Contemporary Books on Social Justice

Social justice is the pursuit of fairness in society based on the belief that all people deserve equal opportunities and rights. We curated the following study guide collection (including books for middle-grade and young adult readers) to help readers get the most out of books that cover contemporary issues and topics in social justice.

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Humor, Magical Realism, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Social Justice, Race / Racism, Religion / Spirituality, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Education, Education


Publication year 2003

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Class, Society: Economics

Tags Health / Medicine, Science / Nature, Social Justice, History: World, Biography

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World is a 2003 nonfiction book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder. It is an expansion of “The Good Doctor,” a 2000 article for The New Yorker and the winner of the 2004 Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage. The book profiles Dr. Paul Edward Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health, as he treats patients in Haiti and... Read Mountains Beyond Mountains Summary


Publication year 2000

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Society: Community

Tags Crime / Legal, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Social Justice


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community

Tags Social Justice, Race / Racism, Self Help, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, African American Literature, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine


Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Siblings, Society: Class

Tags Historical Fiction, Poverty, Social Justice, Health / Medicine, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Drama / Tragedy


Publication year 2001

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Class, Society: Economics, Society: Globalization, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community

Tags Sociology, Poverty, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Education, Education, Business / Economics

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America is a 2001 nonfiction book written by Barbara Ehrenreich. This book is considered a classic of investigative journalism and was ranked #13 in The Guardian’s list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. Ehrenreich takes a series of low-paying, entry-level jobs in three cities (Key West, Florida; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota) to answer the question of whether one can survive on these wages and... Read Nickel and Dimed Summary


Publication year 1961

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Society: Nation, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Politics / Government, Social Justice, History: World, Classic Fiction, Biography


Publication year 1973

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Relationships: Teams, Society: Colonialism

Tags Politics / Government, Social Justice, Race / Racism, History: World, Classic Fiction, Biography


Publication year 2009

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags History: African , Politics / Government, Social Justice, Race / Racism, African Literature, Biography, History: World, Religion / Spirituality

Originally published in 1999, No Future Without Forgiveness is the memoir of Desmond Mpilo Tutu. Tutu won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. He served as Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Cape Town and later chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which President Mandela established to help address the atrocities of apartheid.Although Tutu’s memoir focuses on his work with the TRC between 1995... Read No Future Without Forgiveness Summary


Publication year 1996

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Society: Community

Tags Sociology, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Biography

No Matter How Loud I Shout is a work of nonfiction written by Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Edward Humes and published in 1996. This work comprises the author’s ethnographical observations and participations in the Los Angeles juvenile justice system for the year of 1994. Humes asserts that the names of juveniles have been changed in accordance with state laws regarding confidentiality; however, everything else is true, and reported in the allegedly unbiased style of 1990s investigative journalism... Read No Matter How Loud I Shout Summary


Publication year 1972

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Race

Tags Race / Racism, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Politics / Government, History: U.S., History: World, Social Justice, Classic Fiction, Biography


Publication year 1955

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger

Tags Sociology, Existentialism, Black Arts Movement, Black Lives Matter, Race / Racism, History: World, Social Justice, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government, Biography

Notes of a Native Son is a collection of nonfiction essays by James Baldwin. Baldwin originally published the essays individually in various literary and cultural commentary magazines between 1948 and 1955. The Beacon Press first republished the essays as Notes of a Native Son in 1955. This study guide refers to the 2012 Beacon Press edition of Notes of a Native Son. Citations to page numbers, however, come from the volume The Price of the... Read Notes of a Native Son Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance, Race / Racism, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Incarceration, Relationships, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Social Justice, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy


Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Masculinity, Society: Community

Tags Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Gender / Feminism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Mystery / Crime Fiction, Sociology, Psychology, Psychology, Social Justice, Politics / Government

No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us (2019) was written by Rachel Louise Snyder, an associate professor of creative writing and journalism at American University. A world traveler, longtime contributor to magazines and podcasts, and a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, Snyder has won awards for both her fiction and nonfiction works, which include Fugitive Denim and What We’ve Lost is Nothing. No Visible Bruises, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, won the... Read No Visible Bruises Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Education, Society: Class, Society: Community, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Social Justice, Race / Racism


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Race / Racism, Black Lives Matter, History: U.S., History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government

One Person, No Vote by writer and professor Carol Anderson is a current affairs book and finalist for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for nonfiction. It was originally published in 2018; in 2019, Anderson added an Afterword to the paperback edition and released a young adult version. One Person, No Vote documents how Republican-led state governments exploit a weakened Voting Rights Act to tilt elections in their favor.Following Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016... Read One Person, No Vote Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Environment

Tags Food, Agriculture, Social Justice, Science / Nature, Arts / Culture

One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture is a 2019 book on how the American food production system must move beyond conventional and sustainable farming to embrace regenerative farming strategies tailored to individual environments. Anderson, who grew up on a conventional ranch outside of Bison, South Dakota, has firsthand knowledge of US conventional farming strategies. As a young journalist for the Tri-State Neighbor newspaper, she started off wanting... Read One Size Fits None Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Identity: Disability, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance


Publication year 2021

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Education, Politics / Government, History: World


Publication year 1874

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Society: War, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Ancient Greece, Philosophy, Military / War, Social Justice, History: World, Politics / Government