The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman

This gothic fantasy novel is a coming-of-age story, reminiscent of The Jungle Book, that chronicles the life of Nobody Owens—a young boy adopted by a motley group of ghosts after the murder of his parents. This book is paradoxically both tender and delightfully creepy; your students will be captivated by the adventures of the living Nobody—protected from his parents’ murderer by his graveyard family—as he experiences the joys and confusions of growing up.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Mark Haddon

This book will capture your students' imaginations, and it's a fantastic opportunity to discuss the role of the first-person narrator in fiction. When Christopher John Francis Boone discovers his neighbor's dead dog, an improbable murder mystery begins. Christopher is autistic, seeing and reacting to the world with a uniquely intelligent perspective that can be both funny and enlightening. Curious Incident is very popular in classrooms nationwide, despite some coarse language.

Heartstopper #1

Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper graphic novel series takes readers on an uplifting journey about friendship, love, and identity. This first volume introduces Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson, two classmates who hadn’t really met until their teacher sat them together. Recently outed as gay, Charlie finds himself developing a crush on Nick, whom he presumes is straight. But as their friendship deepens, Charlie realizes Nick cares about him more than he thinks. Students who love books by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera, and David Levithan will adore Heartstopper.

Ace of Spades

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Winner of the 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Ace of Spades is a thrilling novel packed with suspense and social commentary. The only Black students at their elite private school, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo are excited when they’re chosen to be prefects. But soon, a mysterious figure named Aces shares devastating secrets about their lives through anonymous texts. With their futures in jeopardy, Devon and Chiamaka must try to uncover Aces’s identity before things take a violent turn.

Paperback version available July 2023!

Noughts and Crosses

Malorie Blackman

The first in a series, Noughts and Crosses is one of the UK’s most successful YA novels. This book examines race, privilege, and discrimination through an alternative retelling of history. Society is split into two classes: the inferior, pale-skinned Noughts and the dominant, dark-skinned Crosses. Callum and Sephy, a Nought and a Cross, are childhood friends turned lovers. As they risk everything to be together, the two soon learn that going against society’s rules may have deadly consequences.

In the Land of Invisible Women

Qanta Ahmed

This eye-opening memoir about practicing medicine as a woman in the Middle East is engrossing, thought-provoking, and ultimately humbling. Your students will be amazed by all the cultural differences physician and author Qanta Ahmed encounters as she describes her shocking experiences living and working in Saudi Arabia.

Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro

On the surface, the award-winning Never Let Me Go is a beautiful coming-of-age novel written from the perspective of Kathy, as she reminisces about her days at a boarding school in England. Readers will be stunned, however, as Ishiguro’s bestseller progresses, deftly transforming into a dystopian science-fiction novel that deals with mortality and fate. This is the perfect book to help your students develop inference skills.

Girl, Woman, Other

Bernardine Evaristo

A Booker Prize winner, this engaging novel follows twelve characters, most of whom are Black British women, whose stories intertwine in clever ways. Each character differs in age, social status, and occupation, giving readers multiple views from which to examine modern British culture and its ties to Britain’s colonial past in Africa and the Caribbean. Mentions of domestic abuse, child abuse, and sexual violence make this book better suited for older readers.

White Teeth

Zadie Smith

In the multiple award-winning novel White Teeth, Zadie Smith explores the intersecting lives of Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal, two World War II veterans and unlikely friends, and their experiences trying to raise families amid Britain’s ever-changing social landscape. With witty humor and vivid characters, the book highlights themes of race, cultural identity, and immigration, offering an insightful take on contemporary British society.

Atonement

Ian McEwan

Atonement tells the story of Briony Tallis, an imaginative young girl and budding writer, who makes a disastrous mistake which upends the lives of everyone around her. Told from multiple perspectives and covering topics such as war and country estate life, Atonement will appeal to a wide variety of students. Readers will be shocked at the novel’s clever, heartbreaking ending, but due to the mature subject matter of the book, we recommend this book for older students.