The First Man-Made Man: The Story of Two Sex Changes, One Love Affair, and a Twentieth-Century Medical Revolution

Written by: Pagan Kennedy

First line: Michael Dillon, a bearded medical student, fiddled with his pipe and then lit it nervously.

Why you should read this book: Over a decade before Christine Jorgenson came out as the first person to use surgery and hormones to change her expressed gender, Michael Dillon succeeded in becoming the man he’d always wanted to be using testosterone and an unusual surgical technique pioneered to help soldiers injured in World War I. Although Dillon was more or less able to completely pass as a man for most of his adult life, and even helped a male-to-female friend obtain surgery that was, at the time, illegal, his brother, an English baron, suppressed the story long after his death. Here is the history of a man determined to refine himself into a person of superlative body and spirit, and the difficulties encountered in a life lived according to his own principles, regardless of what others believed.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’ve ever told a family member not to show their face around the old homestead ever again.

Catching Fire

Written by: Suzanne Collins

First line: I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea bag has long since leached into the frozen air.

Why you should read this book: Katniss and Peeta have survived the Hunger Games, but they realize they can never relax or enjoy the luxurious lifestyle their victory should afford them. Katniss's subtle acts of rebellion have fueled uprisings all over the districts, and the presidents holds her personally accountable for the dissent. The Capitol will never allow her to live her own life, but will remind her, at every turn, that she, and everyone she knows, is subject to the whims of a hard-hearted government that encourages unfeeling citizens to look upon her survival as fodder for the world's greatest entertainment.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You will tolerate no acts of treason.

The Rebellious Alphabet

Written by: Jorge Diaz

First line: The Little General was the ruler of a very big village, even though he was very small.

Why you should read this book: A grown-up political story allegorized as a childrens’ picture book, it tells of an oppressive regime wherein reading, writing, and thinking is outlawed by an ignorant and childish tyrant. A freedom-loving intellectual discovers a way to create a natural printing press using clever canaries and an ink-soaked sponge, and is able to spread a message of liberty to his people, eventually eliminating the power of the oppressive regime. This is an intelligent story that be enjoyed by people of all ages who love freedom, liberty, and literacy, and bristly under the threat of censorship, tyranny, and lies.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You oppose freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom of expression.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 14: Exile

Written by: Kathryn Lasky

First line: "All right, Otulissa, how does this sound for the lead article?"

Why you should read this book: While Soren and the Band are sent off to do some research for Otulissa, the mysterious Striga develops a close relationship with the King and begins to institute an unusual campaign against frivolity and vanity. Otulissa soon discovers that books are disappearing from the library, while the Band learns that book burnings and owl-burning are growing common on the mainland, the work of Puritanical Blue Feather Brigades. When the Band and knowledge itself are under attack, brave owls must stand up to combat censorship (with a great homage to Ray Bradbury) and save the Great Tree once again.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You believe that some ideas, and the people who espouse them, should be set on fire.

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit

Author: Paula Danziger

First line: I hate my father. I hate school. I hate being fat.

Why you should read this book: Young teen Marcy Lewis struggles for comfort with herself and her own body against the pressure of stubborn, tyrannical, reactionary authority figures, until Ms. Finney, a radical English teacher, helps her come out of her shell and join the world as a human being, rather than the blimp she sees herself as. When Ms. Finney is fired, ostensibly for her refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance, but in reality for being a nonconformist who encourages kids to think for themselves, Marcy is surprised to find herself, along with one of the cutest guys in school, the ringleader for the protest action. Although dated at times in its discussion of feminism and hippies, this modern classic continues to speak to teens dealing with violence in the home, issues of personal acceptance, and the drive for fairness and equality for kids, who just want to be treated like human beings.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't rock the boat. You do what everybody else is doing.

Courage in Patience

Author: Beth Fehlbaum

First line: My name is Ashley Asher.

Why you should read this book: This book offers two taglines -- "It may not seem like it now, but you are not alone" and "A story of hope for those who have endured abuse" -- to sum up its therapeutic perspective. Ashley's story is a heartbreaking marathon race to an optimistic finish from six years of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse whose effects keep her living in fear long after she escapes the stepfather who traumatized her. Struggling to protect herself while adjusting to a new loving family she never knew she had, Ashley and a group of other teenagers wrestling with explosive personal issues gradually band together to confront the hatred and intolerance that diminishes them all.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You worry that reading books will give children ideas from which they must be protected.