2021-2022
BOOK OF THE WEEK
This book of the week selection was written by Eirwen Kamphorst '23.
MAY 26, 2022
ain't burned all the bright
BY JASON REYNOLDS
QUICK TAKE
Written in poetry, Ain’t Burned All the Bright captures what it's like to be Black in America. This book filled with emotion and beautiful artworks tells the story of life during the beginning COVID-19.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week selection was written by Eirwen Kamphorst '23.
MAY 19, 2022
the lost dreamer
BY LIZZ HUERTA
QUICK TAKE
The Lost Dreamer, is a fantasy and romance novel inspired and based on Mesoamerica. The story follows two protagonists Indir and Saya who must learn about themselves and the world around them as they must fight for their homes and to survive. When their world crumbled apart when their King Anz passed. His son has no appreciation for being a dreamer, meaning she has the rare ability of dreaming truth.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available for checkout in the CSW Library.
This book selection is part of the CSW Library’s celebration of Jewish Heritage Month, celebrated annually in May.
MAY 12, 2022
IT'S a whole spiel: love, latkes, and other jewish stories
EDITED BY KATHERINE LOCKE AND LAURA SILVERMAN
QUICK TAKE
Get ready to fall in love, experience heartbreak, and discover the true meaning of identity in this poignant collection of short stories about Jewish teens. From stories of confronting their relationships with Judaism to rom-coms with a side of bagels and lox, It's a Whole Spiel features one story after another that says yes, we are Jewish, but we are also queer, and disabled, and creative, and political, and adventurous, and anything we want to be.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available for checkout in the CSW Library and in ebook.
This book selection is part of the CSW Library’s celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. Grace Talusan, the author of this text, visited campus on May 4. Interested to learn more? Dive into this memoir.
MAY 5, 2022
the body papers
BY GRACE TALUSAN
QUICK TAKE
Winner of The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, Grace Talusan’s memoir The Body Papers bravely explores her experiences with sexual abuse, depression, cancer, and life as a Filipino immigrant, supplemented with government documents, medical records, and family photos.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature is part of the CSW Library's celebration of AUTISM ACCEPTANCE MONTH 2022, which occurs yearly in April.
APRIL 25, 2022
tonight we rule the world
BY ZACK SMEDLEY
QUICK TAKE
In the beginning, Owen’s story was blank . . . then he was befriended by Lily, the aspiring author who helped him find his voice. Together, the two have spent years navigating first love and amassing an inseparable friend group. But all of it is upended one day when his school’s administration learns Owen’s secret: that he was sexually assaulted by a classmate.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available for checkout in the CSW Library and in ebook.
This book of the week feature is part of the CSW Library's celebration of AUTISM ACCEPTANCE MONTH 2022, which occurs yearly in April.
APRIL 21, 2022
on the edge of gone
BY CORINNE DUYVIS
QUICK TAKE
In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2034, a comet is due to hit the Earth within the hour. Denise, who's sixteen years old and autistic, must try to find her missing sister and also help her neglectful, undependable mother safely aboard a spaceship.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available for checkout in the CSW Library and in ebook.
This book of the week feature is part of the CSW Library's celebration of CSW's Social Justice Day 2022: Decolonizing Education and History.
APRIL 14, 2022
OUR HISTORY IS THE FUTURE
BY NICK ESTES
QUICK TAKE
In 2016, a small protest encampment at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, initially established to block construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, grew to be the largest Indigenous protest movement in the twenty-first century. Water Protectors knew this battle for native sovereignty had already been fought many times before, and that, even after the encampment was gone, their anti-colonial struggle would continue. In Our History Is the Future, Nick Estes traces traditions of Indigenous resistance that led to the #NoDAPL movement. Our History Is the Future is at once a work of history, a manifesto, and an intergenerational story of resistance.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available for checkout in the CSW Library.
This book of the week feature is part of the CSW Library's celebration of AUTISM ACCEPTANCE MONTH 2022, which occurs yearly in April.
APRIL 7, 2022
THE State of grace
BY RACHAEL LUCAS
QUICK TAKE
Grace has Asperger’s and her own way of looking at the world. She’s got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that’s pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn’t make much sense to her any more.
Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it’s up to Grace to fix it on her own.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature is part of the CSW Library's celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility 2022 (March 31).
MARCH 31, 2022
STEALING THUNDER
BY ALINA BOYDEN
QUICK TAKE
A charming dragon fantasy novel where a trans girl named Razia runs away from home, finds a community of trans women known as hijras, falls in love, and steals back her dragon.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available for checkout in the CSW Library.
This book of the week feature is part of the CSW Library's month-long celebration of Women's History Month 2022, featuring feminist fiction.
MARCH 24, 2022
IRON WIDOW
BY XIRAN JAY ZHAO
QUICK TAKE
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain. When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead. A fast-paced Feminist read and the first in a series.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature is part of the CSW Library's month-long celebration of Black authors of speculative fiction for Black History Month 2022.
FEBRUARY 23, 2022
BLOOD LIKE MAGIC
BY LISELLE SAMBURY
QUICK TAKE
A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature was written by CSW 2021-2022 Library Ambassador Milly Chen '23 as part of the CSW Library's month-long celebration of Black authors of speculative fiction for Black History Month 2022.
FEBRUARY 17, 2022
KINGDOM OF SOULS
BY RENA BARRON
QUICK TAKE
This is a story of a young girl born to a family of powerful witchdoctors, but possesses no magic of her own. When her grandmother has a strange vision and things start to go awry in her home Kingdom, she decides to sacrifice years of her life for magic to set things right.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature was written by CSW 2021-2022 Library Ambassador Milly Chen '23 as part of the CSW Library's month-long celebration of Black authors of speculative fiction for Black History Month 2022.
FEBRUARY 10, 2022
queen of the conquered
BY KACEN CALLENDER
QUICK TAKE
This story reckons with the many layers of power and privilege in a lush fantasy world. An ambitious young woman with the power to control her mind seeks revenge on the royal family who murdered her family in a fantasy world inspired by colonial oppression in the Caribbean. The narrative describes the cruelest part of history and delivers a powerful message that will stay with you long after the last page.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available for checkout in the CSW Library.
This book of the week feature was written by CSW 2021-2022 Library Ambassador Brooke Thompson '23 as part of the CSW Library's month-long celebration of Black authors of speculative fiction for Black History Month 2022.
FEBRUARY 3, 2022
A SACRIFICE OF DARKNESS
BY ROXANE GAY AND TRACY LYNNE OLIVER
QUICK TAKE
An adaptation of her short story “We Are the Sacrifice of Darkness,” Roxane Gay writes a compelling graphic novel with the help of Tracy Lynne Oliver and artists Rebecca Kirby and James Fenner. Expanding an unforgettable world where a tragic event forever bathes the world in darkness, The Sacrifice of Darkness follows one woman’s powerful journey through this new landscape as she discovers love, family, and the true light in a world seemingly robbed of any. As she challenges the world's notions of identity, guilt and survival, she’ll find that no matter the darkness, there remain sources of hope that can pierce the veil.
GOOD TO KNOW
JANUARY 27, 2022
ROXY
BY NEAL + JARROD SHUSTERMAN
QUICK TAKE
Two siblings get caught up in a wager between two manufactured gods, Roxicodone and Adderall, in this . . . [book] inspired by the opioid crisis.
GOOD TO KNOW
JANUARY 20, 2022
LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS
BY RYKA AOKI
QUICK TAKE
A defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.
GOOD TO KNOW
JANUARY 13, 2022
CALL US what we carry
BY AMANDA GORMAN
QUICK TAKE
The presidential inaugural poet--and new voice in American poetry--presents a collection of poems that includes the poem read at the inauguration of the forty-sixth President of the United States.
GOOD TO KNOW
DECEMBER 9, 2021
KLARA AND THE SUN
BY MONA AWAD
QUICK TAKE
In the near future, 14-year-old Josie’s affluent mother buys her Klara, an AF (artificial friend), as a companion. A poignant meditation on friendship and loneliness.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature is part of our recognition of International Persons with Disabilities Day (December 3, 2021).
DECEMBER 2, 2021
ALL'S WELL
BY MONA AWAD
QUICK TAKE
A darkly funny novel about a theater professor suffering chronic pain, who in the process of staging a troubled production of Shakespeare’s most maligned play, suddenly and miraculously recovers.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available in our physical collection.
This book of the week feature is part of our recognition of Transgender Awareness Week (Nov 13 - 19) 2021.
NOVEMBER 18, 2021
boys run the riot
BY KEITO GAKO
QUICK TAKE
A transgender teen named Ryo finds an escape from the expectations and anxieties of his daily life in the world of street fashion. This personal, heartfelt, fictional story from a transgender manga creator made waves in Japan and will inspire readers all over the world!
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available in our physical collection.
This book of the week feature is part of our ongoing celebration of Native American Heritage Month 2021.
NOVEMBER 11, 2021
THE NIGHT WATCHMAN
BY LOUISE ERDRICH
QUICK TAKE
Recent valedictorian Pixie and her uncle, Thomas, are members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota in the 1950’s working at a factory (he is the night watchman of the title). Both risk these precious jobs to set out on seemingly Quixotic quests—Pixie to find her big sister Vera, who has disappeared, and Thomas to fight the US government’s attempt to “emancipate” the tribe, a veiled attempt to terminate federal aid. An epic full of ghost stories, actual historical events, family and tribal lore and unforgettable characters.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature was written by Qai Hinds '23 as part of our ongoing celebration of Native American Heritage Month 2021.
NOVEMBER 4, 2021
my heart is a chainsaw
BY STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES
QUICK TAKE
Jade Daniels moves through her solitary and rather stressful world, all while exploring her love in Horror. This read is a long but captivating and fun roller coaster.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available in our physical collection.
OCTOBER 21, 2021
THE CHOSEN AND THE BEAUTIFUL
BY NGHI VO
QUICK TAKE
Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society--she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She's also queer and Asian, a Vietnamese adoptee treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her. But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. Vo's debut novel reinvents a classic of the American canon--for fans of The Great Gatsby.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available in our physical collection.
OCTOBER 14, 2021
CONTINUUM
BY CHELLA MAN
QUICK TAKE
A story of coping and resilience, Chella journeys through his experiences as a deaf, transgender, genderqueer, Jewish person of color, and shows us that identity lies on a continuum.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available in our physical collection.
This book of the week feature was curated by Chloe Maya Funk, ‘23, a 2021-2022 CSW Library Ambassador.
OCTOBER 7, 2021
THE GIRL FROM THE SEA
BY MOLLY KNOX OSTERTAG
QUICK TAKE
A beautiful graphic novel about a girl and a selkie who fall in love. Complete with family drama, changing friendships, magical transformations, and a summer of love.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This book is available in our physical collection, as well as on ebook.
This book of the week feature was curated by Chloe Maya Funk, ‘23, a 2021-2022 CSW Library Ambassador for LATINX HERITAGE MONTH. From September 15 - October 15, the CSW Library is featuring magical stories by Latinx writers.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
ALL OF US WITH WINGS
BY MICHELLE RUIZ KEIL
QUICK TAKE
All of Us with Wings is a dark and magical coming of age story about love, found family, and healing. Perfect for fans of music, magic, and life in San Francisco told through the eyes of 17 year old Mexican-American, Xochi, who accidentally summons a pair of ancient beings bound to avenge the past.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature was curated by Chloe Maya Funk, ‘23, a 2021-2022 CSW Library Ambassador for LATINX HERITAGE MONTH. From September 15 - October 15, the CSW Library is featuring magical stories by Latinx writers.
This book of the week feature was curated by Chloe Maya Funk, ‘23, a 2021-2022 CSW Library Ambassador.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING
BY NICOLA YOON
QUICK TAKE
From the author of “The Sun is Also a Star” comes an emotion-filled tale of family, friendship, romance, and the art of dance. A quick, fun read that you will feel in your bones long after you put the book down, and that will empower you to seize the day.
GOOD TO KNOW
This book of the week feature was curated by Chloe Maya Funk, ‘23, a 2021-2022 CSW Library Ambassador.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2021
KATE IN WAITING
BY BECKY ALBERTALLI
QUICK TAKE
Kate and her best friend Andy have a history of “sharing crushes”, but this time with Matt, things feel different. Their communal crush on Matt causes chaos in their school life, musical rehearsals, and worst of all Kate and Andy’s friendship! Kate in Waiting is perfect for fans of theatre drama, love triangles, and stories about friendship.
GOOD TO KNOW
