Young adult novels are great for a couple of reasons: they're easy to read and they address issues teenagers face on a daily basis. The list of books below were written for YA and middle grade readers and address issues of racism, antiracism, resilience, and community. We will be adding to this list over time, so let us know if there's a title you'd like to see added. You can also view our other Antiracist Reading Lists here:
View our Antiracist Adult Reading List
View our Antiracist Kids Reading List
Questions or Suggestions? Email read@napabookmine.com.
Bryan Stevenson's incredible fight to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality comes to life in this young adult adaptation of the acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestseller that was adapted into a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan, Jaime Foxx, and Brie Larson.
The crucial, empowering, #1 New York Times bestselling exploration of racism—and antiracism—in America.
This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.
8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best · William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller!
"Absolutely riveting!" —Jason Reynolds
#1 Kids Indie Next List * Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of the Year * SLJ Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * Junior Library Guild Selection * Edgar Award Nominee * Four Starred Reviews * Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year *
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME
Jacqueline Woodson's National Book Award and Newbery Honor winner is a powerful memoir that tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse.
A President Obama "O" Book Club pick
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Jacqueline Woodson's first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming celebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories.
Winner of the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature!
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME
A heartbreaking and powerful story about a black boy killed by a police officer, drawing connections through history, from award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes.
Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better.
A National Book Award Finalist
Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
Carnegie Medal winner
An NPR Favorite Book of 2019
A New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2019
A Time Best Children’s Book of 2019
A Today Show Best Kids’ Book of 2019
A Washington Post Best Children’s Boo
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Winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award!
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019!
“Gripping and timely.” —People
“The YA debut we’re most excited for this year.” —Entertainment Weekly
“A book that knocks you off your feet while dropping the kind of knowledge that’ll keep you down for the count.
A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature.
A CORETTA SCOTT KING HONOR BOOK AND THE WINNER OF THE BOSTON GLOBE HORN BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION!
"Extraordinary friendships . . . extraordinary storytelling." --Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award-Winning author of One Crazy Summer
Fifty of the foremost diverse children's authors and illustrators--including Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Kwame Alexander--share answers to the question, "In this divisive world, what shall we tell our children?" in this beautiful, full-color keepsake collection, published in partnership with Just Us Books.
With this inspiring and brightly illustrated guide to power, learn about the different types of power, what it means to have power, and what you can do with your own power to create positive change in the world, no matter who or how old you are.
What makes you the boss of me? What makes a king a king, or a queen a queen?
Speak Up! is a joyful celebration of 45 speeches by children and teenagers who have stood up for causes they passionately believe in and challenged adults in power to take note.
“...to be revisited again and again…The candy-colored pages and straightforward stories are hard to resist…” –The New York Times
“...diverse collection of iconic figures…vibrantly illustrated…beautifully crafted volume…” –Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“…exuberant&hell
A National Book Award Finalist with five starred reviews and multiple awards!
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In a hard-hitting novel about fitting in—or not—Anthony “Ant” Jones gets transported from his East Cleveland hood to an almost all-white prep school and has to figure out where he belongs...before he loses himself entirely. Black Boy White School is a memorable debut that will appeal to fans of Walter Dean Myers and Sherman Alexie.
"Unflinchingly irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartbreakingly honest." —Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X
Major motion picture now filming! Starring Sanaa Lathan (in her directorial debut), Jamila C. Gray, Method Man, Mike Epps, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
#1 New York Times bestseller · Seven starred reviews · Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book
A Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor winner * Four Starred Reviews * Over Ten Best-of-Year Lists"Powerful....
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*A New York Public Library Best Children's Book of 2018!*
*A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2018*
*A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018*
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“A memorable and lovely debut.”--Kirkus Reviews
“Walking with Miss Millie is full of subtle wisdom. Its ending is satisfying though sobering and there are elements of this story that stay with you long after the last page has been read.”--Karen English, Coretta Scott King Honor Award Author
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a timely middle-grade road-trip story through landmarks of the Civil Rights movement and the map they lay for contemporary race relations.
How to Go on an Unplanned Road Trip with Your Grandma:
Grab a Suitcase: Prepacked from the big spring break trip that got CANCELLED.
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A Bank Street Best Book of 2021!
From award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert comes a debut middle-grade novel about the only two Black girls in town who discover a collection of hidden journals revealing shocking secrets of the past.
Beach-loving surfer Alberta has been the only Black girl in town for years.
Sharon M.
To Kill a Mockingbird meets One Crazy Summer in this powerful, bittersweet debut about one girl's journey to reconnect with her mother and learn the truth about her father in the tumultuous times of the Jim Crow South.
"Timely, captivating, and lovely. So glad this book is in the world." --Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming
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“A poignant and hopeful glimpse at the past for today’s curious readers.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor author
From the award-winning author of Eliza’s Freedom Road comes the powerful tale of a slave girl’s triumphant journey to freedom with her family during the Civil War.
In the tumult of 1970s New York City, seventh graders are bussed from their neighborhood in Queens to integrate a new school in South Jamaica.
In this Newbery Honor novel, New York Times bestselling author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the story of three sisters who travel to Oakland, California, in 1968 to meet the mother who abandoned them. A strong option for summer reading—take this book along on a family road trip or enjoy it at home.
A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
When eleven-year-old Langston's father moves them from their home in Alabama to Chicago's Bronzeville district, it feels like he's giving up everything he loves.
"The right story at the right time. . . . It’s not just a narrative; it’s an experience. It’s the novel we’ve been waiting for." —The New York Times
A boy tries to steer a safe path through the projects in Harlem in the wake of his brother’s death in this outstanding debut novel that celebrates community and creativity.
From the New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander comes Rebound, the dynamic prequel to his Newbery Award–winning novel in verse, The Crossover.
The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award–winning middle grade bestseller! Basketball and heartache share the court in this slam-dunk novel in verse.
The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy who decides to hit the road to find his father—from Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963, a Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree.
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by The New York Times • Time • Buzzfeed • NPR • New York Public Library • Publishers Weekly • School Library Journal
National Book Award-finalist Ibi Zoboi makes her middle-grade debut with a moving story of a girl finding her place in a world that's changing at warp speed.
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From the Constitution to abolition, from voting to civil rights, this chapter book for civic-minded young readers filled with fun facts and historical trivia shows how America got the nickname "land of the free." A perfect way to start a conversation about American freedoms with young readers.
An exciting middle-grade debut starring a Muslim boy with a huge imagination. An NPR Best Book of the Year.
Welcome to the imaginative brain of Omar!
Omar and his family have just moved, and he is NOT excited about starting at a new school. What if the work is too hard or the kids are mean or the teacher is a zombie alien?!
"If you are wondering how to begin confronting Anti-Black racism in your classroom, start with What Lane?"--School Library Journal: The Classroom Bookshelf
"STAY IN YOUR LANE." Stephen doesn't want to hear that--he wants to have no lane.
* "Maldonado excels at depicting realistic and authentic interactions between middle school boys."--School Library Journal (starred review)
A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2018!
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An uplifting story, told through the alternating voices of two middle-schoolers, in which a community rallies to reject racism.
Steal This Country: A Handbook for Resistance, Persistence, and Fixing Almost Everything (Hardcover)
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A walk-the-walk, talk-the-talk, hands-on, say-it-loud handbook for activist kids who want to change the world!
The beloved and award-winning novel now available in a new format with a great new cover!
Marcus and Eddie are best friends who found the strength to break through the racial barrier. Marcus is black; Eddie is white. Stars of their school basketball team, they are true leaders who look past the stereotypes and come out on top. They are inseparable, watching each other's backs, both on and off the basketball court.
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Tamika Sykes, AKA Mik, is hearing impaired and way too smart for her West Bronx high school. She copes by reading lips and selling homework answers, and looks forward to the time each day when she can be alone in her room drawing. She's a tough girl who mostly keeps to herself and can shut anyone out with the click of her hearing aid.
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The heartbreaking story of five generations of young people from a single African-and-American family pursuing an elusive dream of freedom.
"Gut wrenching and incredible.”— Sabaa Tahir #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes
Winner of the Michael L. Printz Medal