CElebrate DIVERSITY

and Justice through Books


"The Resiliant Educator's Suggested List of Diverse YA and Middle Grade Novels

Relevant stories for teens

In the throes of adolescence, literature can deeply impact one’s emotional development and the way you see the world. “I think teen readers of realistic fiction want to read books where what is going on in the world is reflected back to them,” says Renée Watson, author of numerous books including Piecing Me Together, which received a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor. “As an author, I want to create work that helps young people face and cope with reality, not escape it. I believe books that center around children who are often underrepresented in literature affirms their experiences and whispers to them, ‘You are not alone, your story matters.’”

Suggested YA novels

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Calling My Name by Liara Tamani

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L Sánchez

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Wrong in All the Right Ways by Tiffany Brownlee

Suggested middle-grade novels

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan

Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore"

The SHARE Team. "Why Kids and Teens Need Diverse Books and Our Recommended Reads." The Resilient

Educator, 2020, resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/diverse-childrens-books/.