This is a list of book recommendations from ORR GSA members, but I highly recommend checking out We Need Diverse Books and their resources at the links below!
Also… Every Black-Owned Bookstore in the US !
These books are organized roughly by what identities of the characters are most relevant in the story or topic of the book. There is a lot of overlap between each of these categories, of course, so don’t ignore other “categories” even if you’re looking for something specific. In addition, some have been listed more than once if they fall equally into two or more groups.
Nonfiction
Race and/or Ethnicity
So You Want to Talk About Race? by Ijeoma Oluo
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
This Book is Antiracist by Tiffany Jewell
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
March: Book One by Andrew Aydin and John Lewis
Queer and/or Trans
A Queer History of the United States for Young People by Michael Bronski, Adapted by Richie Chevat
Queer : A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan
Whipping Girl by Julia Serano
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
Fiction
Race and/or Ethnicity
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
Juliet Takes A Breath by Gabby Rivera
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
Love from A to Z by S.K Ali
Religion
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
Love from A to Z by S.K Ali
Queer and/or Trans
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
Juliet Takes A Breath by Gabby Rivera
I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
The Witch King by H.E Edgmon
Dreadnought by April Daniels
Disability / Neurodivergency / Mental Illness / Chronic Illness
Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
Speak by Laurie Anderson
Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen
Love from A to Z by S.K Ali
The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais
We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristin O’Neal
Two Girls Staring At The Ceiling by Lucy Frank
Sincerely, Harriet by Sarah Winifred Searle
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X Stork