Dear Martin by Nic Stone

After being falsely arrested while trying to help his drunk girlfriend, high school senior Justyce starts and experiment; he’s going to try to live as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived, tackling all the wrongs and injustices he faces with non-violence. After his run in with the white police officer who falsely arrested him, Justyce who’s 1 of 4 black students at his elite private school seems to be hyper aware that the many people he encounters day to day, see the color of his skin and judge him, nevermind that he’s an A student headed for Yale. When Justyce is shot by an off duty police officer while driving with his best friend, the anger and confusion Justyce feels has him wondering if his experiment to do as Martin would do is a complete failure, especially when Justyce goes to visit a local gang leader to see if he holds the answers to his questions. 

This fast read feels like it’s ripped straight from the headlines of today’s news. Find out if Justyce gets the answers he needs in Dear Martin

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Rule #1: No Crying

Rule #2: No Snitching

Rule #3: Get Revenge

These are the three rules taught to Will by his brother, who learned it from their father, who learned it from his brother, who learned it from their father. Will’s brother has been killed, shot dead, and Will is sure he knows who did it. But Rule # 2 and 3; no snitching and get revenge. The day after his brother is shot dead, Will gets into his buildings elevator, heading down to find the guy who killed his brother and get revenge. On the elevator ride down, ghosts from his past try and talk some sense into Will and he begins to question himself. Is he cut out for revenge and is he sure it was Riggs, his brother’s former friend, who killed him? Click here to reserve your copy of Long Way Down.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Starr is living two lives; private school Starr, who uses minimal slang and is one of not even a handful of black kids at her school and then there’s Starr from the hood. She’s worked hard to keep those two lives separate and has been pretty successful until one fateful night when her life changes forever. While driving home from a party with her friend Khalil, he is shot and killed by a cop after they were pulled over. In an instant Starr’s biggest worries went from how to keep her private school friends and her friends from the hood apart to how to keep herself and her family safe. The media, police, and even the neighborhood gang leader wants everyone to believe that Khalil was a gang banging drug dealer, but Starr knew the truth. Starr struggles with finding her voice and telling the truth about that night and who Khalil really was, even through the threats from police and local gangs, and learning how to blend her school and neighborhood lives together.  

All the Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry

Kidnapped as a child, Judith had her tongue cut out by her captor, “to save her” he said, is why he did it. Returning home after years of captivity, Judith has lived her life in silence, shunned by her neighbors, and threatened never to attempt to speak by her mother. When her village is attacked, Judith is the only one who can help, but it means facing her captor and finding her voice. 

Worthy by Donna Cooner

Linden attends Huntsville High School and everyone is getting ready for Prom. Linden and her best friend Nikki are eager to participate in the Prom Committee. However, a new app is going around called "Worthy" and it is randomly picking couples to see if they are worthy enough. Nikki and her boyfriend Jake were able to beat the competition, but will Linden be able to win as well? Read the book to see who is worthy or not!