Freedom to Read

Seventh grader Aafiyah loves playing tennis, reading Weird but True facts, and hanging out with her best friend, Zaina. However, Aafiyah has a bad habit that troubles her--she's drawn to pretty things and can't help but occasionally "borrow" them. But when her father is falsely accused of a crime he hasn't committed and gets taken in by authorities, Aafiyah knows she needs to do something to help. When she brainstorms a way to bring her father back, she turns to her Weird but True facts and devises the perfect plan. But what if her plan means giving in to her bad habit, the one she's been trying to stop? Aafiyah wants to reunite her family but finds that maybe her plan isn't so perfect after all...

Inclusive and accessible, It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender, and Sexual Health provides young people with the knowledge and vocabulary they need to understand their bodies, relationships, and identities in order to make responsible decisions and stay healthy. Includes discussions on sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, pregnancy, and safe Internet practices.

Back at home after their first adventure in the Barren Grounds, Eli and Morgan each struggle with personal issues: Eli is being bullied at school, and tries to hide it from Morgan, while Morgan has to make an important decision about her birth mother. They turn to the place where they know they can learn the most, and return to Misewa. But they discover that the village is once again in peril, and they must dig deep within themselves to find the strength to protect their beloved friends. Can they carry this strength back home to face their own challenges?

The semi-autobiographical graphic novel that uses humor and poignant illustrations to explore the complexities of race, class, and the struggle to fit in. The story follows Jordan Banks, a 12-year-old African American boy who is enrolled in an elite private school where he is one of the few students of color.

At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas--from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities--that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.

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 hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. 

At the age of five, Jazz Jennings’s transition to life as a girl put her in the public spotlight after she shared her story on national television. She’s since become one of the most recognizable and prominent advocates for transgender teens, through her TV show, interviews, and social media. Jazz’s openness has led to bullying and mistreatment from those who don’t understand her choices. She’s fought for the right to use the girls’ bathroom and to play on a girls’ soccer team, paving the way for others. And in this book, Jazz faces an even greater struggle—dealing with the physical and social stresses of being a teen. But being on the front lines of trans activism doesn't stop Jazz from experiencing the joys of growing up, from day camp to first dates. This remarkable memoir is a testament to the power of accepting yourself, learning to live an authentic life, and helping everyone to embrace their own truths.

Fifty Shades of Grey follows the complex and intense relationship between college student Anastasia Steele and billionaire Christian Grey, exploring themes of love, power, and self-discovery.

Fatty Legs is an autobiographical account of Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton's childhood, recounting her harrowing experiences at a Canadian residential school.

Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a poetic and unflinching story chronicling her life from the age of three to sixteen, detailing how she overcame the burden of racism and personal trauma.

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

The Kite Runner follows the journey of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, and is set against the tumultuous background of Afghanistan’s history, from the fall of the monarchy through to the rise of the Taliban regime. The narrative is marked by a pivotal event during a kit-fighting tournament, where Amir witnesses a traumatic incident involving his friend and fails to intervene, leading to a lifelong burden of guilt. 

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Harry Potter is an orphan living a miserable life with his cruel relatives, the Durselys. On his 11th birthday, a giant named Rubeus Hagrid arrives to deliver a life-changing revelation: Harry is a wizard, and he has been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

The Satanic Verses follows two Indian Muslim actors who are aboard a hijacked plane that explodes over the English Channel. Miraculously, they both survive the fall, but they undergo a supernatural transformation.

A war is brewing in Lyra's world between those who would keep people in ignorance and those willing to fight for freedom. Lyra is thrust into the middle of the conflict when her uncle Asriel comes to Oxford, fomenting rebellion, and when her best friend, Roger, suddenly disappears. Lyra learns that Roger was kidnapped by a shadowy organization that is rumored to experiment on children. To find him, she will travel to the cold, far North, where armored bears and witch clans rule -- and where Asriel is attempting to build a bridge to a parallel world. What Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other -- and that her actions will have consequences not just in her world, but in all the worlds beyond. 

In this multi-award-winning, bestselling novel, Margaret Atwood has created a stunning Orwellian vision of the near future. This is the story of Offred, one of the unfortunate "Handmaids" under the new social order who have only one purpose: to breed. In Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading, and forming friendships, Offred's persistent memories of life in the "time before" and her will to survive are acts of rebellion. 

A seminal work of American literature, famously credited for pioneering the tru-crime genre and the non-fiction novel. This intensively researched book tells the true story of the 1959 murder of the Clutter family in the small farming town of Holcomb, Kansas, and the two men who brutally killed them.

A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father--a crusading local lawyer--risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

In 1984, London is a grim city in the totalitarian state of Oceania where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.

The Diary of a Young Girl is the record of two years in the life of a remarkable Jewish girl whose triumphant humanity in the face of unfathomable deprivation and fear has made the book one of the most enduring documents of our time.

Of Mice and Men follows the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California. They dream of owning their own piece of land, but their plans are thwarted by Lennie's mental disability and the harsh realities of their lives. As the two friends struggle to achieve their dreams and maintain their dignity, an incident tests their friendship and leads to a devastating decision.

Huckleberry Finn had a tough life with his drunk father until an adventure with Tom Sawyer changed everything. But when Huck's dad returns and kidnaps him, he must escape down the Mississippi River with runaway slave, Jim. They encounter trouble at every turn, from floods and gunfights to armed bandits and the long arm of the law. Through it all the friends stick together - but can Huck and Tom free Jim from slavery once and for all?