The Prince and the Dressmaker

By Jen Wang The Prince and the Dressmaker Themes Gender Norms Toxic Masculinity Bullying Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: 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 […]

Tight

By Torrey Maldonado Tight Themes Peer Pressure Toxic Masculinity Bullying Lately Bryan’s been feeling it in all kinds of ways. He knows what’s tight for him in a good way—reading comics, drawing superheroes, and hanging out with no drama. But drama’s hard to escape where he’s from, and that gets him wound up tight. And […]

Maybe He Just Likes You

By Barbara Dee Maybe He Just Likes You Themes Girl Empowerment Sexual Harassment Consent Bullying For seventh-grader Mila, it starts with some boys giving her an unwanted hug on the school blacktop. A few days later, at recess, one of the boys (and fellow trumpet player) Callum tells Mila it’s his birthday, and asks her […]

The House On Mango Street

By Sandra Cisneros The house on mango street Themes Girl Empowerment Toxic Masculinity Sexual Assault Immigration Respect Told in a series of vignettes, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous. The House on Mango Street is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Ages […]