A Time to Dance

By padma venkatraman A time to dance Themes Disability Dance Girl empowerment Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg […]

The Perks of Being A Wallflower

By Stephen Chbosky THe Perks of being a wallflower Themes Toxic Masculinity Dysfunctional Family Friendship Charlie is just starting high school, and writing singular, unique, hilarious, and devastating letters to an unknown recipient. Caught between trying to live his life and run from it, Charlie is set on a strange course. He must learn to […]

The Poet X

By Elizabeth Acevedo THe Poet X Themes Sexual Harassment Coming of Age Religion Xiomara Batista lives in Harlem, where she has just discovered slam poetry. She uses slam to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world, where she feels unheard and unable to hide. After growing new curves, Xiomara learns to […]

Speak: The Graphic Novel

By Laurie Halse Anderson Illustrated bY Emily Carroll SPeak Themes Sexual Assault Consent Mental Health “Speak up for yourself―we want to know what you have to say.” From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is […]

Hearts Unbroken

By Cynthia Leitich Smith Hearts Unbroken Themes Sexual Harassment Racism Indigenous/Native Rights Louise Wolfe has just broken up with her first real boyfriend after he disrespects Native people. She’d rather focus on family, friends, and working on her school’s newspaper. Along with photojournalist Joey Kairouz, Louise finds herself with a huge story: the school musical […]

The Hate U Give

By Angie Thomas The Hate U Give Themes Police Violence Racism Community Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the […]