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 2021
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, History: World, Biography
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Southern Literature, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, African American Literature, Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2014
Genre Poem, Fiction
Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Education, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Family
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Class, Social Justice, History: Asian, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts / Culture
Twelve-year-old Amal’s dreams of becoming a teacher are shattered when she disrespects the powerful landlord of her Pakistani village and is forced into a life of servitude in the New York Times bestselling Amal Unbound (2018). Author Aisha Saeed is a Pakistani-American teacher, writer, and attorney as well as a founder of the We Need Diverse Books organization. In Amal Unbound, Saeed calls attention to contemporary global inequities, exploring themes of social injustice, education, and... Read Amal Unbound Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Immigration, Society: Community
Tags Immigration / Refugee, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Biography
American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures (2018) is an essay collection edited by actress and activist America Ferrera with E. Cayce Dumont. The collection contains essays from notable individuals in movie and TV entertainment, food, publishing, public service, comedy, music, and self-help content creation. These first-person accounts all address the often troublesome question of what it means to be American, especially when growing up between different cultures. American Like Me is a New... Read American Like Me Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Incarceration, Social Justice, Journalism, Race / Racism, American Literature, Post-War Era, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Sociology, History: World, Politics / Government
Publication year 1975
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, American Literature, History: World, American Revolution, Social Justice, Politics / Government
Edmund S. Morgan’s American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia was originally published in 1975 by W. W. Norton & Company Inc. This summary references the Norton paperback edition reissued in 2003. Morgan seeks to discover how America’s Founding Fathers came to advocate for freedom and equality when many of them owned slaves. Morgan chose to study Virginia’s Founding Fathers because they were among the most vocal in their opposition to the monarchy, because... Read American Slavery, American Freedom Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community
Tags History: U.S., Politics / Government, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Sociology, History: World
Publication year 2009
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Education, Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags History: U.S., Social Justice, Race / Racism, Education, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Education, History: World, Biography
Publication year 2019
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Gender, Society: Colonialism
Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Mental Illness, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Gender / Feminism
Publication year 2018
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Environment
Tags Journalism, Science / Nature, Sociology, History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government
Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book by journalist and poet Eliza Griswold. This study guide follows the book’s first edition, which was published in 2018. Griswold is a journalist known for investigative reporting into political issues, having previously published articles in The New York Times Magazine and The Nation. In Amity and Prosperity, Griswold investigates natural gas companies drilling in Pennsylvania’s western Washington County. The... Read Amity and Prosperity Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Gender / Feminism, Black Lives Matter, Sociology, History: World
Publication year 2018
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Nation
Tags Social Justice, Race / Racism
Publication year 1974
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags Gender / Feminism, Social Justice, Race / Racism, Politics / Government, Civil Rights / Jim Crow
Angela Davis: An Autobiography, originally published in 1974, is a political autobiography focused on the imprisonment and trial of activist and scholar Angela Davis in the early 1970s. In 1970, after guns belonging to Davis were used in an uprising at the Marin County Courthouse in California, Davis was accused and convicted of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder. A jury acquitted Davis of all charges in 1972. She published her autobiography two years later to center... Read Angela Davis Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance
Publication year 1977
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Environment
Tags Philosophy, Animals, Science / Nature, Philosophy, Social Justice, Food, Politics / Government
Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for Our Treatment of Animals is a book by renowned Australian philosopher Peter Singer. Published in 1975 and re-released most recently in 2009, with an additional preface by the author, the book is widely recognized as a foundational text within the animal liberation movement. Singer tries to persuade the reader of his or her own implicit “speciesism,” a term he popularized, and he argues that the discrimination against other species... Read Animal Liberation Summary
Publication year 2014
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Education, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Life/Time: The Future, Society: Community, Natural World: Place, Society: Colonialism
Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Education, Military / War, Anthropology, Colonial America, Class, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, History: World
Publication year 2019
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Colonialism
Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Military / War, American Revolution, Colonial America, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Education, Education, History: World
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People is a 2019 adaptation of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s 2015 nonfiction book. Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese adapted the material for middle-grade audiences. The original publication received the American Book Award, and this version is a 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Young Adult Honor Book with recognition from the National Council for the Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council. This book tells the perspective of... Read An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People Summary
Publication year 1936
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Class, Society: Community
Tags Philosophy, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Asian Literature, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Indian Literature, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1962
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags LGBTQ, Race / Racism, Love / Sexuality, Depression / Suicide, Relationships, Grief / Death, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Social Justice, American Literature, Classic Fiction