8 Socially Conscious YA Books to Read Right Now
Angie Thomas’s stunning and socially-minded The Hate U Give has held court at the top of the New York Times YA bestseller list since it debuted. Everybody’s heard of it and read it—and everybody wants more. But Angie isn’t the only author to write about social justice, or even about the Black Lives Matter movement. Here are seven more politically charged contemporary YA novels to keep your to-read shelves tall and your heart ready to fight.
Tyler Johnson Was Here, by Jay Coles
Marvin decides to tag along with his twin brother Tyler to a party—and it ends with Tyler dead, shot and killed by the police. As their mother unravels and his brother becomes immortalized as just another hashtag, Marvin struggles to figure out what justice and freedom really mean. Featuring one of my favorite YA covers of all time, Jay Coles’ debut has set expectations sky high.
Dear Martin, by Nic Stone
There was no reason for Justyce to be arrested, but it happened. In the aftermath, this perfect student starts a journal, penning letters to Martin Luther King, Jr., trying to sort out what happened and how it impacted his own beliefs and values. An obvious companion to Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, Nic Stone’s debut novel Dear Martin hit the bestseller list its first week on the shelves, and with good reason.
All-American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Before The Hate U Give, there was All-American Boys. This dual narrative story follows Rashad, a black kid attacked by a cop for buying chips, and Quinn, a white kid who watches as his best friend’s older brother beats the daylights out of his classmate Rashad. As the school, and then the nation, begins to comment on the incident, the fight begins to understand what happened—and to realize that prejudice is systemic in their own community.
Moxie, by Jennifer Mathieu
Fed up with the sexism and harassment at her school, Vivian Carter decides to fight back with a feminist zine distributed anonymously to her classmates—and it starts a revolution among the girls. Mathieu’s novel highlights just how powerful one voice can be, especially when it inspires others.
How It Went Down, by Kekla Magoon
Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, shot by Jack Franklin. Tariq is black. Jack is white. And everybody has somebody to say about it. Kekla Magoon—who also co-wrote X, a reimagining of Malcolm X’s teen years with his daughter Ilyasha Shabazz—is always worth a read for contemporary readers who love political stories.
Anger is a Gift, by Mark Oshiro
Treated like a criminal in his own high school, Moss and his friends are subjected to locker searches, attacks, and intimidation from the Oakland Police Department—the same police force that murdered his father as a child. But fighting back is harder than any of them could have imagined. I snagged an advanced copy of this stunning debut and absolutely fell in love with hero Moss.
Dream Things True, by Marie Marquardt
Alma is an undocumented high school student with plans to attend college. Evan is a wealthy Southern boy who tries hard to keep up appearances. While the two fall hard for each other, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement begins to invade their town and threaten to take away the life Alma has always known. A blend of romance and social justice leaves Marquardt’s 2015 novel more important than ever in the current political climate.