Prepared by
Revised
April 22, 2021
Fiction
Clap When You Land
2020
Two sisters mourn their father's death after his plane crashes on a flight to the Dominican Republic.
Lexile level
HL800L
Love from A to Z
2019
Eighteen-year-old Muslims Adam and Zayneb meet in Doha, Qatar, during spring break and fall in love as both struggle to find a way to live their own truths.
Lexile level
HL740L
Firekeeper's Daughter
2021
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
Felix Ever After
2020
Worrying that his combination of such marginalizing qualities as being Black, queer and trans are too impossible to allow happiness, Felix turns vengeful in the face of transphobic hate messages before finding himself in a quasi-love triangle.
The Sound of Stars
2020
Planet Earth is occupied by aliens called the Ilori. Because human emotional expression is grounds for execution, books, music and art have all been outlawed, but when an alien finds 17-year-old Ellie's secret library, it changes things for both of them.
Stephanie B loved this! Find out why »
Watch Over Me
2020
A newly graduated Mila emerges from foster care to accept a job on an isolated northern California coast farm where she confronts haunting memories and the traumas of her fellow residents.
If These Wings Could Fly
2020
A metaphorical tribute to the power of sisterhood in the face of domestic violence follows the experiences of a teen whose community ignores her father's escalating behavior, which forces her to choose between college ambitions and her siblings.
Ann P loved this! Find out why »
Furia
2020
Seventeen-year-old Camila Hassan, a rising soccer star in Rosario, Argentina, dreams of playing professionally, in defiance of her father's wishes and at the risk of her budding romance with Diego.
Stephanie B loved this! Find out why »
Cemetery Boys
2020
Yadriel, a trans boy, summons the angry spirit of his high school's bad boy and agrees to help him learn how he died, thereby proving himself a brujo, not a bruja, to his conservative family.
We Are Not from Here
2020
When the dangers that surround them become all too real, three teens know they have no choice but to flee from their country, their families, from their beloved home.
The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep
2020
In 1846, a group of emigrants bound for California face a choice: continue on their planned route or take a shortcut into the wilderness. Eighty-nine of them opt for the untested trail and this novel in verse recounts the chilling survival tale from different perspectives.
Punching the Air
2020
At 16 years old, Amal's future is upended when he is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words and his art.
Graphic novels
The Magic Fish
2020
It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but Tien doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he's going through? Is there a way to tell them he's gay?
Lexile level
400
Dierric R loved this! Find out why »
Dragon Hoops
2020
An introverted reader starts understanding local enthusiasm about sports in his school when he gets to know some of his talented athletic peers and discovers their stories are just as thrilling as the comics he loves.
Lexile level
HL550L
Nonfiction
The Black Friend
2020
305.8 JOS
Race-related anecdotes from the author's past are presented, and he weaves in his thoughts on why they were hurtful and how he might handle things differently now, in hopes of bringing more race awareness to Americans.
Desi T loved this! Find out why »
When They Call You a Terrorist
2020
TEEN 323.092 KHA
This is the story of how the movement that started with a hashtag-- #BlackLivesMatter-- spread across the nation and then the world and the journey that led one of its co-founders to this moment.
Recommended for
Stephanie B
I am an adult services librarian who likes short walks to the fridge and long evenings at the park walking the dogs with my husband. To keep my imagination open, I read and watch a little of everything-- from crazy unreliable narrator thrillers to lighthearted rom-coms to fascinating nonfiction. I can be bribed with tacos.
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