Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities

Hope in the Dark is a slim volume by Rebecca Solnit that is essential reading for anyone who aspires to do good in this world and needs a boost of hope that we can make positive political change. Lyrical prose will pull you right in, and you’ll see how the perspective we take and the way that we tell stories (and history) can give us tremendous hope.

Ode to Common Things

Pablo Neruda’s collection of poetry will bring you into the present moment and heighten your appreciation of everyday things. Neruda reminds us that all that surrounds us—including socks and lemons—can be transcendent, and with his words he brings us into awareness of what we take for granted. His words are a meditation, to be read in silence or aloud, over and over again.

Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into the Mystery and Art of Living

This book is like a super-vitamin of hope, insight, brilliance, and humanity, with some science, history, poetry, and an exploration of faith. The author, Krista Tippett, is on my short list of people I dream of having dinner with as I’m sure that a couple hours with her would add 10 years to my life. Until then, I’ll just listen to the book again (I loved the audiobook because Tippett is the reader and there are conversations with others interspersed). If you aren’t familiar with Tippett’s podcast, On Being, be sure to spend some time this summer listening to these poignant and illuminating interviews.

The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World

Jacqueline Novogratz offers up an inspiring memoir of change, of what a single person can do, and of our shared humanity. Read this to learn about how one woman used her knowledge and power to impact the lives of women in Rwanda, Nairobi, India, and other developing countries, and to remember that we’re all connected and are perhaps all responsible for each other.

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration

What does it take to make great personal change? How have others done this and overcome tremendous challenges? Isabel Wilkerson presents a beautiful account of the massive migration of African Americans from the South to northern and western cities. This book is narrative journalism at its best, heartbreaking and hopeful, and necessary. It has won several awards and prizes for good reason. If you haven’t had a chance to dig into it, do so this summer.

A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster

Another Rebecca Solnit must-read, this book radically shifted some of my beliefs about human nature into a place of immense optimism and hope. Solnit’s historical exploration of what happens in places after catastrophes (such as San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake or New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina) will make you feel like human beings are pretty darn great.

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person

What a fun, hopeful, entertaining read from Shonda Rhimes. It made me think deeply about what I say yes to, and what I say no to. Since reading it, I’ve definitely said no to others more often than previously (so as to create space for saying yes more often to what I really want to do).

With the exception of Neruda, this list is all nonfiction and is where I’m finding much solace these days, in contrast to the fictional worlds in which I spent my childhood

Little Brother

My 12-year-old son and I read this gripping novel by Cory Doctorow over the course of a few days. It’s got all the makings of a terrifying—only slightly—contemporary science fiction novel. It has a fast plot and great characters, and it takes on some of the big issues of our time: homeland security, Guantanamo, and the Patriot Act. My son and I talked about the issues raised in this book for weeks.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie’s humorous, semiautobiographical novel follows 14-year-old Junior as he leaves his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation for a mostly white school in a nearby town. While this book is about the pain and awkwardness of adolescence, it is also a thoughtful exploration of the devastation that poverty, racism, and alcoholism have wreaked on Native American communities. If you’ve never read Sherman Alexie, start here. You’ll be left wanting more of his heartbreakingly beautiful prose.

The House on Mango Street

This book is a series of poetic vignettes about a young girl growing up in Chicago’s Hispanic neighborhoods. Written by Sandra Cisneros, it’s the kind of book that you can devour in one sitting, or slowly savor by reading one page per day. It’s beautiful and inspiring, and you’ll want to read it over and over. It’s also a powerful launching point for a conversation with young girls about their identity and self-image.

Feed

The premise of this book by M. T. Anderson is creepy and futuristic. In the future, most people have a feed chip implanted in their heads that connects everyone to a version of the internet. Privacy of any kind is gone. But during a spring break—on the moon—Titus and Violet meet and build a relationship when their feeds are hacked. This is a sharp satire that’s reminiscent of George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut. This book offers a powerful entry to conversations about entertainment, the internet, and contemporary culture.

The Giver

Wait until your child is in eighth grade to read this one by Lois Lowry together. It’s the kind of book that they’ll get so much more out of with a little more maturity and background knowledge. This is a creepy, haunting story whose protagonist—12-year-old Jonas—lives in a seemingly ideal world of conformity and contentment. But when he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory, he begins to understand the terrifying secrets behind his fragile community. This is the kind of book that’ll launch conversations and reflections about freedom, justice, fairness, and democracy.

His Dark Materials

In the first of this trilogy by Philip Pullman, you’ll meet Lyra Belacqua, our young heroine, who tries to prevent kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments. When she helps Will Parry—a boy from another world—search for his father, she is pulled into a battle between the angelic forces of the Authority and those gathered by her rebel uncle, Lord Asriel. These fantasy novels are gripping and provocative and easily accessible even if fantasy isn’t your thing.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

This is a unique book by Ransom Riggs, partly because the text is interspersed with photos. After a family tragedy, Jacob feels compelled to explore an abandoned orphanage on an island off the coast of Wales. He discovers that the children once kept there, including his own grandfather, may have been dangerous—and may still be alive. This novel’s haunting twists and turns will keep you glued to its pages.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

This realistic fiction series by Ann Brashares is funny, moving, and sad. It’s a quick and engrossing read, especially—I suspect—if you are or ever were a teenage girl. The four best friends and backdrop of a Greek island might make some of us envious, but the real struggles the characters deal with are widely relevant. If you have a daughter in grades 7 to 10, this would be a fantastic series to read together.

Eragon and the Inheritance Cycle

This is a series by Christopher Paolini that begins as Eragon, a poor farm boy, grows into a master swordsman who fights alongside his dragon, Saphira, to help save the empire from evil and darkness. It’s complex and classic fantasy, and it’s further inspiring to young readers—and aspiring writers—because the author began the first book in the series, Eragon, when he was only 15 years old.

Finally, if you are among the few who have not yet read the Harry Potter series, or the Hunger Games series, now’s the time! I’m envious of anyone who hasn’t read them because you’re in for one of the biggest reading treats of your life.

EDUtopia - May, 2016