If You Want to Read Something Profound
These powerful stories pack an emotional punch.
Speak Up by Miranda Paul and Ebony Glenn
A diverse class of students learn that when something really matters, one voice can make a big difference. Early grades
Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne et al
Poetry is a great medium for social change, and these inspiring poems by poets including Brown, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Olivia Gatwood, will make kids want to express their ideas about justice and injustice through poems and art, too. Early grades
Small Matters by Heather Ferranti Kinser
Powerful images from an electron scanning microscope show how tiny details can make a big difference in this eye-opening picture book. Early grades
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe by Jo Watson Hackl
Cricket believes she can bring her vanishing mama back if she finds the secret room that featured in so many of her childhood stories — so takes her only clue (a coin from a Mississippi ghost town) and sets off into the woods to find the truth about her family. Middle grades
Sylvia and Aki by Winifred Conkling
Sylvia and Aki faced different kinds of prejudice: Sylvia’s family had to start a legal battle to get her into school, and Aki’s family was relocated to an internment camp during World War Two. By coincidence, Sylvia’s family rents the house that Aki’s family was forced to leave behind. Middle grades
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Like all of Acevedo’s work, the language in this verse narrative is the star. When their father’s plane crashes, two sisters — one in New York City and one in the Dominican Republic — discover each other’s existence and their father’s double life. High school
Parachutes by Kelly Yang
Class conflict, the Asian diaspora, and rape culture come together in this story about a wealthy international student from Shanghai who rents a room from a Filipino-American family. High school
Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings
In this eerie fairy tale, a rural Australian girl investigates the disappearance of her two older brothers. High school
Lose Your Mother: A Journey along the Atlantic Slave Route by Saidiya Hartman
You may well want to add this chronicle of the author’s journey along a slave route in Ghana to your high school history reading list — it’s a fascinating (and sad) look at a side of history we often gloss over. High school
This was originally published in the summer 2020 HSL reading guide.
If you can’t get enough of Greek mythology, add these myth-inspired books to your summer reading list.
Nobody’s perfect, but we all have the power to be better tomorrow than we were yesterday. These tales of forgiveness and redemption remind us that we are better together.
Miss Rumphius wants to make the world a more beautiful place, a legacy that comes with a deep connection to nature. These books take up that project, showing that family, home, and nature can change us for the better.
Milo’s adventure in the Lands Beyond is full of witty wordplay and curious characters. Get a similar taste of brainy unpredictability from these delightfully eccentric books like The Phantom Tollbooth.
Harriet the Spy was our first rebel heroine, a smart girl who spies for the sheer pleasure of it. These other renegade girls are worthy follow-ups to her literary legacy.
An Edwardian family faces a changing world in this British drama of manners that’s a little bit Austen, a little bit soap opera, and entirely satisfying. Get your Downton fix with historical fiction featuring rich details and nuanced character development.
Fairy tales get complicated in these twists on tradition. You’ll never read “happily ever after” the same way again.
If you loved The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket's hilariously tragic chronicle of the sad adventures of the Baudelaire orphans, add these titles to your library list this summer.
There’s a kind of magic in imagining worlds shaped from non-European culture and myth — and these books paint possibilities powerful and profound.
If you love solving mysteries with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, we’ve got a reading list of detective stories from picture books to adult novels you’ll love.
Summer means adventure in these old-fashioned stories about independent children making their own fun.
Who can resist the perfect combination of words and pictures? Add a spunky hero with a few problems, and you’ve got worthy Wimpy Kid follow-ups.
Home in these books takes many forms, but it’s always the place where you just belong.
Small towns with spooky secrets, friends who face down evil, and a little retro charm give these books the same vibe as the sleeper series hit.
Get your rebellion on with these books set in dystopian worlds that are just asking to be burned down.
Technology meets humanity with unpredictable results in these works of speculative fiction.
If you love the fantasy, fun, and humor of Roald Dahl, you’ll enjoy these books that capture some of that same playful spirit.
Serious reading time should be at the top of your summertime to-do list.
If you’re looking for a twisty turner teen thriller, these recent YA books about teens in dangerous situations may be just what you’re looking for.
If you have a kid who dreams of starting a business, these readalouds will help inspire them.
Here’s an action-packed, steampunk-inspired YA series for teens that is great for kids who love historical fiction or books about World War II. Suzanne explains why Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series is summer binge reading material.
If Suzanne had to pick one book series for a desert island, the Fairyland series is the one she’d choose. Here’s why.
These powerful stories pack an emotional punch.
It’s the brilliantly realized characters and relationships that make these books sing.
Looking for something exciting to read this summer? These action-packed books will keep you turning pages.
Sometimes, you just want to read a book that makes you feel empowered to make the change you want to see in the world.
If you’re craving a reading list full of magic and fantastic creatures, these books deliver.
Love and life get complicated in these young adult novels. Bring your own tissues.
Not sure what to recommend next for your teen? These in-the-adult-section novels are great follow-ups to classic kid favorites and great YA books to read this summer.
Amy Sharony is the founder and editor-in-chief of home | school | life magazine. She's a pretty nice person until someone starts pluralizing things with apostrophes, but then all bets are off.
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