While it is important to read non-fiction texts about social justice, it is equally important to build empathy by reading about diverse characters. This can be done through reading stories of intense pain, or triumph, or people simply living their lives. Here is a reading list of our personal favorites, featuring diverse characters and authors. (The links to these books are to Amazon, as that is the primary source of book buying for many during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are anti-Amazon, and need support finding these books elsewhere, reach out!)
Fiction:
- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- First They Killed My Father by Luong Ung
- Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
- In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
- Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America by Ibi Zoboi
- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
- Dear Martin by Nic Stone
- The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
- They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
- I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez
- Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan
- In the Country we Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero
- Other Words for Home by Jasmine Marga
- Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
- Calling my Name by Liara Tamani
- Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
- White Teeth by Zadie Smith
- Unaccompanied by Javier Zamora
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
- Monster by Walter Dean Myers
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
- A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
- The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
- Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was A Girl by Jeannie Vanasco
- Every Falling Star: The Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea by Sungju Lee
- A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
- The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
- More to come
Social + Justice + You 