No Ivy League

Written by: Hazel Newlevant

First line: Add more calendars!

Why you should read this book: Homeschool ("my parents are hippies" homeschool, not "my parents are religious nuts" homeschool) teen Hazel has a nice life, studying whatever she feels like, hanging out with other homeschool kids, and the only thing she's missing is the cash she needs to go to DC with her boyfriend and best friend to see a band she loves. Hazel takes a summer job with No Ivy League, a group dedicated to hiring at-risk youth to remove invasive English ivy from the park, and suddenly she's in another world, working with kids with whom she can't seem to find any commonality, kids who have less than she does and resent her privilege. In this honest memoir, Newlevant relates the lessons she learned about race, class, romance, and community at her summer job. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: There's some spicy language in there, probably not for younger teens or kids. 

Ghost

Written by: Jason Reynolds

First line: Check this out.

Why you should read this book: It's been three years since Castle Crenshaw's father "lost it," and since then, Castle, who wishes people would call him Ghost, has been sliding into his own anger and giving his impulse control free rein, until the day he randomly decides to prove that he's faster than the fastest kid on an extra-curricular track team. Suddenly, he's a member of the team and being asked to uphold a higher standard of behavior than his mother, who works full time and goes to nursing school, can enforce. As running takes on greater and greater importance in his life, Ghost finds that he wants to hold himself to a higher standard as well; he just doesn't know if he can.

Why you shouldn't read this book: What his father does is PTSD-inducing; might not be appropriate for younger or more sensitive readers.

Negroland: A Memoir

Written by: Margo Jefferson

First line: I was taught to avoid showing off.

Why you should read this book: In a prose memoir that reads like poetry, Jefferson recounts her own story, steeped in the influence of race, class, and gender, set in the context of her family and community and everything that came before her. Born in Chicago among the Black elite, she is taught from her earliest memories that she must be impeccable in word, deed, and appearance, to uphold the image projected by the privileged, perfected society that molded her: a group intentionally set apart from, and quietly superior to, other Black people along with all of white America. As she grows up through the civil rights movement and finds her own path and her own personality, the weight of inequality and expectations causes her to question and examine the principles of her own upbringing, her own individual identity, and her right to perfect imperfection.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your parents didn't raise you at all.

Buy Negroland: A Memoir here!

A Spoon for Every Bite

Written by: Joe Hayes and Rebecca Leer

First line: A long time ago there was a poor copule who lived in a small, tumbledown house.

Why you should read this book: This is a retelling of an old folktale—the author's notes claim it combines elements from two old Hispanic stories (although I have also read some of the elements of this tale in an old Yiddish folktale)—that highlights the divide between the grateful poor and the oblivious rich. An economically disadvantaged couple names their wealthy neighbor as godfather of their child in the hopes that they will become better friends, and scrimp and save to purchase a third spoon for their household, that they may entertain their new friend. When the rich man laughs at the poverty of the poor couple, they take their simple, glorious revenge with poetic irony. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: The idea that anyone lives more lavishly than you puts you off your food.

Native Son

Written by: Richard Wright

First line: BRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNG!

Why you should read this book: In Chicago, in 1940, a young Black man, Bigger Thomas, is forced to take a job as a chauffeur for a wealthy white family in order to keep his mother and siblings fed and housed, but the Daltons are like no people he's ever encountered, and a lifetime of being forcibly othered by white people makes it difficult for Bigger to comprehend them, let along navigate their universe. Forced by their rebellious daughter Mary to associate with Communists and confront inequality, Bigger's fate seems sealed his first fateful day on the job, but suddenly, in the midst of chaos and despair, Bigger begins to come alive and starts thinking critically about the world and his place in it. There may be no justice for a Black man in Bigger's shoes, but with the help of a Jewish Communist layer, Mr. Max, he begins to see himself, his situation, and his country in a different light.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you're a Black person who is currently feeling traumatized by systemic racism and inequality, this might not be a happy journey for you.

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners

Written by: Therese Oneill

First line: Thank you for coming.

Why you should read this book: Despite the title, only about thirty-five percent of this book discusses sex, marriage, and manners for (wealthy, white) Victorian ladies, with the other sixty-five percent of the text comprising the author's snarky remarks about the quotes, advice, morals, and customs of nineteenth century England. Most of the information here concerning hygiene, gender roles, food, and relationships is presented with various degrees of horror from a twenty-first century perspective. Period photos and illustrations with tongue-in-cheek captions complete this comic romp crashing through the putative romance of another time and place.

Why you should not read this book: Well, I wouldn't accept it as a primacy source in a composition class.

Americanah

Written by: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

First line: Princeton, in the summer, smelled of nothing, and although Ifemalu likes the tranquil greenness of the many trees, the clean streets and stately homes, the delicately overpriced shops, and the quiet, abiding air of earned grace, it was this, this lack of smell that most appealed to her, perhaps because the other American cities she knew well had all smelled distinctly.

Why you should read this book: At one point in the narrative the main character thinks that it's annoying when someone asks what a book's about, because a book can be about many things, as this book is. It's about growing up in Nigeria and it's about being a young African adult living in America; it's about politics and it's about sociology, it's about family and it's about culture; it's about race and racism and gender and class and the internet and home and relationships and economics and fairness and desire and depression and crime and necessity, and other things. At its heart, to me, this book felt like a very unconventional love story, one in which the simple course of true love is interrupted by the stupidest kind of politics and the main characters are forced apart for most of the story because the world we live in doesn't love lovers as much as it loves money and class and geopolitical boundaries.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't even know how to listen to discussions about race.

One Cool Friend

Written by: Toni Buzzeo and David Small

First line: Elliot was a very proper young man.

Why you should read this book: Feeling camaraderie with the penguins at the aquarium, and somewhat ignored by his polite but bookish father, a young boy selects an aquatic avian friend to take home as a souvenir. He does his research and provides the penguin with everything it needs to be happy, and then there's a funny twist ending involving the dad and a Galapagos tortoise. High interest book that will hold kids' attention.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Strict no pets rule.

Stella's Starliner

Written by: Rosemary Wells

First line: Stella lived in a house by the side of the road.

Why you should read this book: Like many of Wells's stories, this one takes a sensitive look at conflicts that carry meaning for small children; I've seen stories that tackle racism and bullying, but I think this is the first one that touches on class issues. Stella, a little fox, lives in a mobile trailer with her mother and father, and has everything she needs, and loves her little house, until some jerky weasels suggest that living in a trailer means she's poor. Stella is understandably upset about this assessment, but, as the trailer is mobile, all her problems vanish when her dad hooks it up to the truck and drives it to another part of the country, where the kids are nicer.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You wish you could hook your house up to a truck and out-drive your problems.

The Oxford Illustrated Jane Austen: Volume VI: Minor Works

Written by: Jane Austen

First line: The Uncle of Elfrida was the Father of Frederic; in other words, they were first cousins by the Father's side.

Why you should read this book: You should only read this book if you love-Love-LOVE Jane Austen. The stories here comprise early works, including juvenilia, and a number of rambling/incomplete novels and novellas, which showcase the young Austen's shrewd eye and wit, along with her sense of ridiculousness when she turns that eye and wit toward her society. If you're already familiar with Austen, then you may find this book funny or interesting, but these are "minor works" for a reason.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't love-Love-LOVE Jane Austen.

King Solomon's Mines

Written by: H. Rider Haggard

First line: It is a curious thing that at my age--fifty-five last birthday--I should find myself taking up a pen to try and write a history.

Why you should read this book: Perhaps the quintessential colonialist mindset adventure book of darkest Africa, the story of elephant hunter Allan Quartermain is markedly less racist than the Tarzan novels, with a slightly different breed of sexism. Figuring he has nothing to lose and everything to gain, Quartermain sets out to help Sir Henry locate his long lost brother, last seen questing for the untold riches of King Solomon's Mines. Accompanied by the stunning African warrior Umbopa and the well-dressed retired sailor Captain Good, they face privation, intrigue, the threat of death around every corner, and the possibility of the greatest treasure upon which any Englishman has ever laid his eyes.

Why you shouldn't read this book: A complete and marked lack of petticoats.

The Contract with God Trilogy

Written by: Will Eisner

First line: All day the rain poured down on the Bronx without mercy.

Why you should read this book: Among the most prolific of the old school cartoonists, Eisner wrote this massive, three-volume work, one of the first-ever graphic novels, in his retirement, as a way to cope with the grief he suffered when his teenage daughter passed away. There are many stories here, all tied together by place: the ever-transitional immigrant neighborhood of Dropsie Avenue, peopled with a constantly changing cast of tenement dwellers, all looking for a way up. This is a genius work, filled with heartbreak and triumph, confusion and certainty, and all the stories of a hundred years, written with an expert ear for dialog and illustrated by a delightful pen.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You detest the cultural other, which is definitely defiling your way of life.

Then Again, Maybe I Won't

Written by: Judy Blume

First line: Who says March is supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb?

Why you should read this book: When his sister-in-law gets unexpectedly pregnant and his father takes a leap of faith to earn more money for the family, Tony finds his entire life uprooted. He's no longer the son of a blue collar electrician but of a fabulously wealthy inventor, and he has to leave behind the life he loves in Jersey City and move to the alien upper class world of Rosemont. Money changes everyone, he feels, and like a less rebellious Holden Caulfield, he's now surrounded by phonies, constantly questioning his own, and his family's actions.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Shoplifting, voyeurism, class issues.

Aya

Written by: Margeurite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie

First line: 1978 was the year that Ivory Coast, my beautiful country, got to see it first television ad campaign.

Why you should read this book: Aya, the titular character (although not necessarily the main one: she introduces the story and observes the behavior of others without being affected by it too often) is a sensible girl who forgoes partying in favor of studying, dreams of becoming a doctor, and whose primary interaction with boys involves finding ways to escape street harassment. Her two best friends, Bintou and Adjoua love but don't understand her: Bintou cares for nothing but going out dancing, and Adjoua, whose motivations don't become clear until the end of the story, is primarily concerned with marrying well. This is a true YA work, one which speaks to the going concerns of a wide range of adolescents, but it's also a sort of a mystery (in the sense the Jane Austen's Emma is a mystery until you unravel who did what, where, with whom), which keeps the pace lively and the reader moving forward.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't have time for literature; you're studying for the MCATS.

The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm

Translated by: Jack Zipes

First line: Many are the fairy tales and myths that have been spread about the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm.

Why you should read this book: Considered by many to be the definitive translation, this scholarly edition includes the original 210 stories (Cinderella, Snow White, and so on) along with 40 stories previously unknown to English speakers. Includes a nice historical essay on the Brothers Grimm and their work, along with annotations about the tales' origins, and even a list of the original contributors with a little biographical information. Some stories also include 100-year-old illustrations commissioned for an early American volume of fairy tales.

Why you shouldn't read this book: As far as you're concerned, the definitive edition is always the one produced by the mouse.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Written by: Gregory Maguire

First line: A mile above Oz, the Witch balanced on the wind's forward edge, as it she were a green fleck of the land itself, flung up and sent wheeling away by the turbulent air.

Why you should read this book: I know I'm pretty late to the party, but I really adored this intense, imaginative work, which paints a full picture of the life of the so-called Wicked Witch of the West, who, in other works, tormented Dorothy during her journey through Oz. Glinda (bubble-headed and class-conscious, but essentially kind-hearted), the Wizard (cruel, calculating, amoral, and self-serving), and even the Wicked Witch of the East (crippled and full of pious self-righteousness) are given detailed treatments and complex personalities, but it is Elphaba, the green-skinned Animal-rights activist and lifelong outsider who becomes the most sympathetic protagonist. Civil rights, political machinations, religious argument, and, above all, a running discussion on the nature of good and evil are among the thought-provoking terrain covered in this ground-breaking fantasy novel.

Why you shouldn't read this book: For you, it was all about Judy Garland and those ruby slippers.

Time for Outrage

Written by: Stéphane Hessel

First line: Ninety-three years old. The last leg of my journey. The end is in sight.

Why you should read this book: More of a small pamphlet, these are the thoughts of a veteran of the French Resistance who survived World War II and helped draft the U.N.’s Universal Declaration on Human Rights. With the perspective of years, he explains why the gap between rich and poor is unconscionable, how indifference is the most dangerous attitude, and why peaceful insurrection is required to fulfill the promise of human rights. Mass media, mass consumption, relentless competition, and an overall lack of respect, he argues, feed the injustices of our world, and must be resisted.

Why you shouldn’t read this book:  You refuse to compromise your support for aggression on either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Partner to the Poor: A Paul Farmer Reader

Edited by: Haun Saussy

First line: People sometimes refer to Paul Edward Farmer, MD, born in 1959, as a hero, saint, madman, or genius.

Why you should read this book: This collection of scholarly essays, spanning a period of more than two decades, collects some of medical anthropologist Dr. Farmer's powerful research on the intersection of poverty, gender, ethics, and healthcare. Based mostly in Haiti, but covering the entire world, with implications for everyone, he discusses infectious disease, particularly AIDS and tuberculosis, and they way in which the modern medical model fails those who need the most help. From "stupid" (easily preventable) deaths, to child prostitution, violence, and the objectification of the poor, resulting in prejudicial attitudes that poverty must be an impediment to healthcare, this book dissects the false beliefs, negated by Farmer's actual success, that have allowed wealthy nations to set aside their responsibility to others.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Although Farmer writes with a quiet wit, this is a rather dense scholarly work and may not be easy for some readers to get through.

A Renegade History of the United States

Written by: Thaddeus Russell

First line: This is a new story.

Why you should read this book: This hugely controversial book reframes American history as the losing battle of the Puritan, socially conservative ruling class, epitomized by the work ethic and abnegation of men like John Adams, against the true authors of our beloved American freedoms: alcoholics, prostitutes, mobsters, gamblers, sexual deviants, people conforming to racist stereotypes, and those engaged in the production of music, movies, and comic books that failed to conform to a relentless Christian perspective. Dancing with abandon, mixing with other races, conspicuous material consumption, and other hallmarks of modern American freedom are examined with surprising candor from a historical perspective, as the author documents conservative resistance to equality, diversity, and open-mindedness. Although he selects his evidence carefully, in service of his thesis, the overall effect of the work is eye-opening, allowing the reader to appreciate the historical perspective and how little the doctrine of conformity, self-denial, and ceaseless work that supposedly defined the American citizen truly reflects the culture of our American character and opportunity.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't consider "pursuit of happiness" a legitimate freedom.

A Shelter in Our Car

Written by : Monica Gunning

First line: Police cars are coming closer!

Why you should read this book: Zettie’s family had high hopes for a better life when they came to America, but now Zettie’s mom can’t find a good job, and they have to sleep in their old car and wash up in the park bathroom, because that's still better than staying at the homeless shelter. Boys at school tease her, and she dreams of her old life in warm Jamaica where her mother made real hot chocolate, or at least a warm shower and a real bed. This illuminating, heartbreaking, and hopeful story details the reality of homelessness among women and children in America.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’ve decided to tear down your starter mansion to build an even bigger mansion, and you call the police whenever you see a car that doesn't look nice enough for your neighborhood.