Staff Picks
2023 Issue-Driven Teen Titles
- Monday, November 27, 2023
Collection
Contemporary issues of race, class, sex, gender, and climate drive the real and fictional stories behind these books. Seeing new perspectives, how others take action, and what can be done now are important windows books can open.
Ab(solutely) Normal
Short Stories That Smash Mental Health Stereotypes
Published in 2023
"Channeling their own experiences, sixteen exceptional authors subvert mental health stereotypes in a powerful and uplifting collection of fiction"-- Provided by publisher.
Study Break
Published in 2023
Study Break , a collection of interconnected contemporary Young Adult short stories written by Gen Z authors, explores different parts of "the college experience," from questioning your major to questioning your identity. College...the best time, the worst time, and something in between. What do you do when orientation isn't going according to your (sister's) detailed plans? Where do you go when you're searching for community in faith? How do you figure out what it means that you're suddenly attracted to your RA? What happens when your partner for your last film project is also your crush and graduation is quickly approaching? Told over the course of one academic year, this collection of stories set on the same fictional campus features students from different cultures, genders, and interests learning more about who they are and who they want to be. From new careers to community to (almost) missed connections — and more — these interconnected tales explore the ways university life can be stressful and confusing and exciting and fulfilling. Gen Z contributors include Jake Maia Arlow, Arushi Avachat, Boon Carmen, Ananya Devarajan, Camryn Garrett, Christina Li, Racquel Marie, Oyin, Laila Sabreen, Michael Waters, and Joelle Wellington.
Study Break
11 College Tales from Orientation to Graduation
Published in 2023
"This collection of interconnected contemporary YA short stories, written by Gen Z authors, explores different parts of "the college experience," from questioning your major to questioning your identity"-- Provided by publisher.
Those Who Saw the Sun
Published in 2023
The past is not past. We may think something ancient history, or something that doesn't affect our present day, but we would be wrong. Those Who Saw the Sun is a collection of oral histories told by Black people who grew up in the South during the time of Jim Crow. Jaha Nailah Avery is a lawyer, scholar, and reporter whose family has roots in North Carolina stretching back over 300 years. These interviews have been a personal passion project for years as she's traveled across the South meeting with elders and hearing their stories. One of the most important things a culture can do is preserve history, truthfully. In Those Who Saw the Sun we have the special privilege of hearing this history as it was experienced by those who were really there. The opportunity to read their stories, their similarities and differences, where they agree and disagree, and where they overcame obstacles and found joy, feels truly like a gift.
Those Who Saw the Sun
African American Oral Histories from the Jim Crow South
Published in 2023
"Those Who Saw the Sun is a collection of oral histories told by Black people who grew up in the South during the time of Jim Crow"-- Provided by publisher.
The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be
Published in 2023
Part memoir, part speculative fiction, this novel explores the often surreal experience of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee. Dream Country author Shannon Gibney returns with a new book woven from her true story of growing up as the adopted Black daughter of white parents and the fictional story of Erin Powers, the name Shannon was given at birth by the white woman who gave her up for adoption. At its core, the novel is a tale of two girls on two different timelines occasionally bridged by a mysterious portal and their shared search for a complete picture of their origins. Gibney surrounds that story with reproductions of her own adoption documents, letters, family photographs, interviews, medical records, and brief essays on the surreal absurdities of the adoptee experience. The end result is a remarkable portrait of an American experience rarely depicted in any form.
The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be
Published in 2023
Part memoir, part speculative fiction, The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be explores the often surreal experience of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee. Dream Country author Shannon Gibney returns with The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be, a book woven from her true story of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee and fictional story of Erin Powers, the name Shannon was given at birth, a child raised by a white, closeted lesbian. At its core, the novel is a tale of two girls on two different timelines occasionally bridged by a mysterious portal and their shared search for a complete picture of their origins. Gibney surrounds that story with reproductions of her own adoption documents, letters, family photographs, interviews, medical records, and brief essays on the surreal absurdities of the adoptee experience. The end result is a remarkable portrait of an American experience rarely depicted in any form. * This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF of images, documents and resources from the book.
The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be
A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption
Published in 2023
Erin Powers navigates growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee being raised by a white, closeted lesbian mother. Based on the author's experience.
Welcome to Consent
Published in 2023
Every person is the boss of their own body! This lively guide—another engaging and essential resource from the creators of Welcome to Your Period! —digs deep into all aspects of consent. Understanding consent is important for people with all kinds of bodies, in all kinds of circumstances—from getting a haircut or letting the doctor check your blood pressure to hugging a friend, picking up a child, or kissing someone. After all, consent isn't always communicated with a clear "Yes, you can!" or "No, you can't!" This guide breaks down myriad situations involving consent and bodily autonomy, including navigating new or changing feelings, recognizing power imbalances, staying safe in online spaces, and keeping relationships mutually comfortable. Through relatable illustrations, clear explanations, and real-life examples, readers will learn how to actively listen and observe, set boundaries, and speak up for themselves and others. Experts Yumi Stynes and Dr. Melissa Kang approach this crucial topic with passion, awareness, and empathy.
How to Be a (young) Antiracist
Published in 2023
"The #1 New York Times bestseller that sparked international dialogue is now a book for young adults! Based on the adult bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, and co-authored by bestselling author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way forward in acknowledging, identifying, and dismantling racism and injustice"-- Provided by publisher.
Gender Rebels
Published in 2023
This fully illustrated book celebrates the history of thirty trans, gender expansive, and nonbinary heroes throughout the world. Explore the history of trans and nonbinary people throughout the world in this gorgeously illustrated nonfiction book for young teens. Readers will be educated and enlightened about gender-expansive people who have made a difference in our history and who continue to help raise awareness of diversity and inclusion in current society. Introductory materials give readers an insight into pronoun usage, the history of the word "transgender," and more before providing engaging and fascinating information about thirty trans, gender expansive, and nonbinary people who have helped shape our world. From Callon of Epidaurus (the first intersex individual to receive surgery) to Elliot Page (a trans actor) to Tomoya Hosoda (the first trans politician in Japan), this book will open up dialogue and help educate young adults on the history, legacy, and future of trans, gender expansive, and nonbinary people and their rights at a time when protecting those rights is needed more than ever. The book is complete with sidebars about trans topics, a reference guide, and a glossary of terminology.
Gender Rebels
30 Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Expansive Heroes Past and Present
Published in 2023
"Explore the history to trans and nonbinary people throughout history and the world in this gorgeously illustrated nonfiction book for young teens. Readers will be educated and enlightened about trans and nonbinary people who have made a difference in ourworld and who continue to help raise awareness of diversity and inclusion in current society. Introductory materials give readers an insight into pronoun usage, trans rights around the globe, the history of the word "transgender," and more before providing engaging and fascinating information about twenty-eight trans and nonbinary heroes who have helped shape our world. From Callon of Epidaurus (the first intersex individual to receive surgery) to Lili Elbe and Elliot Page (a trans actor) to Tomoya Hosoda (the first trans politician in Japan), this book will open up dialogue and help educate young adults on the history, legacy, and future of trans and nonbinary people and their rights at a time when protecting those rights is needed more than ever. The book is complete with sidebars about trans topics, a reference guide, and a glossary of terminology"-- Provided by publisher.
Rising Class
How Three First-generation College Students Conquered Their First Year
Published in 2023
"This eye-opening YA narrative nonfiction follows three first-generation college students as they navigate their first year-and ultimately a global pandemic"-- Provided by publisher.
Share Better and Stress Less
Published in 2023
Two media experts offer a witty, warm, and relatable take on how information pollution affects our online networks—and our well-being—and how to maximize a positive impact. We know that pollution damages our physical environments—but what about the digital landscape? Touching on everything from goat memes gone wrong to conflict in group chats to the sometimes unexpected side effects of online activism, this lively guide to media literacy draws on ecological, social justice, and storytelling frameworks to help readers understand how information pollution spreads and why. It also helps them make sense of the often stressful and strange online world. Featuring a hyperconnected cast of teens and their social-media shenanigans, reader-friendly text tackles the thorny topic of internet ethics while empowering—and inspiring—young readers to weave a safe, secure, and inclusive digital world. Readers are invited to delve further into the subject with the help of comprehensive source notes and a bibliography in the back matter.
Share Better and Stress Less
A Guide to Thinking Ecologically About Social Media
Published in 2023
"Drawing on ecological, social justice and storytelling frameworks, this . . . book discusses how information pollution spreads and why, tackling the topic of internet ethics while empowering readers to create a safe, secure and inclusive digital world"--OCLC.
Climate Champions
15 Women Fighting for Your Future
Published in 2023
Sarah reached out to women around the world who are tirelessly working to repair our climate. They are scientists, policymakers, journalists, lawyers, activists, professors, researchers, and organizers. Their lives are absorbed in seeking solutions. Here they walk readers through the steps to change. They show us what we can-- and must-- do for our future. Their advice? Do the work. Join an organization. Ask for help. And most important, get into nature. -- adapted from Introduction.
Dark Testament
Published in 2023
In this extraordinary collection, the award-winning poet Crystal Simone Smith gives voice to the mournful dead, their lives unjustly lost to violence, and to the grieving chorus of protestors in today's Black Lives Matter movement, in search of resilience and hope. With poems found within the text of George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo , Crystal Simone Smith embarks on an uncompromising exploration of collective mourning and crafts a masterwork that resonates far beyond the page. These poems are visually stark, a gathering of gripping verses that unmasks a dialogue of tragic truths—the stories of lives taken unjustly and too soon. Bold and deeply affecting, Dark Testament is a remarkable reckoning with our present moment, a call to action, and a plea for a more just future. Along with the poems, Dark Testament includes a stirring introduction by the author that speaks to the content of the poetry, a Q&A with George Saunders, and a full-color photo-insert that commemorates victims of unlawful killings with photographs of memorials that have been created in their honor. "I love this tremendously skillful, timely, and dazzling repurposing of passages of my novel, Lincoln in the Bardo . Crystal Simone Smith has, with her amazing ear and heart, found, in that earlier grief, a beautiful echo for our time." —George Saunders, New York Times bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December
Dark Testament
Poems
Published in 2023
In this extraordinary collection, the award-winning poet Crystal Simone Smith gives voice to the mournful dead, their lives unjustly lost to violence, and to the grieving chorus of protestors in today's Black Lives Matter movement, in search of resilience and hope.
How to Be a (Young) Antiracist
Published in 2023
The #1 New York Times bestseller that sparked international dialogue is now a book for young adults! Based on the adult bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, and co-authored by bestselling author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way forward in acknowledging, identifying, and dismantling racism and injustice. The New York Times bestseller How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi is shaping the way a generation thinks about race and racism. How to be a (Young) Antiracist is a dynamic reframing of the concepts shared in the adult book, with young adulthood front and center. Aimed at readers 12 and up, and co-authored by award-winning children's book author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist empowers teen readers to help create a more just society. Antiracism is a journey—and now young adults will have a map to carve their own path. Kendi and Stone have revised this work to provide anecdotes and data that speaks directly to the experiences and concerns of younger readers, encouraging them to think critically and build a more equitable world in doing so.
How to Be a (Young) Antiracist
Published in 2023
The #1 New York Times bestseller that sparked international dialogue is now a book for young adults! Based on the adult bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, and co-authored by bestselling author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way forward in acknowledging, identifying, and dismantling racism and injustice. The New York Times bestseller How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi is shaping the way a generation thinks about race and racism. How to be a (Young) Antiracist is a dynamic reframing of the concepts shared in the adult book, with young adulthood front and center. Aimed at readers 12 and up, and co-authored by award-winning children's book author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist empowers teen readers to help create a more just society. Antiracism is a journey—and now young adults will have a map to carve their own path. Kendi and Stone have revised this work to provide anecdotes and data that speaks directly to the experiences and concerns of younger readers, encouraging them to think critically and build a more equitable world in doing so.
Welcome to Consent
How to Say No, when to Say Yes, and How to Be the Boss of Your Body
Published in 2023
"This guide breaks down myriad situations involving consent and bodily autonomy, including navigating new or changing feelings, recognizing power imbalances, staying safe in online spaces, and keeping relationships mutually comfortable. Through relatable illustrations, clear explanations, and real-life examples, readers will learn how to actively listen and observe, set boundaries, and speak up for themselves and others"-- Provided by publisher.