The Best We Could Do: an Illustrated Memoir By Thi Bui

In this graphic memoir, Thi Bui tells of her family’s escape from war-torn South Vietnam in the 1970s, and their struggle to build a new life as refugees in the United States.

Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard By Liz Murray

Born to drug addicted parents in the Bronx, Liz Murray left home at age 15 and survived homelessness for several years while finishing high school. With encouragement from a teacher, she applied for a scholarship and ended up at Harvard. Her story is harrowing and inspiring.

Dear Martin By Nic Stone

Seventeen-year-old Justyce has been accepted to Yale, but it feels like all people see when they look at him is his race. After a run-in with police brutality, he turns for advice and inspiration to Martin Luther King, Jr., writing “Dear Martin” letters as he struggles to understand what it means to be a young African American man in today’s world.

Disappeared By Francisco X. Stork

Teenagers Sara Zapata and her brother, Emiliano, navigate their lives in Juárez, Mexico, amidst kidnappings and drug cartels, where circumstances force their escape through the punishing desert to a possible new life with in America.

Eliza and Her Monsters By Francesca Zappia

Socially non-existent teen Eliza is the anonymous creator of the most-read online phenomenon of all time. How will she keep her anonymity when she starts to exist in real life? Part webcomic, part fanfiction, and part narrative, this unique book is all about the different ways we exist and belong.

RECoMMENDED BookS FoR STuDENTS IN gRADES 9 – 12

The Emperor of Any Place By Tim Wynne-Jones

After his father’s death, Evan finds an old diary telling of a strange island, enemy soldiers, and a grandfather he never knew. Filled with ghosts, monsters, and the weight of the past fill this intriguing novel about the baggage carried within families and the turbulent legacy of war.

Flying Machines: How the Wright Brothers Soared By Alison Wilgus, Illustrated by Molly Brooks

This volume of the Science Comics series not only tells the story of how Orville and Wilbur Wright invented and flew the first successful airplane, but also explains the science of flight. Newton’s laws of motion have never been so fun!

The gentleman’s guide to Vice and Virtue By Mackenzi Lee

Irreverent wit and smoldering star-crossed romance (not to mention Highwaymen and dark alchemical experiments) make this aristocratic Grand Tour of Europe an intoxicating, memorable ride. Swoon-worthy and perfect for summer reading.

The Hazel Wood By Melissa Albert

Dark and deep and treacherous, the Hazel Wood awaits all who seek the Hinterland. Alice Proserpine has never sought the realm her reclusive grandmother wrote about in her dark, cult-classic fairy tales. But when her mother is kidnapped, Alice has no choice but to journey into the wood, although nothing could prepare her for the tangled truths within...

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter By Erika L. Sanchez

Julia’s sister Olga is the “perfect Mexican daughter” — dutiful, conservative, and devoted to the family — unlike Julia, who argues with her mother and dreams of leaving home for college. But after Olga dies in an accident, Julia discovers that her big sister had secrets and begins a search for the truth about who Olga really was.

Love & gelato By Jenna Evans Welch Her mother’s dying wish sends Lina to Italy to meet her long-lost father and immerse herself in her mother’s old journals, a journey of grief and love, secrets and romance all spun together into a charming adventure of self-discovery. This is the quintessential summer read!

Love, Hate, & other Filters By Samira Ahmed High school senior Maya Aziz wants to go to film school in New York, a choice she fears her Muslim Indian parents won’t understand. She also maybe has feelings for an American classmate. Then outside events change everything and suddenly the future Maya wants seems farther away than ever in this alternately wry, thoughtful, and poignant coming-of-age tale.

Miles Morales By Jason Reynolds If you’ve read the graphic novel, you already know 16-year-old Miles Morales’ secret identity. (Hint: a radioactive spider is involved.) But not all of the heroes wear masks in this exciting adventure by master storyteller Jason Reynolds, which confronts issues of race, family, relationships — and yes, some dastardly supernatural villainy!

Railhead By Philip Reeve In a world of drones and emperors, androids and sentient interstellar trains, Zen Starling is a human thief with a big job—one that gives even his generally unscrupulous conscience pause. Incredible world-building and thrilling adventure make this one exciting intergalactic joyride!

The Reader By Traci Chee

In a land where no one can read, Sefia must protect a mysterious book at all costs, a book she’s determined to decipher. As her path unites her with a boy trained to kill and a crew of infamous pirates, the book’s stories connect with her own in ways that seem impossible.

Salt to the Sea By Ruta Sepetys A steely band of refugees converges and makes its way to the sea against all odds, seeking escape from Russian invasion at the tail end of World War II. This is a powerful, moving look at four lives searching for hope through the terrors and tragedies of war.

Solo By Kwame Alexander Blade, the son of a drug-addicted rock star, turns to music as he struggles to find himself and his place in his family. His search takes him all the way from Los Angeles to a village in Ghana in this brilliant tale composed from free verse, dialogue, texts, news reports, and song lyrics.

The upside of unrequited By Becky Albertalli At 17, Molly has had 26 crushes and zero kisses, but she’s finally ready to take a chance on love — maybe. Meanwhile, her twin sister is absorbed in a new relationship, her two moms are busy planning their wedding, and not one but two potential boyfriends show up to keep life interesting.

Warcross By Marie Lu Bounty hunting doesn’t pay the bills, so Emi hacks into a virtual reality Warcross tournament, planning to steal what she needs. When she gets caught, all seems lost until an enticing offer from the game’s founder sends her deeper into the game to track a dangerous saboteur.

When By Victoria Laurie Would you want to know when you’re going to die? Maddie Fynn doesn’t have a choice — she can read people’s death dates on their foreheads. And when she and her best friend try to warn and save people, they end up under investigation for murder. This mystery thriller is full of great characters, twists and turns, and most importantly, a great ending.