Social Justice Books

Critically reviewed selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators.

Pockets of Love

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Star and Sebi pair up with their father to make empanadas for mami on her birthday, just as their grandmother used to do every year before she passed away. Fortunately, grandma Monona left a recipe, but unfortunately, it doesn’t disclose what her secret ingredient was. […]

You Truly Assumed

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  SPOILER ALERT A powerful contemporary young adult novel that’s essential when having conversations about  challenging Islamophobia and encouraging teens to funnel their creative energies into advocacy. The course of three teenage Muslim girls’ lives virtually converge in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in Washington […]

When a Brown Girl Flees

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  When a Brown Girl Flees is a thought provoking, contemporary young adult novel where author Aamna Qureshi seamlessly invests readers in her protagonist’s journey of healing from all-consuming grief to rediscovery and self-love. Eighteen-year-old Zahra Paracha makes the biggest decision of her life after graduation […]

Saving Sunshine

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Saving Sunshine is a contemporary graphic novel that makes issues such as Islamophobia and covert racism accessible for a middle grade audience. Zara and Zeeshan can’t remember the last time they had anything in common — they’re the epitome of opposite twins. Neither one of […]

Speculation

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  Inspired by the work of authors such as Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, Speculation is a middle-grade novel that explores the myriad of ways in which Black families in America have been, still are, and always will be intrinsically affected by slavery.  Set in 1960s […]

All My Rage

Reviewed by Paige Pagan Review Source: Teaching for Change Book Author:  A powerful contemporary young adult novel, All My Rage is rife with anger and grief on the ongoing price of the American dream for immigrant families. This narrative is an homage to the predecessors who painstakingly worked to carve out a smoother pathway for their […]