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Change Agents: Middle/High School Book Club Sets

Books that build empathy and inspire action. Made possible by a gift from Paula Silver.

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31 items

I am not your perfect Mexican daughter [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Sánchez, Erika L., author.
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Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter.Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too.

If I was your girl [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Russo, Meredith, author.
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Amanda Hardy only wants to fit in at her new school, but she is keeping a big secret, so when she falls for Grant, guarded Amanda finds herself yearning to share with him everything about herself, including her previous life as Andrew.

In the country we love [BOOK DISCUSSION] : my family divided
Guerrero, Diane, 1986-
Format:

Diane Guerrero, the television actress from the megahit Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, was just fourteen years old on the day her parents and brother were arrested and deported to Colombia while she was at school. Born in the U.S., Guerrero was able to remain in the country and continue her education, depending on the kindness of family friends who took her in and helped her build a life and a successful acting career for herself, without the support system of her family. In the Country We Love is a moving, heartbreaking story of one woman's extraordinary resilience in the face of the nightmarish struggles of undocumented residents in this country.

Laughing at my nightmare [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Burcaw, Shane, author.
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With acerbic wit ... Shane Burcaw describes the challenges he faces as a twenty-one-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy. From awkward handshakes to having a girlfriend and everything in between, Shane handles his situation with humor and a 'you-only-live-once' perspective on life. While he does talk about everyday issues that are relatable to teens, he also offers an eye-opening perspective on what it is like to have a life-threatening disease

Let's talk about love [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Kann, Claire, author.
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In this young adult novel, Alice, afraid of explaining her asexuality, has given up on finding love until love finds her.

Long way down [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Reynolds, Jason, author.
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As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn's fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.

March. Book one [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Lewis, John, 1940 February 21-
Format:

A vivid first-hand account of Congressman John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

March. Book two [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Lewis, John, 1940 February 21- author.
Format:

After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence — but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before. Faced with beatings, police brutality, imprisonment, arson, and even murder, the movement’s young activists place their lives on the line while internal conflicts threaten to tear them apart.

March. Book three [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Lewis, John, 1940 February 21- author.
Format:

By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. Through relentless direct action, SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense.

Parable of the sower [BOOK DISCUSSION]
Butler, Octavia E.
Format:

The time is 2025. The place is California, where small walled communities must protect themselves from hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn, rape, and murder. When one small community is overrun, Lauren Olamina, an 18 year old black woman with the hereditary train of "hyperempathy" -- which causes her to feel others' pain as her own -- sets off on foot along the dangerous coastal highways, moving north into the unknown.