Nubia: The Awakening

Clarence A. Haynes

• After a massive storm destroys Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho ancestral homeland of Nubia, they must move to New York City.

• But in NYC they live as outcasts as they encounter the effects of climate change and class division. 

• Extraordinary powers suddenly begin to grow within them and Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho have a choice to make — do they save their people or save themselves?

PUBLISHED: November 2022

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (Local): Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Social Justice, Cultural Affirmation

PROJECT OPTIONS

Connect the Worlds of Nubia and the Bronx

Red Hot Salsa

Carlos Aguasaco

• A collection of both Spanish and English poems illuminating the experiences of Latinx Americans. 

• An inside look at food, culture, language, triumph, and hope.

PUBLISHED: April 2005

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (local): Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Spanish Edition, Cultural Affirmation, Poetry, Identity 

PROJECT OPTIONS

Create a poem about a neighborhood you love

Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories

Brian Young

The road to Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June's serves up more than food: it hosts live music, movie nights, unexpected family reunions, love long lost, and love found again.

That big green-and-gold neon sign beckons to teens of every tribal Nation, often when they need it most.

PUBLISHED: April 2024

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Anthology, humor, native pride, identity

Dear Manny

Nic Stone

Jared Peter Christensen is running for president (of the Junior Class Council at his university, but still). His platform is solid—built on increased equity and inclusion in all sectors of campus life—and he’s got a good chance of beating the deeply conservative business major he’s running against.

But then a transfer student enters the race and calls Jared out for his big-talk/little-action way of moving. But what’s the right way to bring about change? As the campaign heats up, feelings are caught, and juicy secrets come to light, and Jared writes letters to his deceased friend Manny, hoping to make sense of his confusion. What’s a white boy to do when love and politics collide?

PUBLISHED: March 2025

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (fly in): Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: white privilege, race relations

Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix

Ibi Zoboi 

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

PUBLISHED: Sept 2018

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Race relations, gentrification, coming of age

Nigeria Jones: A Novel

Ibi Zoboi 

Warrior Princess. That’s what Nigeria Jones’s father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch of their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.

Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. ­There, she begins to flourish and expand her universe.

As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.

PUBLISHED: May 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: prejudice, racism, traditions, Liberation 

The Secret Summer Promise

Keah Brown

Andrea Williams has got this. The Best Summer Ever. Last summer, she spent all her time in bed, recovering from the latest surgery for her cerebral palsy. She’s waited too long for adventure and thrills to enter her life. Together with her crew of ride-or-die friends, and the best parents anyone could ask for (just don’t tell them that), she’s going to live it up.

There’s just one thing that could ruin it: Her best friend, Hailee, finding out Andrea’s true feelings. So Andrea WILL fall out of love with Hailee – even if it means dating the cute boy George who keeps showing up everywhere with a smile.

Do we want Andrea to succeed? No! Does she? We’re not telling!

PUBLISHED: June 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: LGBTQ, queer love, friendship, identity

If We Were a Movie

Zakiya N. Jamal 

Rochelle “the Shell” Coleman is laser focused on only three things: becoming valedictorian, getting into Wharton, and, of course, taking down her annoyingly charismatic nemesis and only academic competition, Amira Rodriguez. However, despite her stellar grades, Rochelle’s college application is missing that extra special something: a job.

When Rochelle gets an opportunity to work at Horizon Cinemas, the beloved Black-owned movie theater, she begrudgingly jumps at the chance to boost her chances at getting into her dream school. There’s only one problem: Amira works there…and is also her boss.

Rochelle feels that working with Amira is its own kind of horror movie, but as the two begin working closely together, Rochelle starts to see Amira in a new light, one that may have her beginning to actually…like her?

But Horizon’s in trouble, and when mysterious things begin happening that make Horizon’s chances of staying open slimmer, it’s up to the employees to solve the mystery before it’s too late, but will love also find its way into the spotlight?

PUBLISHED: April 2025

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: mystery, romance

Love Radio 

Ebony LaDelle 

Prince Jones is the guy with all the answers—or so it seems. After all, at seventeen, he has his own segment on Detroit’s popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, where he dishes out advice to the brokenhearted.

Prince has always dreamed of becoming a DJ and falling in love. But being the main caretaker for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and his little brother means his dreams will stay just that and the only romances in his life are the ones he hears about from his listeners. Until he meets Dani Ford.

Dani isn’t checking for anybody. She’s focused on her plan: ace senior year, score a scholarship, and move to New York City to become a famous author. But her college essay keeps tripping her up and acknowledging what’s blocking her means dealing with what happened at that party a few months ago. And that’s one thing Dani can’t do.

When the romantic DJ meets the ambitious writer, sparks fly. Prince is smitten, but Dani’s not looking to get derailed. She gives Prince just three dates to convince her that he’s worth falling for. Three dates for the love expert to take his own advice, and just maybe change two lives forever.

PUBLISHED: May 2022

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (Local): Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Mental health, Sexual assault

Bold, Brilliant, and Latine: Meet 52 Latine and Hispanic Heroes from Past and Present

Alyssa Reynoso-Morris 

All children deserve to see themselves positively represented in the books they read. This belief underpins the See Yourself in Their Stories biography series that brought you the critically acclaimed, bestselling Young, Gifted and Black. In Bold, Brilliant and Latine, young Latine and Hispanic children can see themselves reflected in 52 heroes from the past and present, whom everyone can look up to.

From sporting legends to fashion icons, political leaders to fearless changemakers, as well as renowned writers, musicians, artists, scientists, and more, these heroes’ lives are vividly recounted by queer award-winning Dominican and Puerto Rican storyteller Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and brought to life by Argentinian illustrator Sol Cotti’s artwork.

PUBLISHED: Feb 2025

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: historical figures, identity, heritage, multicultural

Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice

Mahogany L. Browne  

Woke: A Young Poet's Guide to Justice is a collection of poems to inspire kids to stay woke and become a new generation of activists.

Historically poets have been on the forefront of social movements. Woke is a collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out.

PUBLISHED: March 2020

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: empowerment; civic engagement; activism

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

Ibi Zoboi 

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. A

PUBLISHED: January 2019

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: mental health, family dynamics, LGBTQ, gender, Black youth

What Lane?

 Torrey Maldonado 

"STAY IN YOUR LANE." Stephen doesn't want to hear that--he wants to have no lane.

Anything his friends can do, Stephen should be able to do too, right? So when they dare each other to sneak into an abandoned building, he doesn't think it's his lane, but he goes. Here's the thing, though: Can he do everything his friends can? Lately, he's not so sure. As a mixed kid, he feels like he's living in two worlds with different rules--and he's been noticing that strangers treat him differently than his white friends . . .

So what'll he do? Hold on tight as Stephen swerves in and out of lanes to find out which are his--and who should be with him.

PUBLISHED: April 2020

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY:  Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: justice system inequities, Black tweens, accountable friendships, choices, self-discovery

Hands

 Torrey Maldonado 

Trev would do anything to protect his mom and sisters, especially from his stepdad. But his stepdad’s return stresses Trev—because when he left, he threatened Trev’s mom. Rather than live scared, Trev takes matters into his own hands, literally. He starts learning to box to handle his stepdad. But everyone isn’t a fan of his plan, because Trev’s a talented artist, and his hands could actually help him build a better future. And they’re letting him know. But their advice for some distant future feels useless in his reality right now. Ultimately, Trev knows his future is in his hands, and his hands are his own, and he has to choose how to use them.

PUBLISHED: Jan 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY:  Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: domestic violence, SEL, Black tweens, coming-of-age, community

Concrete Kids 

Amyra León

Concrete Kids is an exploration of love and loss, melody and bloodshed. Musician, playwright, and educator Amyra León takes us on a poetic journey through her childhood in Harlem, as she navigates the intricacies of foster care, mourning, self-love, and resilience. In her signature free-verse style, she invites us all to dream with abandon--and to recognize the privilege it is to dream at all.

PUBLISHED: October 2020

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: foster care system, resilience, self-love, self-care, poetry, SEL

Si, Se Puede

Julio Anta

From community activism to the halls of government, pop-culture, arts, and beyond, Latinos have shaped every aspect of American life. Nevertheless, these significant figures and their contributions are often left out of our textbooks. Sí, Se Puede, named after the “Yes, We Can” motto of the United Farm Workers, brings Latino history in the U.S. to the forefront.

The book follows a group of Hispanic-Americans as they embark on an interactive museum tour to meet Latino heroes they may not have learned about in school. The high tech, immersive exhibit allows the tour group to virtually travel through time, visiting the Hispanic Union soldiers of the Civil War; marching with César Chávez and Dolores Huerta in the farmworkers struggle; going to space with Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina to leave Earth’s atmosphere; meeting the youngest woman to ever serve in Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; and more. This ensemble of unlikely friends discover the rich history of Latinos in the United States, and gain new insights into their own American experiences.

PUBLISHED: October 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Graphic Novel, Latinx, biography, change makers, social justice

Frontera

Julio Anta

As long as he remembers to stay smart and keep his eyes open, Mateo knows that he can survive the trek across the Sonoran Desert that will take him from Mexico to the United States. That is, until he’s caught by the Border Patrol only moments after sneaking across the fence in the dead of night.

Escaping their clutches comes at a price and, lost in the desert without a guide or water, Mateo is ill-prepared for the unforgiving heat that is sure to arrive come sunrise. With the odds stacked against him, his one chance at survival may be putting his trust in something, or rather someone, that he isn’t even sure exists.

If you’d asked him if ghosts were real before he found himself face-to-face with one, Mateo wouldn’t have even considered it. But now, confronted with the nearly undeniable presence of Guillermo, he’s having second thoughts.

PUBLISHED: July 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Graphic Novel, Latinx, immigration, social justice

The Faint of Heart

Kerilynn Wilson

Not that long ago, the Scientist discovered that all sadness, anxiety, and anger disappeared when you removed your heart. And that's all it took. Soon enough, the hospital had lines out the door—even though the procedure numbed the good feelings, too. 

Everyone did it. Everyone except high school student June. But now the pressure, loneliness, and heartache are mounting, and it’s becoming harder and harder to be the only one with a heart.

One day, June comes across an abandoned heart in a jar. The heart in the jar intrigues her, it baffles her, and it brings her hope. But the heart also brings her Max, a classmate with a secret of his own.

And it may rip June’s own heart in two.

PUBLISHED: June 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Graphic Novel, fantasy, grief, mystery

Huda F Cares?

Huda Fahmy 

Huda and her sisters can’t believe it when her parents announce that they’re actually taking a vacation this summer . . . to DISNEY WORLD! But it’s not quite as perfect as it seems. First Huda has to survive a 24-hour road trip from Michigan to Florida, with her sisters annoying her all the way. And then she can’t help but notice the people staring at her and her family when they pray in public. Back home in Dearborn she and her family blend right in because there are so many other Muslim families, but not so much in Florida and along the way.

It's a vacation of forced (but unexpectly successful?) sisterly bonding, a complicated new friendship, a bit more independence, and some mixed feelings about her family's public prayers. Huda is proud of her religion and who she is, but she still sure wishes she didn’t care so much what other people thought.

PUBLISHED: October 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Winter, Spring

THEMES: Graphic Novel, SEL, self-acceptance, Muslim, Identity, family, xenophobia

Huda F Are You?

Huda Fahmy 

Huda and her family just moved to Dearborn, Michigan, a small town with a big Muslim population. In her old town, Huda knew exactly who she was: She was the hijabi girl. But in Dearborn, everyone is the hijabi girl.

Huda is lost in a sea of hijabis, and she can't rely on her hijab to define her anymore. She has to define herself. So she tries on a bunch of cliques, but she isn't a hijabi fashionista or a hijabi athlete or a hijabi gamer. She's not the one who knows everything about her religion or the one all the guys like. She's miscellaneous, which makes her feel like no one at all. Until she realizes that it'll take finding out who she isn't to figure out who she is.

PUBLISHED: November 2021

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Winter, Spring

THEMES: Graphic Novel, fitting in, self-acceptance, Muslim, Identity, Islamophobia

Huda F Wants to Know?

Huda Fahmy 

Huda Fahmy is ready for junior year. She’s got a plan to join all the clubs, volunteer everywhere, ace the ACTs, write the most awe-inspiring essay for her scholarship applications. Easy.

But then Mama and Baba announce the most unthinkable news: they’re getting a divorce.

Huda is devastated. She worries about what this will mean for her family, their place in the Muslim community, and her future. Her grades start tanking, she has a big fight with her best friend, and everything feels out of control. Will her life ever feel normal again? Huda F wants to know.

PUBLISHED: April 2025

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Winter, Spring

THEMES: Graphic Novel, SEL, self-acceptance, Muslim, Identity, family

I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir

Malaka Gharib

The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid. Malaka Gharib's triumphant graphic memoir brings to life her teenage antics and illuminates earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised. 

PUBLISHED: April 2019

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (VIRTUAL ONLY): Summer

THEMES: Graphic Novel/Comic, Immigration, Multicultural, Identity, Relationships (family and friends)

Unbelonging

Gayatri Sethi

In her luminous debut Unbelonging, Gayatri Sethi deftly interweaves verse, memoir, and a bold call to action as she recounts her experience searching for home in the diaspora. Drawing upon her life story as a Tanzanian-born-Punjabi turned American educator and mother of multiracial children, Sethi tells an intimate tale of stepping into her power while confronting misogyny, racism, and empire. Spanning decades and continents– from Partition to the Black Lives Matter movement, Southern Africa to Muscogee Lands– Unbelonging tells urgent truths, inspires critical self-reflection, and emboldens its readers to pursue radical forms of justice, compassion, and solidarity.

PUBLISHED: August 2022

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY:  Winter, Spring (virtual), Summer

THEMES: Race Relations, Social Justice, Multicultural, Poetry, Identity, Racism, BLM

Vern, Custodian of the Universe

Tyrell Waiters 

On the edge of burnout, Vern decides to return to his family in the Sunshine State to start over. Starting a new dead-end job as a custodian at Quasar—a local science facility with a shady motive—he shrugs on his uniform, grabs a mop and bucket, and trudges off to clean up… Black holes? Space-time anomalies? Galactic ooze?

Things aren’t entirely what they seem at Quasar, and when Vern accidentally plugs in a mysterious machine and finds himself standing on the brink of the destruction of every planet in the Multiverse, he's presented with the greatest question of all: what is the point?

PUBLISHED: June 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY:  Winter, Spring 

THEMES: Graphic Novel, humor, multiverse, fantasy

Mid-Air

Alicia D. Williams

It’s the last few months of eighth grade, and Isaiah feels lost. He thought his summer was going to be him and his boys Drew and Darius, hanging out, doing wheelies, watching martial arts movies, and breaking tons of Guinness World Records before high school. But now, more and more, Drew seems to be fading from their friendship, and though he won’t admit it, Isaiah knows exactly why. Because Darius is…gone.

A hit and run killed Darius in the midst of a record-breaking long wheelie when Isaiah should have been keeping watch, ready to warn: “CAR!” Now, Drew can barely look at Isaiah. But Isaiah, already quaking with ache and guilt, can’t lose two friends. So, he comes up with a plan to keep Drew and him together­­­—they can spend the summer breaking records, for Darius.

But Drew’s not the same Drew since Darius was killed, and Isaiah being Isaiah isn’t enough for Drew anymore. Not his taste in clothes, his love for rock music, or his aversion to jumping off rooftops. And one day something unspeakable happens to Isaiah that makes him think Drew’s right. If only he could be less sensitive, more tough, less weird, more cool, less him, things would be easier. But how much can Isaiah keep inside until he shatters wide open

PUBLISHED: April 2024

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (virtual): Spring, Summer

THEMES: Death, grief, SEL, coping, friendship, race relations, self-acceptance

Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth

Latin American Youth Center Writers 

During a time of heated immigration debate and unrest, this book is an opportunity to hear directly from youth who are often in the headlines but whose stories don't get told in full. Sixteen young people from the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) in Washington, D.C. came together to tell their own stories of immigration and transformation in comics form. The result is this side-by-side bilingual collection of graphic memoirs that not only builds connections across language, but also breaks down barriers and expands hope.

The authors of this collection are members of the Latino Youth Leadership Council of the Latin American Youth Center in Washington, DC. This group of teen immigrants from Central America and the Caribbean are dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and social justice in their community.

PUBLISHED: May 2018

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Graphic Novel, bilingual, border, cross-cultural understanding, immigrant youth stories