Diverse Characters
Inside out & back again
Thanhha Lai
eAUDIO
Read Woke, Poetry, Diverse Characters, Historical Fiction
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
Laura dean keeps breaking up with me
Mariko Tamaki
eBOOK
Read Woke, LGBTQ+, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Diverse Characters
Touching and beautifully rendered in grayscale with occasional splashes of pink, this is a love story for everyone. If you have yet to be kicked to the curb by Laura Dean, it might be time to get dumped. -Casey
Monday's not coming
Tiffany D. Jackson
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Jackson Tiffany
Black Lives Matter, Diverse Characters, Read Woke, Young Adult
When her friend Monday Charles goes missing and Monday's mother refuses to give her a straight answer, Claudia digs into her disappearance.
Added by Anne W
The black flamingo
Dean Atta
eBOOK
Black Lives Matter, Diverse Characters, Read Woke, Young Adult
Added by Anne W
I wanna be where you are
Kristina Forest
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Forest Kristina
Black Lives Matter, Diverse Characters, Read Woke, Young Adult
When Chloe's mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory of her dreams, she devises a secret plan to drive two hundred miles from Philadelphia to New York, the nearest audition. When annoying neighbor Eli insists upon hitching a ride, he threatens to tell Chloe's mom if she leaves without him and his smelly dog, Geezer. Now Chloe's chasing her ballet dreams down the east coast, with two unwanted (but kinda cute) passengers in her car, butterflies in her stomach, and a really dope playlist on repeat. -- adapted from jacket
Added by Anne W
The field guide to the North American teenager
Ben Philippe
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Philippe Ben
Black Lives Matter, Diverse Characters, Read Woke, Young Adult
When Norris, a Black French Canadian, starts his junior year at an Austin, Texas, high school, he views his fellow students as clichés from "a bad 90s teen movie."
Added by Anne W
Inventing Victoria
Tonya Bolden
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Bolden Tonya
Black Lives Matter, Diverse Characters, Read Woke, Young Adult
Essie, a young black woman in 1880s Savannah, is offered the opportunity to leave her shameful past and be transformed into an educated, high-society woman in Washington, D.C.
Added by Anne W
Not so pure and simple
L. R. Giles
Black Lives Matter, Diverse Characters, Read Woke, Young Adult
High school junior Del Rainey unwittingly joins a Purity Pledge class at church, hoping to get closer to his long-term crush, Kiera.
Added by Anne W
Let's talk about love
Claire Kann
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Kann Claire
Black Lives Matter, Diverse Characters, Read Woke, Young Adult
Alice's last girlfriend, Margo, ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual. Now Alice is sure she's done with dating... and then she meets Takumi. She can't stop thinking about him or the rom-com-grade romance feelings she did not ask for. When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library-employee badge, Alice has to decide if she's willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated-- or understood.
Added by Anne W
Tyler Johnson was here
Jay Coles
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Coles Jay
Black Lives Matter, Diverse Characters, Read Woke, Young Adult
"When Marvin Johnson's twin brother, Tyler, is shot and killed by a police officer, Marvin must fight injustice to learn the true meaning of freedom"--
Added by Anne W
Achingly beautiful poetry combined with a powerful immigration story make this a Middle Grade novel not to miss. Great for reading aloud as a family as well. -Casey