Fresh Reads, Honest reviews, Educator-approved
Finding Me is a raw, autobiography that offers a brutally honest look at growing up Black in America. While tracking her journey from an impoverished childhood to the world stage, the book’s non-chronological formatting and jarring structural organization make it a challenging read.
A masterpiece that reimagines antebellum slavery with striking grace. Following an enslaved girl’s heart-wrenching march from the Carolinas to Louisiana, this novel beautifully interweaves historical brutality with magical realism and allusions to Dante’s Inferno.
Don P. Hooper’s gripping YA debut, True True, is a powerful, addition to high school libraries. Following a Black Brooklyn teen navigating a hostile Manhattan prep school using Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, this fast-paced contemporary novel masterfully tackles institutional racism and performative diversity. It is an enticing, thought-provoking read that will keep students hooked while sparking vital conversations about equity, identity, and resilience.
An exceptional and award-winning graphic memoir, Tommie Smith’s Victory. Stand! chronicles the inspiring life story and personal sacrifices behind his iconic 1968 Olympic podium protest. Melding Derrick Barnes’s emotionally resonant writing with Dawud Anyabwile’s dynamic illustrations, this quick yet profound history is a powerful, highly accessible tool for school libraries and classrooms looking to explore civil disobedience, sports history, and the fight against racial injustice.
One fight, two sides, and zero apologies. Eb & Flow dives into the hearts of two Black seventh graders serving a ten-day school suspension. Refusing to offer a preachy moral lesson, this authentic, dual-perspective story tracks the surprising similarities between two rivals.