Black Boy

Black Boy is by Richard Wright. The classic autobiography of racial inequality in both the South and the North. Wright documents, in his own beautiful style, his birth and childhood in the South and his migration North to find a better life, only to discover that race is still a problem even in the North. He documents his involvement with the Communist Party and the circumstances that led to his ouster from it. A class story of racism in America that everyone should read.

Ratings: 11th grade - 8 out of 10 - P (profanity) - AC (mature thematic content). 

Pandora Gets Frightened

Pandora Gets Frightened is by Carolyn Hennesy. The final installment in the fantasy Pandora series. Pandy and her friends must travel to the Underworld to find and capture the final of the great evils she loosed on the world, Fear. Hera is determined to stop her, can Pandy and her friends defeat the Queen of the Gods before her time limit is up? Fans of the series will enjoy its conclusion. 

Ratings: 6th grade - 7 out of 10. 

Auntie Poldi and the Handsome Antonio

Auntie Poldi and the Handsome Antonio is by Mario Giordano. The third in the realistic fiction mystery Auntie Poldi series. Auntie Poldi's Tanzanian husband shows up unexpectedly looking for his brother who has disappeared. John worries that Thomas has stolen something very valuable and is being hunted by the Tanzanian equivalent of the mafia. All he has of his brother's is a slip of paper with a phone number and a name "handsome Antonio." Will Auntie Poldi be able to solve this mystery with the help of Chief Inspector Montana and her friends and family? Fans of the series will thoroughly enjoy this installment. 

Ratings: 11th grade - 8 out of 10 - AC (mature thematic content). 

From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, & Finding Home

From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, & Finding Home is by Tembi Locke. A charming and heart-rending multi-cultural autobiographical memoir. Tembi Locke met the love of her life while studying in Italy. Saro is a chef from Sicily who is willing to move to the United States to be with his new bride. Tembi is heartbroken when she discovers her new in laws don't want anything to do with her or Saro because she is black. Then Saro is diagnosed with cancer and dies. Tembi and their adopted daughter take his body home to Sicily and against all odds a strong bond forms between Tembi and her mother-in-law. This is a story of loss and the power of love and family ties. 

Ratings: 10th grade - 8 out of 10 - P (profanity). 

The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea is by T.J. Klune. A magnificent fantasy novel! Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He travels to orphanages where magical children live and determines if they are being treated well. When he is given a special assignment to go to a house with a collection of six very different children, his life is changed forever. The Master of the house, Arthur Parnassus, will do anything to keep these dangerous children safe, but he has secrets of his own. This magical story is a tale of love, loneliness, belonging, and the family we choose for ourselves. This book is wonderful! A Reader's Corner Highly Recommended Read. 

Ratings: 10th grade - 10 out of 10 - AC (adult thematic content). 

Invisible Man

Invisible Man is by Ralph Ellison. The classic multi-cultural historical fiction novel of a young black man's transition from college to life in New York City. The unnamed narrator discovers his life is not going to turn out as he planned. He was raised in the South, attended a Negro college believing he would become a teacher there - only to find himself expelled. He believes he is sent to New York to find a job with letters of recommendation, only to find he has been deceived. He becomes the spokesman in Harlem for a radical group called "The Brotherhood," only to retreat into the darkness where he becomes the invisible man he believes himself to be. A strange, yet powerful novel of the African American experience. 

Ratings: 11th grade - 8 out of 10 - P (profanity) - AC (mature thematic content). 

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West is by Dee Brown. The classic nonfiction story of the conquest of the American West from the perspective of Native American tribes. This is a story that needs to be told and heard by all races. It clearly portrays men as men, good and bad, on both sides. White, Native American, race doesn't matter we are all humans: the good, the bad, and everything in between. We must understand both sides of history to really comprehend the mistakes that were made and try to avoid them in the future. A Reader's Corner Highly Recommended Read.

Ratings: 11th grade - 9 out of 10 - AC (mature thematic content). 

Crazy Horse: A Life

Crazy Horse: A Life is by Larry McMurtry. A short, but informational, biography of Crazy Horse. Little is really known about this legendary Native American warrior, but McMurtry faithfully imparts what information is known with as little speculation as possible. A great introduction to Crazy Horse and biographies for younger readers. 

Ratings: 8th grade - 7 out of 10. 

War Dances

War Dances is by Sherman Alexie. A realistic fiction collection of poems and short stories by one of the most prolific Native American writers. Alexie has a way of weaving his Native American heritage into his work in a way that makes it relatable to all readers. His poetry is powerful and yet easy to understand. 

Ratings: 11th grade - 7 out of 10 - P (profanity) - AC (mature thematic content). 

Heart of Darkness and Selected Short Fiction

Heart of Darkness and Selected Short Fiction is by Joseph Conrad. The classic historical fiction novella is combined with three of Conrad's other powerful short stories in one volume. "Heart of Darkness" is the story of Marlow, a Brit who gets a job as a captain of a steamship in the Belgian Congo. He travels up the Congo to find a man called Kurtz, who is said to be both able and idealistic in his treatment of the "savages." What Marlow finds when he arrives at the station Kurtz controls shocks him to the core. This is a Reader's Corner Highly Recommended Read. It is a classic tale of the horrors of colonialism, one man's descent into madness, and another's failure to speak out about what he witnesses. The other short stories are also magnificently done and worth the time to read. Warning: there are racial slurs in this book that were in common usage at the time it was written. 

Ratings: 10th grade - 10 out of 10 - P (profanity) - AC (mature thematic content). 

Black Elk Speaks

Black Elk Speaks is by John G. Neihardt. The classic biography of an Oglala Lakota holy man, who was related to Crazy Horse and survived the massacre at Wounded Knee. Neihardt, a poet, was seeking an interview with Native Americans who remembered the Messianic Movement of the late 1800s in order to complete his epic poem about the settling of the West. When he is introduced to Black Elk, the elderly man offers to tell him of a vision he had when he was nine that changed his life. The result is a beautifully written story of one man's vision, and a nation's destruction of its indigenous tribes. The text is lyrical and poignant. This is a must read classic for anyone interested in Native American history. 

Ratings: 10th grade - 9 out of 10.  

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past is by Jennifer Teege. A painful memoir about families and the secrets they keep. At age 38, Jennifer Teege picks up a book in the library and recognizes her mother and grandmother in the photographs in the book. This is how she discovers that her mother, who gave her up for adoption, was the daughter of a Nazi war criminal, who was hanged for his crimes. Her beloved grandmother, who she remembers so fondly, was the mistress of the Butcher of Plaszow. This discovery throws her life into turmoil and sends her on a journey of discovery to come to terms with her family history and the truth she was never told, but now has to deal with. 

Ratings: 11th grade - 8 out of 10 - P (profanity) - AC (mature thematic content).