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In Wisconsin, Rico could blend in. His light hair and lighter skin wouldn’t make him the “dark dude” or the punching bag for the whole neighborhood. Trading Harlem for Wisconsin, though, means giving up on a big part of his identity. And when Rico no longer has to prove that he’s Latino, he almost stops being one — except there are some things that can’t be left behind.

Twelve-year-old David has only known life in a concentration camp in Eastern Europe. When the opportunity to escape presents itself, David seizes it and then begins his journey to Denmark and freedom. Walden Media made a movie of this book, originally published in Denmark in 1963, by the same name in 2004. Since then, it has been mass marketed to educators. For teaching materials, visit their website.

Thirteen-year-old Azad knows nothing but war while growing up in a predominantly Kurdish town in Sardasht, Iran. Iran’s new religious leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini wants to eliminate the Kurds while Iraq’s Saddam Hussein’s would like to occupy that part of Iran. Readers get a glimpse into the heart of this young Kurdish refugee and will experience the loss and hope of emigration.

After Justyce is handcuffed when simply trying to help his girlfriend in a parking lot, he begins keeping a journal of sorts in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When a needless shooting takes the life of someone close to him, Justyce questions whether Martin’s visions of peace are possible.

A chronicle of the incredible correspondence between California librarian Clara Breed and young Japanese American internees during World War II. These actual letters, replete with spelling and grammar mistakes, show how one person can make a positive difference in the lives of so many.

When sixteen-year-old Walker gets caught up in a witch-hunt against homosexuals, he is left to stand by and watch as a tragedy unfolds.

Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall — or rather, walls. There’s the wall her mom has put up ever since Liliana’s dad left — again. There’s the wall that delineates Liliana’s diverse inner-city Boston neighborhood from Westburg, the wealthy — and white — suburban high school she’s just been accepted into. And there’s the wall Liliana creates within herself, because to survive at Westburg, she can’t just lighten up, she has to whiten up. But then light is shed on some hard truths: It isn’t that her father doesn’t want to come home — he can’t…and her whole family is in jeopardy. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel insurmountable. But sometimes a wall can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: Use this foundation as a platform to speak her truth, or risk crumbling under its weight. ALA/YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults List.

Moon Shadow joins his father, traveling from China to San Francisco in the early 20th century. Together father and son confront harsh prejudice as well as kindness, and ultimately follow a dream to build a flying machine in this Newbery Honor novel.

Dream Freedom is based on a real-life teacher and her students who worked to make a difference in the lives of Dinka slaves in modern day Africa. After reading a newspaper article to her class about atrocities in Sudan, Miss Hazel’s class wants to help. Their research uncovers a way to buy back slaves and the students work to raise money to purchase liberty for as many slaves as they can and to educate others about human rights and freedoms.

When seventeen-year-old biracial Rowan Chase discovers a skeleton buried on her family’s Tulsa, Oklahoma, property, her investigation reveals a murder and a racially-charged violent historical event.

Eleven-year-old Elijah was born in Buxton, a Canadian settlement that was the final stop on the Underground Railroad. The free child of slaves, Elijah reveals his growing awareness of the horrors of slavery on his journey to young adulthood. Vivid characters and a strong sense of place create both humor and horror in this moving novel.

Lewis “Shoe” Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he’s not used to is white people being nice to him — people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family’s poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan’s side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis’s home, will he still be his friend? Awards and honors include Best Fiction for Young Adults List, Young Adult Library Services Association and Honor Book, 2014 American Indian Youth Literature Award.

Eleven short stories written by well-known young adult authors explore issues of self-identity and race relations. Young adults will recognize their own worlds in these thought-provoking stories that range from heartrending to cheerful.

An engaging look at the many contributions of Frederick Douglass — including his work as a publisher, a diplomat to Haiti, a bank president, and a prolific writer. Chockful of quotes, excerpts from Douglass’s writing, and images that capture the atmosphere of the times.

This is the true story of one spirited Japanese-American family’s attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention as seen through the eyes of Jeannie, the youngest daughter of the Wakatsuki family. The family was detained for four years at the Manzanar Internment Camp during World War II.

As a youth, Kertesz spent one year in Auschwitz and so develops this novel about a 14-year-old Hungarian boy’s ability to see beauty even in a horrific concentration camp. Publisher’s Weekly called its prequel Fateless one of the best 50 books in 1992 and this one won him a Nobel Prize.

Felix Love has never been in love. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many — Black, queer, and transgende — to ever get his own happily-ever-after.

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages — after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned — Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi-love triangle. But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

On a hot day in July 1919, five black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the “white” beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted into days of urban violence that shook the city of Chicago to its foundations. This mesmerizing narrative draws on contemporary accounts as it traces the roots of the explosion that had been building for decades in race relations, politics, business, and clashes of culture. This history includes archival photos and prints, source notes, bibliography, and an index.

This book examines the treatment of Japanese Americans before, during, and after World War II by the U.S. government. From Pearl Harbor to the Japanese Internment camps, and the victories attained by an all Asian battalion, these stories give readers insight into the dichotomy felt by Japanese Americans during this shameful time in history. Photographs capture much what cannot be adequately expressed in words.

Twelve-year-old Korean American Junie Kim, who’s kept quiet about the bullying and racism she encounters at school, is diagnosed with depression but is later inspired to speak out after learning about her grandparents’ experiences during the Korean War.

Imagine being asked to be one of the first black students to integrate an all-white school in the Fifties. Such is the case for Sylvia Patterson when she must decide whether or not to be an agent of social change or to stay in the comfort of her inferior all-black school. Readers may want to refer to Melba Pattillo Beals’s memoir Warriors Don’t Cry, for her personal account of what happened when she was one of the nine teenagers who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.

Looking for a little mischief after finding an old flare gun, Ron and Ben find themselves in trouble when the local gas bar on Agamiing Reserve goes up in flames, and they are wrongly accused of arson by the sheriff’s son. As the investigation goes forward, community attitudes are revealed, and the truth slowly comes to light. 

During World War II, an African-American woman named Ida decides to pass as white in order to become a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilot). The book focuses on the lives and adventures of these pilots, making it a fast-paced, lively read. Though there is no official record of an African-American in the WASPS, the other historical details are accurate and informative.

In the sticky-hot summer of 1968, a year in American history marked by assassination, Vietnam War protests, and civil rights rioting, Alice faces some trying concerns of her own.