Diversity Book List 2016-2017 Gr. 9-12 Fiction Alpert, Mark The Six Sourcebooks Fire, 2015. Living with muscular dystrophy, Adam joins a group that uses their minds to battle a robot that wants to destroy humanity. Anderson, Laurie Halse The Impossible Knife of Memory Viking, 2014. The traumatic memory of war threatens a father as he returns home with his daughter and tries to live a normal life. Jackson, Naomi The Star Side of Bird Hill Penguin, 2016. Set in 1989, two young sisters must leave Brooklyn for Barbados due to their mother's inability to care for them. There they are exposed to Caribbean culture while they stay with their grandmother Hyacinth, a mid-wife and spiritualist. Lee, Stacey Under a Painted Sky G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2015. A multi-ethnic romance and adventure story set in the wild west of 1849. A Chinese American and former slave, both girls, pass for boys and travel west from Missouri. Marquardt, Marie Dream Things True: A Novel St. Martin's Griffin, 2015. A wealthy Georgian boy falls for a Mexican girl. The two are doing fine until ICE shows up and Alma has to reveal her secret of being an immigrant to her boyfriend. McGovern, Cammie A Step Toward Falling HarperTeen, 2015. A dramatic incident is at the center of this book where two very different young people come to terms with their own perception of disability. Told in alternating points of view. Oates, Joyce Carol The Sacrifice: The Novel Ecco, 2015. The story told by Oates brings together issues of gender, class and culture in a dramatic and disturbing way. Park, Patricia Re Jane Viking/Pamela Dorman Books, 2015. The main character is a young Korean American woman, coming of age in Queens, New York, offering a profound examination of what it means to belong to two distinct cultures.
Diversity Book List 2016-2017 Gr. 9-12 Fiction Continued Reynolds, Jason All American Boys Dlouhy/Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016. An episode of police brutality and its aftermath are told alternately by the victim and a witness in this moving book. Shusterman, Neal Challenger Deep HarperTeen, 2015. Inspired by his own son's experience with schizophrenia, the novel takes the reader on a journey into the world of mental illness. The book includes original illustrations by the author's son.
Poetry Brown, Skila Caminar Candlewick Press, 2014. This novel in verse depicts Carlos’ struggle to defend his village during the Guatemalan Civil War. Charleyboy, Lisa Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices Annick Press, 2014. This anthology of poems complements rich photos to share the diverse journeys of 43 First Nation young poets. Coval, Kevin, editor The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop Haymarket Books, 2015. The 78 poets featured in this anthology, who were all born between 1961 and 1999, combine hip-hop and slam poetry to speak to teens. Nelson, Marilyn How I Discovered Poetry Dial Books, 2014. Poet Marilyn Nelson shares the influences of the racial and political climate of the 1950’s on her life from age four to fourteen. Winder, Tanaya Words Like Love West End Press, 2015. Winder's poems explore the broad theme of love, including love of family, one's culture, the environment, and romantic love.
Diversity Book List 2016-2017 Gr. 9-12 Informational Text Abirached, Zeina I Remember Beirut Graphic Universe, 2014. The very simple style of this graphic novel draws the reader into the world of a young Lebanese girl, growing up in wartime, her sacrifices and strife. Bausum, Ann Stonewall: Breaking Out in a Fight for Gay Rights Viking, 2015. Stonewall describes rioting against oppression at the Stonewall club and the events that led to the first gay pride parade on Christopher Street in New York City and challenges and triumphs of the LGBTQ community, leading up to marriage equality. Cisneros, Sandra A House of My Own: Stories from My Life Knopf, 2015. Cisneros' memoir is a collection of her writings, some previously published, unified around the theme of home and finding one's place in the world. Coates, Ta-Nehisi Between the World and Me Spiegel & Grau, 2016. This essay is written from father to son, incorporating the influence of great African-American writers like Baldwin and Wright on the writer’s life. Krakauer, Jon Missoula: Rape and Justice in a College Town Doubleday, 2015. This is a riveting book about the prevalence of campus rapes in the town of Missoula Montana, community attitudes and injustices suffered by victims in contemporary America. Lowery, Lynda Blackmon Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom Dial Books, 2015. This moving memoir by Lynda Blackmon Lowery is a first-hand account of a teenager’s experiences marching and participating in pivotal moments in our nation’s history, including Bloody Sunday and the Voting Rights Act. Samanci, Ozge Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015. This graphic memoir tells the story of a girl growing up during the political upheaval in Turkey in the 1980s. Ozge’s struggle to get into school and career path decisions will resonate with teens.
Diversity Book List 2016-2017 Gr. 9-12 Informational Text continued
Sheinkin, Steve The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights Roaring Brook Press, 2014. This American history narrative recounts a terrible explosion during World War II, drawing attention to the fact that African Americans had few military opportunities, other than dangerous jobs, including loading bombs and ammunition onto battleships. Treuer, Anton Atlas of Indian Nations National Geographic, 2014. Maps, photos, illustrations, text and primary sources create this beautifully illustrated volume sharing the culture, beliefs, historical events, language and lifestyle of a variety of First Nation groups.