After the Last Border
After the Last Border By Jessica Goudeau Published by Penguin Publishing Group ISBN: 9780525559139 Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Goudeau’s sometimes heartbreaking narratives personalize the refugee crisis in ways cold news accounts cannot.” —Library Journal Description The welcoming and acceptance of immigrants and refugees has been central to America’s identity for centuries–yet America has periodically turned its back at the times of greatest humanitarian need. After the Last Border is an intimate look at the lives of two women as...
Read MoreA Very Large Expanse of Sea
A Very Large Expanse of Sea By Tahereh Mafi Published by HarperCollins Publishers ISBN-13: 9780062866578 Age Range: 13+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A moving coming-of-age narrative about the viciousness of Islamophobia and the unwavering power of love in post-9/11 America.” —Kirkus Reviews Description It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired...
Read MoreGabi, a Girl in Pieces
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces By Isabel Quintero Published by Cinco Puntos Press ISBN-13: 9781935955955 Age Range: 14+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A fresh, authentic and honest exploration of contemporary Latina identity.” —Kirkus Reviews Description Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy’s pregnancy, Sebastian’s coming out, the cute boys, her father’s meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity. July 24 My mother named me...
Read MoreSona and the Wedding Game
Sona and the Wedding Game By Kashmira Sheth Illustrated by Yoshiko Jaeggi Published by Peachtree Publishing Company ISBN-13: 9781561457359 Age Range: 4+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Sona, a young Indian-American girl, learns about the traditional wedding customs of her family’s region during the preparations for her sister’s marriage.” —Kirkus Reviews Description Experience the magic of a traditional Indian wedding! Sona’s big sister is getting married and she’s been given an important job to do. She has to steal the groom’s shoes. She’s...
Read MoreSatoko and Nada
Satoko and Nada By Yupechika Published by Seven Seas Entertainment LLC ISBN-13: 9781626929098 Age Range: 13+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…makes Ramadan approachable to young audiences.” —School Library Journal Description Satoko, a Japanese student studying in America, has a new roommate: a Saudi Arabian woman named Nada! They might have different customs, but through mutual respect—and the hilarious adventures of their daily life—Satoko and Nada prove that friendship knows no borders. Groups Represented Japanese Saudi Themes #OwnVoices...
Read MoreAll-American Muslim Girl
All-American Muslim Girl By Nadine Jolie Courtney Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux ISBN-13: 9780374309527 Age Range: 12+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…examines matters of subtle and blatant Islamophobia, privilege and erasure, and questions of faith and identity…” —Publishers Weekly Description Allie Abraham has it all going for her—she’s a straight-A student, with good friends and a close-knit family, and she’s dating popular, sweet Wells Henderson. One problem: Wells’s father is Jack Henderson, America’s most famous conservative...
Read MoreI Was Their American Dream
I Was Their American Dream By Malaka Gharib Published by Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale ISBN-13: 9780525575115 Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A heartwarming tribute to immigrant families and their descendants trying to live the American dream.” —Kirkus Reviews Description I Was Their American Dream is at once a coming-of-age story and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated her childhood...
Read MoreLailah’s Lunchbox
Lailah’s Lunchbox By Reem Faruqi Illustrated by Lea Lyon Published by Tilbury House Publishers ISBN-13: 9780884484318 Age Range: 6+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat If you’re looking for an introduction to Ramadan for young readers (ages 5 to 8), consider this picture book. —New York Times Description Lailah is in a new school in a new country, thousands of miles from her old home, and missing her old friends. When Ramadan begins, she is excited that she is finally old enough to participate in the fasting but worried that her classmates won’t understand why she...
Read MoreThe Poet X
The Poet X By Elizabeth Acevedo Published by HarperCollins Publishers ISBN-13: 9780062662804 Age Range: 13+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Poignant and real, beautiful and intense, this story of a girl struggling to define herself is as powerful as Xiomara’s name: “one who is ready for war.”” —Kirkus Reviews Description Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to...
Read MoreThe Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali By Sabina Khan Published by Scholastic Inc. ISBN-13: 9781338227017 Age Range: 14+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “With an up-close depiction of the intersection of the LGBTQIA+ community with Bengali culture, this hard-hitting and hopeful story is a must-purchase for any YA collection.” —School Library Journal Description With a welcome mix of humor, heart, and high-stakes drama, Sabina Khan provides a timely and honest portrait of what it’s like to grow up feeling unwelcome in your own culture. Reviews &...
Read MoreAll Are Welcome
All Are Welcome By Alexandra Penfold Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman Published by Random House Children’s Books Age Range: 4+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…the book’s refrain of “All are welcome here” feels both deeply reassuring and almost radical in our polarized time.” —Publishers Weekly Description Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yarmulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn...
Read MoreOne Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together
One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together By Amy Bass Published by Hachette Books Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Bass’s effective portrayal of Lewiston as a microcosm of America’s changing culture should be required reading for coaches, teachers, and those working with diverse populations.” —Publishers Weekly Description When thousands of Somali refugees resettled in Lewiston, Maine, a struggling, overwhelmingly white town, longtime residents grew uneasy. Then the mayor wrote a letter asking Somalis to stop coming,...
Read MoreThe Night Diary
The Night Diary By Veera Hiranandani Published by Penguin Young Readers Group Age Range: 8+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “This rich, compelling story, which speaks to the turbulence surrounding India’s independence and to the plight of refugees, should be in all libraries serving middle grade readers.” —School Library Journal Description It’s 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands...
Read MoreSaints & Misfits
Saints & Misfits By S.K. Ali Published by Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Age Range: 14+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “This timely and authentic portrayal is an indisputable purchase in the realistic fiction category.” —School Library Journal Description There are three kinds of people in my world: 1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They’re in your face so much, you can’t see them, like how you can’t see your nose. 2. Misfits, people who don’t belong....
Read MoreA Game for Swallows
A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return By Zeina Abirached Translated by Edward Gauvin Published by Graphic Universe “For young readers, “A Game for Swallows” will come as a revelation. At a time when the Middle East is still in turmoil and when Americans have suffered losses of electricity and other necessities during recent storms and floods, this is a story that will hit home even as it causes young, impressionable eyes to look at life abroad.” –The New York Times Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description When Zeina was born, the civil war in Lebanon...
Read MoreThe White Zone
The White Zone By Carolyn Marsden Published by Carolrhoda Books “Marsden’s detailed descriptions of everyday life make this culture come alive.” –School Library Journal “Marsden tells a story that resonates highly in today’s society where there are many different types of chaos disrupting lives and homes worldwide.” –VOYA Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Nouri and his cousin Talib can only vaguely remember a time before tanks rumbled over the streets of their Baghdad neighborhood when books, not bombs, ruled Mutanabbi Street....
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