Books That Deal With Important Social Issues

In this tumultuous world, books can serve as a much-needed escape by allowing us to delve into an alternate reality with distinct issues, thereby helping us forget about our own problems for a while. However, it is equally important and therapeutic to read books that accurately reflect our realities. Such books take into account what we are going through, what we are feeling, and puts it all down on paper so that we can see a reflection of ourselves.

Updated May 2, 2024
Nashua Public Library
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All boys aren't blue : a memoir-manifesto
Johnson, George M.
Paper Book
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue explores their childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. A New York Times Bestseller! Good Morning America,...
All my rage
Tahir, Sabaa
Paper Book
National Book Award WINNER Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature WINNER An INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! An INSTANT INDIE BESTSELLER! "All My Rage is a love story, a tragedy and an infectious teenage fever dream about what home...
Butterfly yellow
Lai, Thanhha
Paper Book
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction! Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Ibi Zoboi, and Erika L. Sánchez, this gorgeously written and deeply moving novel is the YA debut from the award-winning author of Inside Out & Back Again. 4 starred reviews! In the...
Dear Justyce
Stone, Nic
Paper Book
An NPR Best Book of the Year * The stunning sequel to the critically acclaimed,  #1 New York Times bestseller Dear Martin. An incarcerated teen writes letters to his best friend about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system. An...
An emotion of great delight
Mafi, Tahereh
Paper Book
From bestselling and National Book Award-nominated author Tahereh Mafi comes a stunning novel about love and loneliness, navigating the hyphen of dual identity, and reclaiming your right to joy--even when you're trapped in the amber of sorrow. It's 2003, several months since the US...
Every body looking
Iloh, Candice
Paper Book
A Finalist for the National Book Award When Ada leaves home for her freshmanyear at a Historically Black College, it's the first time she's ever been so far from her family-and the first time that she's been able to make her own choices and to seek her place in this new world. As...
Grown : a novel
Jackson, Tiffany D.
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! "Grown exposes the underbelly of a tough conversation, providing a searing examination of misogynoir, rape culture, and the vulnerability of young black girls. Groundbreaking, heart-wrenching, and essential reading for all in the #MeToo era." -...
Inheritance : a visual poem
Acevedo, Elizabeth
Paper Book
They tell me to "fix" my hair. And by fix, they mean straighten, they mean whiten; but how do you fix this shipwrecked history of hair? In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the...
Messy roots : a graphic memoir of a Wuhanese American
Gao, Laura
Paper Book
"Messy Roots is a laugh-out-loud, heartfelt, and deeply engaging story of their journey to find themself--as an American, as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, as a queer person, and as a Wuhanese American in the middle of a pandemic."--Malaka Gharib, author of I Was Their American...
Nigeria Jones
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
Audiobook
Not here to be liked
Quach, Michelle
Paper Book
"A smart romance with heart and guts and all the intoxicating feelings in between." --Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes Emergency Contact meets Moxie in this cheeky and searing novel that unpacks just how...
Only this beautiful moment
Nazemian, Abdi
Audiobook
Pritty
Miller, Keith F., Jr.
Ebook
2024 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist Concrete Rose meets Things We Couldn't Say in Pritty, a debut novel by Keith F. Miller Jr.--the inspiration behind the forthcoming animated short film of Kickstarter fame--that follows two boys who get caught in the...
Punching the air
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
Paper Book
New York Times and USA Today bestseller * Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor * Walter Award Winner * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Time Magazine Best Book of the Year * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * Shelf Awareness Best Book of...
The silence that binds us
Ho, Joanna
Paper Book
"A grieving teen fights Asian hate by finding her voice in this complex, timely story." --Kirkus (starred review) "With a layered, sensitive voice, Ho's weighty novel delves into themes of racism, classism, loss, and healing." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) ...
Stamped : racism, antiracism, and you
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
Don't miss this "fresh and conversational" (TIME Magazine), "potent and provocative" (The San Francisco Chronicle), #1 New York Times bestselling exploration of racism--and antiracism--in America. ...
The summer of bitter and sweet
Ferguson, Jenny
Paper Book
In this complex and emotionally resonant novel about a Métis girl living on the Canadian prairies, debut author Jen Ferguson serves up a powerful story about rage, secrets, and all the spectrums that make up a person--and the sweetness that can still live alongside the bitterest...
This is my America
Johnson, Kim
Paper Book
"Incredible and searing." --Nic Stone, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin The Hate U Give meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting first novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system....
This place is still beautiful
Tian, Xixi
Paper Book
With five starred reviews, this is an acclaimed novel about sisterhood, family, and the pernicious legacy of racism. Perfect for fans of Tahereh Mafi, Jandy Nelson, and Emily X.R. Pan, with crossover appeal for readers of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half. The Flanagan sisters are as...

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