-5th
Picture Book

When something really matters, one voice can make a difference. This spirited, picture book celebrates diversity and encourages kids to speak up, unite with others, and take action when they see something that needs to be fixed.

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The book gives great examples of different ways and reasons to speak. It recognizes that people have different methods of speaking, vocally or not, and different volumes, but what they have to say is important. At the end, it includes some criteria for readers to use in deciding whether to say something, helping them understand reasons like safety versus tattling.

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The book gives great examples of different ways and reasons to speak. It recognizes that people have different methods of speaking, vocally or not, and different volumes, but what they have to say is important. At the end, it includes some criteria for readers to use in deciding whether to say something, helping them understand reasons like safety versus tattling.

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Something Happened in Our Town A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins and Ann Hazzard 

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Something Happened in Our Town A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins and Ann Hazzard 

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Best for K-6th
Picture Book

Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children's questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives.

Includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers with guidelines for discussing race and racism with children, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues. Free, downloadable educator materials (including discussion questions) are available at www.apa.org.

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You're paraphrasing a quote from one particular character in the book, a child, who represents people who truly feel this way. His parents later explaYou're paraphrasing a quote from one particular character in the book, a child, who represents people who truly feel this way. His parents later explain to him that this isn't completely true and that there are good cops and bad cops. Yes, this is definitely a conversation we should be having with our children. ...more (less)

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You're paraphrasing a quote from one particular character in the book, a child, who represents people who truly feel this way. His parents later explaYou're paraphrasing a quote from one particular character in the book, a child, who represents people who truly feel this way.

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Where are You From by Yamile Saied Mendez

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Where are You From by Yamile Saied Mendez

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Best for K-5th
Picture Book

This resonant and award-winning picture book tells the story of one girl who constantly gets asked a simple question that doesn’t have a simple answer. A great conversation starter in the home or classroom—a book to share

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Such a lovely, beautifully written answer to the much asked and much hated question "Where are you from?" Kim's illustrations invoked a dreamy and timeless air that, paired with Méndez's heartfelt, earnest words, answered the question perfectly by invoking roots, family, history, and love. While it might not register too well with kids under 5, it's sure to be emotional for parents and caregivers and to be something treasured in later childhood, especially in the current state of the world.

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Such a lovely, beautifully written answer to the much asked and much hated question "Where are you from?" Kim's illustrations invoked a dreamy and timeless air that, paired with Méndez's heartfelt, earnest words, answered the question perfectly by invoking roots, family, history, and love.

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Best for Grades K-5th

Beautifully and imaginatively illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, this book describes what it is like to be a child in a migrant family.

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I thought this was an interesting story that shows how a little girl compares her life as part of a migrant farming family with different animals, like jackrabbits, kittens and birds.

The narrative is short and appropriate for children of all ages and the illustrations are terrific. We really enjoyed reading this book together and I really liked the author's note at the end of the story that explains more about the inspiration for the book.

This book was featured as one of the selections for the...more

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I thought this was an interesting story that shows how a little girl compares her life as part of a migrant farming family with different animals, like jackrabbits, kittens and birds. The narrative is short and appropriate for children of all ages and the illustrations are terrific.

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Some Places More Than Others by Renee Watson

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Some Places More Than Others by Renee Watson

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Best for Grades 4th-8th
Project LIT Pick

This is a powerful story about family, the places that make us who we are, and how we find ways to connect to our history across time and distance.

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I ADORED THIS BOOK. I shamelessly confess to tearing up many times in the second half and yearning to know my own family's history as Amara learned hers. The need for that connection is summed up in this quote:

"I want to feel like that. Like I am connected to something, like there's a history keeping me moving, living. Like the journey I am on has many footprints, many stories coming with me (pp. 103-104)."

Renée Watson's Some Places More Than Others is a quiet, immersive, and resonant novel that...more

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Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

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Kristi Housman Confessions of a YA Reader

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I ADORED THIS BOOK. I shamelessly confess to tearing up many times in the second half and yearning to know my own family's history as Amara learned hers. The need for that connection is summed up in this quote: "I want to feel like that.

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Best for Middle Grade or YA
Project LIT Pick

Set against the backdrop of the segregation history of the American South, take a trip with New York Times bestselling Nic Stone and an eleven-year-old boy who is about to discover the world hasn't always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren't always what they seem--his G'ma included.

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What secrets is G'ma hiding? When G'ma takes Scoob (aka William) on a road trip to finish a trip that she and G'Pop started over 50 years ago during the 1960s, he learns about her many famil secrets. It seems his G'ma might not really be who she appears to be....more

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What secrets is G'ma hiding? When G'ma takes Scoob (aka William) on a road trip to finish a trip that she and G'Pop started over 50 years ago during the 1960s, he learns about her many famil secrets.

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Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

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Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

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Poetry
Picture Book

Irene Latham, who is white, and Charles Waters, who is black, use this fictional setup to delve into different experiences of race in a relatable way, exploring such topics as hair, hobbies, and family dinners. Accompanied by artwork from acclaimed illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko, this remarkable collaboration invites readers of all ages to join the dialogue by putting their own words to their experiences.

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A very sweet story told through poems of a boy and a girl who, despite racial and other differences, end up finding that what they have in common and what they can learn from each other is most important.

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Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship

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A very sweet story told through poems of a boy and a girl who, despite racial and other differences, end up finding that what they have in common and what they can learn from each other is most important.

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Best for Grades K-6th
Picture Book

From Academy Award–winning actress Lupita Nyong’o comes a powerful, moving picture book about colorism, self-esteem, and learning that true beauty comes from within.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾ POWERFUL -seems too easy of a word to describe the debut children's book by Lupita Nyong'o. Yet, powerful, may not do it enough justice. Colorism is an extremely challenging subject to broach and tackle, especially among people of color. However, Sulwe approaches the issue with such honesty and candor that it invites a much needed discussion.

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Best for 4th-6th Grade
Project LIT Pick

A heartfelt and relatable novel from Phil Bildner, weaving the real history of Los Angeles Dodger and Oakland Athletic Glenn Burke--the first professional baseball player to come out as gay--into the story of a middle-school kid learning to be himself.

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I've long been a fan of author Phil Bildner. His latest book A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE is a treasure I can't wait to share. Tapping into his own struggle growing up as a gay boy in a world where being his true self was a frightening prospect. Bildner uses Glenn Burke, a gay baseball player in the 1970's, as a springboard for tackling a tough topic.

Silas Wade loves baseball. His favorite movie is The Sandlot, and he shares tidbits from the film whenever he gets a chance. Silas's best friend is...more

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I've long been a fan of author Phil Bildner. His latest book A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE is a treasure I can't wait to share. Tapping into his own struggle growing up as a gay boy in a world where being his true self was a frightening prospect.

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Best for 7th-12th Grade
Mixed Race Identity
Baseball

Before people find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico.

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Mexican Whiteboy has 3,445 ratings and 694 reviews. David said: Mexican Whiteboy is a YA text written by Matt De la Peña, and I really liked this book a ...

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Best for 5th-8th Grade
Project LIT Pick

Efrén Nava’s Amá is his Superwoman - or Soperwoman, named after the delicious Mexican sopes his mother often prepares. But Efrén worries about his parents; although he’s American-born, his parents are undocumented.

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Read 930 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Winner of the Pura Belpré Award! "We need books to break open our hearts, so that we migh...

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Best for 8th-12th Grade
Graphic Memoir

A teen graphic novel memoir about a Korean-born, non-English-speaking girl who is abruptly transplanted from Seoul to Huntsville, Alabama, and struggles with extreme culture shock and isolation, until she discovers her passion for comic arts.

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Being uprooted from your home and thrust into a new country and culture is a difficult task, especially on young kids. Almost American Girl is a graphic memoir of Robin Ha, who left Korea in the mid-90s with her mother to Alabama. New to the United States and not yet able to speak the language, 14 year old Chuna Ha (she adopts the name Robin to help fit in) struggles to adapt and feels herself left on the sidelines due to her inability to communicate and her anxieties. This is a really moving an...more

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Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

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Being uprooted from your home and thrust into a new country and culture is a difficult task, especially on young kids. Almost American Girl is a graphic memoir of Robin Ha, who left Korea in the mid-90s with her mother to Alabama.

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Best for 3rd-6th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Graphic Novel based on author's life

Starting at a new school is scary, even more so with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece's class was deaf. Here she is different.

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Read 7,879 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Starting at a new school is scary, even more so with a giant hearing aid strapped to you...

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Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

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Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

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Best for 8th-12th Grade
Intersectionality

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's about to take his first-ever trip to Iran, and it's pretty overwhelming—especially when he's also dealing with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life.

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About the author

ADIB KHORRAM is the author of DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY, which earned the William C. Morris Debut Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, as well as a multitude of other honors and accolades. His followup, DARIUS THE GREAT DESERVES BETTER, received three starred reviews, was an Indie Bestseller, and received a Stonewall Honor. His debut picture book, SEVEN SPECIAL SOMETHINGS: A NOWRUZ STORY was released in 2021. When he isn't writing, you can find him learning to do a Lutz jump, practicing his handstands, or steeping a cup of oolong. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where people don't usually talk about themselves in the third person. You can find him on Twitter (@adibkhorram), Instagram (@adibkhorram), or on the web at adibkhorram.com.

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Darius the Great Is Not Okay (Darius The Great, #1)

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Read 6,215 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran. Darius Kellner speaks...

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They Call Me Guero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles

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They Call Me Guero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles

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Best for 8th-12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Novel in Verse

Twelve-year-old Güero is Mexican American, at home with Spanish or English and on both sides of the river. He’s starting 7th grade with a woke English teacher who knows how to make poetry cool.

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Choose a character you'd like (or not like) to have as a
friend. Tell why?

I would like to be Güero's friend because he seems like a respectful, responsible guy. He started reading at a young age and many people call him a "nerd" because of how smart he is. I feel like I missed out on having a "book smart" friend. If I could be his friend I would simply because he is a very family orientated fictional character. He visits his dad every Saturday and is always spending time with his whole family. H...more

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Choose a character you'd like (or not like) to have as a friend. Tell why? I would like to be Güero's friend because he seems like a respectful, responsible guy. He started reading at a young age and many people call him a "nerd" because of how smart he is.

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Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

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Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

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Best for 4th-6th Grade
Project LIT Pick

When a tornado rips through town, twelve-year-old Ivy Aberdeen's house is destroyed and her family of five is displaced. Ivy feels invisible and ignored in the aftermath of the storm--and what's worse, her notebook filled with secret drawings of girls holding hands has gone missing.

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Ashley Herring Blake writes beautiful books. Having read a few and really liking them, I was not at all disappointed by this middle teen novel about Ivy, her family, her feelings of isolation, her art and finding how to belong when she likes girls.

The powerful beginning, where she and her family have to run to their underground shelter as tornado sirens are going in a big storm. When they emerge, the home their father grew up in is completely gone, leveled during the storm. The feelings of every...more

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Ashley Herring Blake writes beautiful books. Having read a few and really liking them, I was not at all disappointed by this middle teen novel about Ivy, her family, her feelings of isolation, her art and finding how to belong when she likes girls.

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Best for 8th-12th Grade
Project LIT Pick

For most of high school, Bijan Majidi has flown under the radar.  When he’s called off the basketball team’s varsity bench and makes the winning basket in a playoff game, everything changes in an instant.

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Leaving off a rating because this wasn't exactly my thing but it's really thoughtful and smart and if I was a school/teen librarian, I would be shoving this into teenagers' hands as fast as I could.

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Leaving off a rating because this wasn't exactly my thing but it's really thoughtful and smart and if I was a school/teen librarian, I would be shoving this into teenagers' hands as fast as I could.

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A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

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A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

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Best for 8th-12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Love Story

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

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Best for 5th-7th Grade
Newberry Medal Finalist

It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders.

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"Goodbye, old India."

A friend of mine recommended this to me since I've been wanting to read more middle grade.

It's a story about a 12-year old, dealing with the loss of her mother through writing letters to her. Amidst the normalcy of her life, things are slowly starting to change in the political sense and Nisha and her family are forced to leave and cross the border to find a place to call home.

It talks about the 1947 Indian partition and these children belonging to both countries as their...more

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"Goodbye, old India." A friend of mine recommended this to me since I've been wanting to read more middle grade. It's a story about a 12-year old, dealing with the loss of her mother through writing letters to her.

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Best for 8th-12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Sci Fi Series

Babel’s spaceship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win this fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.

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Nyxia has 1,534 ratings and 709 reviews. Marie said: A high-octane thriller with a fully realized, complex cast and twists at every turn. Scott Reintgen ...

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The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

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The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

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Best for 4th-7th Grade
Grief

Five years. That's how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, crisscrossing the nation. It's also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash.

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The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

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Read 4,319 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Five years. That's how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old ...

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Best for 8th-12th Grade
Filipino American

A powerful novel about friendship, basketball, and one teen's mission to create a better life for his family.

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Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

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Best for 4th-7th Grade
Global Read Aloud 2020
Think: Little House on the Prairie but not racist

Prairie Lotus is a book about a girl determined to fit in and realize her dreams: getting an education, becoming a dressmaker in her father's shop, and making at least one friend. Hanna, a half-Asian girl in a small town in America's heartland, lives in 1880.

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I grew up reading Laura Ingalls Wilders' stories, and watched the tv show, too. So yeah, I was a fan. But looking back on the books, it's hard not to notice the racism and how no one of colour was present in any meaningful way.
Anyway, I picked this book up on impulse, and imagine my surprise when I discovered Linda Sue Park was also a fan of Wilders' books; Park, however, had written a much more realistic picture of the US west in the 1880s, rather than the whitewashed, i.e., nostalgic, thing we...more

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I grew up reading Laura Ingalls Wilders' stories, and watched the tv show, too. So yeah, I was a fan.

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The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

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The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

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Christy Lefteri is the daughter of Greek Cypriot parents to moved to London during the Turkish Invasion in the 1970s.

Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo--until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape.

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Read 12.6k reviews from the world's largest community for readers. The unforgettable love story of a mother blinded by loss and her husband who insists on ...

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Best for 10th - 12th Grade
Novel in Verse

A boy comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen - then at university he finds his wings as a drag artist, The Black Flamingo. A bold story about the power of embracing your uniqueness.

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I had the US Kindle version, bought yesterday, and did not have this error - your best bet might be to ask Amazon customer service if there's a new veI had the US Kindle version, bought yesterday, and did not have this error - your best bet might be to ask Amazon customer service if there's a new version released that could be pushed to your device, and if not contact the publisher, since Amazon doesn't fix formatting. Kaje Harper...more (less)

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I had the US Kindle version, bought yesterday, and did not have this error - your best bet might be to ask Amazon customer service if there's a new veI had the US Kindle version, bought yesterday, and did not have this error - your best bet might be to ask Amazon customer service if there's a new version released that could be pushed to your device, and if not contact the publisher, since Amazon doesn't fix formatting.

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Colson Whitehead is a Black American author who has won the Pulitzer Prize TWICE.

The author of The Underground Railroad brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in 1960s Florida.

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Read 21.8k reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Author of The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another stra...

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Best for 8th - 12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Magical

In their riveting and timely young adult debut, acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi asks difficult questions about what choices a young person can make when the adults around them are in denial.

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Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

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Best for 9th - 12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Mass Incarceration/Wrongfully Convicted

Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time—her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens.

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Read 1,662 reviews from the world’s largest community for readers. Dear Martin meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting YA novel that explores th…

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Follow this grassroots organization driven by diversity and student choice on twitter @projectlitcomm

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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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Best for 8th - 12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
West African Mythology Series

Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

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YES, yes it is. I found this out when I flirted with it then asked it out on a date and got shot down in flames. I'm hoping for better luck with PushiYES, yes it is. I found this out when I flirted with it then asked it out on a date and got shot down in flames. I'm hoping for better luck with Pushing Ice by Alastair REYNOLDS, but Shogun has shown some interest. .. 🍀 ...more

(by the way. I am in no way making fun of you, Caitlyn or anyone LGBTQ or straight. I just found the comment by Elias to be ROTFFLMFAO HILARIOUS and could not resist adding a comment of my own .... I at least hope SOMEONE got a laugh 😂 out of it!) (less)

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Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

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Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1)

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YES, yes it is. I found this out when I flirted with it then asked it out on a date and got shot down in flames. I'm hoping for better luck with PushiYES, yes it is. I found this out when I flirted with it then asked it out on a date and got shot down in flames.

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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

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Best for 5th - 8th Grades
Project LIT Pick
African American and West African Mythology Series

In a last attempt to wrestle his journal out of a creature’s hands, Tristan punches the tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world.

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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Tristan Stron...

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Read 1,843 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Seventh-grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his...

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Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne

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Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne

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Best for 2nd - 12th Grade
Picture Book
Other contributors - Elizabeth Acevedo and Oliva Gatwood

Historically poets have been on the forefront of social movements. Woke is a collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out.

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Woke book. Read 13 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Woke: A Young Poet's Guide to Justice is a collection of poems to inspire kids...

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Above the Rim How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball by Jen Bryant

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Above the Rim How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball by Jen Bryant

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Picture Book for All Ages

Hall-of-famer Elgin Baylor was one of basketball’s all-time-greatest players—an innovative athlete, team player, and quiet force for change. One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games, many hotels and restaurants turned Elgin away because he was black. One night, Elgin had enough and staged a one-man protest that captured the attention of the press, the public, and the NBA.

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We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstorm

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We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstorm

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Picture Book for all Ages
Book Love Foundation Pick

Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption--a bold and lyrical picture book written.

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Best for 9th - 12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Graphic Novel

It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.

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Read 1,374 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in Flamer, his ...

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The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

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The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

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Best for 9th - 12th Grade
Historical (90s) Fiction

This coming-of-age debut novel explores issues of race, class, and violence through the eyes of a wealthy black teenager whose family gets caught in the vortex of the 1992 Rodney King Riots.

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Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

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Best for 9th-12th Grades
Prequel to The Hate U Give (you also should read that one!)

International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.

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This is exactly why you should read the book. People do talk like this. And if Maverick, who talks like this, can read and understand Shakespeare, thaThis is exactly why you should read the book. People do talk like this. And if Maverick, who talks like this, can read and understand Shakespeare, than you should be able to understand this just fine. Michelle Stimpson...more (less)

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This is exactly why you should read the book. People do talk like this. And if Maverick, who talks like this, can read and understand Shakespeare, thaThis is exactly why you should read the book. People do talk like this.

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Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. Baptist

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Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. Baptist

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Best for 4th-6th Grade
Project LIT Pick

Isaiah is now the big man of the house. But it's a lot harder than his dad made it look. His little sister, Charlie, asks too many questions, and Mama's gone totally silent.

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Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero book. Read 150 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. A coming-of-age tale about a boy who discovers a love of po...

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You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

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You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

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Best for 9th - 12th Grade
Reese's YA Book Club Pick

Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.

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Oh myyyy... Why did I wait too long and let other books occupy me and procrastinate to have my special meeting with those amazing characters!

I'm telling you my friends defining this book as the sweetest, loveliest, coziest read is not enough!

I fell hard for this book because of many reasons which are:

One of the most inspirational, powerful MC:

There are lots of things to tell about Liz. She truly knows how challenging and hard to be a young black and queer girl in small town Indiana and how it...more

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Nenia ✨️ Socially Awkward Trash Panda ✨️ Campbell

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Oh myyyy... Why did I wait too long and let other books occupy me and procrastinate to have my special meeting with those amazing characters! I'm telling you my friends defining this book as the sweetest, loveliest, coziest read is not enough!

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The Barren Grounds by David Alexander Robertson

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The Barren Grounds by David Alexander Robertson

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Best for 5th-8th Grade
Global Read Aloud Pick 2021

Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson.

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"When you take more than the land can provide, it stops giving."

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I really wanted to love this book, but everything that happened in The Barren Grounds was just way too convenient. I had to suspend my disbelief often. Morgan would yell and lose her temper, only to realize seconds later that she was wrong and p...more

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The Barren Grounds (The Misewa Saga, #1)

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"When you take more than the land can provide, it stops giving." I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer

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This young reader's edition is the most up to date.

From the acclaimed Ojibwe author and professor Anton Treuer comes an essential book of questions and answers for Native and non-Native young readers alike.

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". . . we are souls. We have bodies, which are just temporary houses for our souls. . .The body is a container."

"Here in the United States, very little effort has been made to voice formal apologies, make reparations, or pass political mandates about education. Yet this country was founded in part by genocidal policies directed at Native Americans and the enslavement of Black people. Both of these things are morally repugnant. Still I love my country. In fact, it is because I love my country that I want to make sure the mistakes of our past do not get repeated. We cannot afford to cover over the dark chapters of our history, as we have for decades upon decades. It is time for that to stop."

More quotes...

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask

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". . . we are souls. We have bodies, which are just temporary houses for our souls. . .The body is a container." "Here in the United States, very little effort has been made to voice formal apologies, make reparations, or pass political mandates about education.

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Best for 4th-7th Grade
Project LIT Pick
First in a series

Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. 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.

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Read 5,166 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every d...

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From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

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From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

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Best for 4th - 6th Grade
Project LIT Pick

Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never met, hadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who’s been in prison for a terrible crime? This book explores wrongful incarceration of black males.

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I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day

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I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day

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Best for 4th- 7th
Middle Grade Novel

Inspired by her family’s history—Christine Day tells the story of a girl who uncovers her family’s secrets—and finds her own Native American identity.

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Buy books online and find book series such as Pocket Change Collective on PenguinRandomHouse.com

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Best for 5th-8th Grade
Adoptive parents
OCD

Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life...until now.

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Read 9,493 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical c...

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Best for 4th-7th Grade
Dyslexia

Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions.

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Read 7,778 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. "Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a...

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Best for 5th-7th Grade
Cerebral Palsy

In this breakthrough story, from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper, readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability.

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I highly recommend this book to everybody, but especially to disabled kids, kids who know disabled kids, anyone who works with disabled kids, especially non-verbal/speech impaired disabled people and people with cerebral palsy or similar neurological motor conditions.

This is an absolutely wonderful book that almost made my favorites shelf. It's wickedly funny and brutally, wonderfully honest.

I've always enjoyed stories about special needs kids, special education, ill children, disabled children,...more

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Lisa (not getting friends updates) Vegan

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I highly recommend this book to everybody, but especially to disabled kids, kids who know disabled kids, anyone who works with disabled kids, especially non-verbal/speech impaired disabled people and people with cerebral palsy or similar neurological motor conditions. This is an absolutely wonderful book that almost made my favorites shelf.

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Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorrell

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Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorrell

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Best for 4th-7th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Global Read Aloud 2020 Pick

In this moving middle-grade novel drawing upon Umpqua author Charlene Willing McManis's own tribal history, Regina must find out: Who is Regina Petit? Is she Indian? Is she American? And will she and her family ever be okay?

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Regina Petit’s family has always been Umpqua, and living on the Grand Ronde reservation is all ten-year-old Regina has ever known. Her bi...

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Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

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Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

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Best for 6th-8th Grade
Foster care and abuse

In this powerful novel that explodes the stigma around child sexual abuse and leavens an intense tale with compassion and humor, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley tells a story about two sisters, linked by love and trauma, who must find their own voices before they can find their way back to each other.

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What I Loved About This Book
It covers some tough topics, including abuse, and deals with trauma from that experience. It shows how to get through that trauma and that you can find yourself after something terrible happens to you.
This book tells a story of two sisters trying to find themselves and their voices after being thrown into foster care. I loved the dynamics of the two girls and how powerful their bond was.
Short chapters-I just kept turning pages!

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What I Loved About This BookIt covers some tough topics, including abuse, and deals with trauma from that experience. It shows how to get through that trauma and that you can find yourself after something terrible happens to you.This book tells a story of two sisters trying to find themselves and their voices after being thrown into foster care.

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Best for 8th-12 Grade
Project LIT Pick
Novel in Verse

National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

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Read 15.4k reviews from the world's largest community for readers. In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New ...

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Best for 5th-8th Grade
PTSD, survival

One year after a random shooting changed their family forever, Nora and her father are exploring a slot canyon deep in the Arizona desert, hoping it will help them find peace.

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Thank you both. (: I like to find books to read with my cousins and prefer to avoid political leanings of ANY kind (as I want them to figure out what Thank you both. (: I like to find books to read with my cousins and prefer to avoid political leanings of ANY kind (as I want them to figure out what they think about a topic rather than being told what to think), so I appreciate the honest, respectful answers! ...more (less)

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Thank you both. (: I like to find books to read with my cousins and prefer to avoid political leanings of ANY kind (as I want them to figure out what Thank you both.

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The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

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The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

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Best for 5th-8th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Graphic Novel

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!

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The Prince and the Dressmaker has 10,420 ratings and 2,607 reviews. Emily May said: This was absolutely adorable.I'm not exaggerating when I say books ...

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The Benefits of Being and Octopus by Ann Braden

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The Benefits of Being and Octopus by Ann Braden

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Best for 6th-8th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Older sibling taking care of younger siblings

Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people have other things they’ve got to do.

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Read 2,203 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people ...

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The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya

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The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya

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Best for 6th-9th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Gentrification

Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL?

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Throughout the book, it is constantly said by the members of the Zamora family, like Abuela, Abuelo, and Arturo that 'The most important, love and faiThroughout the book, it is constantly said by the members of the Zamora family, like Abuela, Abuelo, and Arturo that 'The most important, love and faith', or 'lo mas importante, el el amor y la fe' ...more (less)

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Throughout the book, it is constantly said by the members of the Zamora family, like Abuela, Abuelo, and Arturo that 'The most important, love and faiThroughout the book, it is constantly said by the members of the Zamora family, like Abuela, Abuelo, and Arturo that 'The most important, love and faith', or 'lo mas importante, el el amor y la fe' ...more (less)

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Best for 7th-12th Grade
Global Read Aloud Pick 2021
Fantasy

Imagine an America very similar to our own. However, this America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not.

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I would say that the supernatural elements are very subtle, and integrated casually into the story. I don't like books that have a lot of heavy handedI would say that the supernatural elements are very subtle, and integrated casually into the story. I don't like books that have a lot of heavy handed stuff like that, like high fantasy that goes into a lot of lore and is super non-realistic. There are a handful of hauntingly beautiful spooky scenes, but the book itself isn't spooky or scary, I don't think. More whimsical, and feels a lot like our own reality but with a few embellishments. ...more (less)

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I would say that the supernatural elements are very subtle, and integrated casually into the story. I don't like books that have a lot of heavy handedI would say that the supernatural elements are very subtle, and integrated casually into the story.

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Best for 9th-12th Grade

From Stonewall and Lambda Award-winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

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Not at all. The book really is about Felix figuring himself out, and the love triangle is a small part of a much bigger process. Without spoiling too Not at all. The book really is about Felix figuring himself out, and the love triangle is a small part of a much bigger process. Without spoiling too much, he talks to one boy for a while then learns a second boy has feelings for him. He's thrown for a few chapters, but the situation is quickly resolved. ...more (less)

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Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ Campbell

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Not at all. The book really is about Felix figuring himself out, and the love triangle is a small part of a much bigger process. Without spoiling too Not at all. The book really is about Felix figuring himself out, and the love triangle is a small part of a much bigger process.

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Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

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Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

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Best for 7th-12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Novel in Verse

From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated

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Read 3,692 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam...

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We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

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We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

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Best for 9th-12th Grade
Project LIT Pick

A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border.

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I was traveling and had a million things to get done when this novel was sent to me for a potential blurb. I was riveted from the first page of this book and shocked and touched by the plight of the three teenagers in Guatemala whose plight and fate this story follows. I could not put this book down and I am honored to help it enter the world. I can't imagine any teen being anything but riveted by the story of Pulga Chico and Pequena as they are forced to make a terrifying journey, leaving behin ...more

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I was traveling and had a million things to get done when this novel was sent to me for a potential blurb. I was riveted from the first page of this book and shocked and touched by the plight of the three teenagers in Guatemala whose plight and fate this story follows.

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Brit Bennett is a Black American author.

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities.

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About the author

Born and raised in Southern California, Brit Bennett graduated from Stanford University and later earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan, where she won a Hopwood Award in Graduate Short Fiction as well as the 2014 Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, and her debut novel The Mothers was a New York Times bestseller. Her second novel The Vanishing Half was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Her essays have been featured in The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, and Jezebel.

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Read 56k reviews from the world's largest community for readers. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small...

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When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson

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When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson

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Best for 6th-9th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Graphic Novel based on Mohamed's experience

Heartbreak and hope exist together in this remarkable graphic novel about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl.

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Read 4,121 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Heartbreak and hope exist together in this remarkable graphic novel about growing up in ...

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Gods of Jade and Shadow by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

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Gods of Jade and Shadow by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

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Sylvia Moreno-Garcia is Mexican-Canadian author.

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

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Thank you! Yes, this is an adult novel, as are all my other novels and novellas. SFF by women seems to be automatically classified as YA, which is wheThank you! Yes, this is an adult novel, as are all my other novels and novellas. SFF by women seems to be automatically classified as YA, which is where the error comes from. Silvia Moreno-Garcia...more

PS: The reasons for having this out as an adult book have to do with the choices of my publisher, but also my own feeling that the omniscient tell-don't-show bits of the novel would make it feel distancing and unappealing for teenagers (plus some other stuff, which I won't go into right now). And sure, there's adults who also hate omniscient POVs, but teens seems to hate them more (at least judging by the ones I know). If new adult had taken off as a category maybe that might have worked as a shelf, but it doesn't seem to have done very well. Ultimately, I think it's a fantasy bildungsroman, which may be very appealing to adults who like a fairy tale feel but also cross-over well to older teenagers.(less)

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Thank you! Yes, this is an adult novel, as are all my other novels and novellas. SFF by women seems to be automatically classified as YA, which is wheThank you! Yes, this is an adult novel, as are all my other novels and novellas.

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Tommy Orange is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

Tommy Orange's wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize.

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Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

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Best for 7th-10th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Novel in Verse

Jude never thought she’d be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria. But when things in her hometown start becoming volatile, Jude and her mother are sent to live in Cincinnati with relatives.

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Read 4,420 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. I am learning how to be sad and happy at the same time. Jude never thought she'd be lea...

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Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension

Topics such as race, gender, politics, religion, and sexuality are part of our students' lives, yet when these subjects are brought up at school teachers often struggle with how to respond.

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Being the Change book. Read 115 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Topics such as race, gender, politics, religion, and sexuality ar...

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We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be

While challenging the teacher as hero trope, We Got This shows how authentically listening to kids is the closest thing to a superpower that we have.

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We Got This.: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who O...

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Read 251 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. "That's the problem with you, Minor" a student huffed. "You want to make everything about ...

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Best for 5th-12th Grade
Project LIT Pick
Graphic Memoir

A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself.

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Read 6,267 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned wi...

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Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice

In this very personal work, acclaimed lawyer and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson offers a glimpse into the lives of the wrongfully imprisoned and his efforts to fight for their freedom.

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Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of …

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Read 837 reviews from the world’s largest community for readers. The young adult adaptation of the acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestseller Just Mercy--soon…