Out of My Heart by Sharon Draper

 

This follow-up to Sharon Draper's beloved Out of My Mind follows Melody, a brilliant young girl with cerebral palsy. In the first book, Melody gets technology that allows her to speak, and everyone around her realizes her potential and life changes for her in many ways. One year later, Melody is feeling frustrated by her constrained life and she researches summer camps that cater to kids like her. This sweet story is her week at a camp where she uses a zipline, rides a horse, and learns to swim. On top of it all, she makes new friends and develops her first crush. This book is exactly what it should be and is going to be loved by all the students who already are invested in Melody's story. This is a fine example of how books can build empathy. Recommended for readers in grades 4-8. 

Black Brother Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Trey and Donte are twin brothers, but to the world Trey looks white and Donte looks Black. They attend the same high-end private school but routinely get treated differently based on their skin color.  When Donte's run-in with a bully gets him unjustly in trouble with the law, his mom the lawyer vows to fight back. But Donte finds a way to take on the bully at his own sport--competitive fencing--by training with a former olympic contender. This story centers around fencing, but it's also a story of brothers, friendship, and family. Middle school readers are enjoying both the story and the chance to talk about racism and unfairness. This book will build empathy and understanding and better readers. Don't miss Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes--also a solid middle school favorite. 

Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

This award-winning nonfiction book covers the frantic efforts to build the atom bomb as well as the spying and treason that occurred as Soviet spies tried to get the bomb for themselves. This is history I never learned in school, and I was absolutely engrossed in multiple aspects of the story. Of course, we learn about Robert Oppenheimer and how he and other American scientists were recruited and send to Los Alamos, New Mexico. But we also learn about Norwegian resistance fighters trained in Britain to sabotage a facility in Norway that Germany had taken over.  The Norwegian fighters parachuted into frozen Norway, used cross country skis to travel hundreds of miles, snuck down into a gorge and back up the other side to break in and sabotage a "hard water" production facility that ultimately kept Germans from developing the bomb first.  We also hear how various Russian sympathizers ultimately became spies and turned over exact instructions on how to build an atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Sheinkin does not shy away from the moral issues related to the bomb. Readers sense the desperation to keep the bomb out of German hands. But we also feel the horror of what was created and how it continues to have the potential to destroy the earth and humanity. I recommend this book wholeheartedly to adults and anyone who is a history buff. I suspect that it will be appreciated by smart teenagers with a strong interest in history, but it may be too much for the average kid as it's a complicated story. Nevertheless, it's an outstanding work of nonfiction by a masterful writer. 
 

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (Graphic Novel)

 

This new graphic novel brings a heartbreaking, gutwrenching novel to a new audience. Lina, a Lithuanian teenager, is abruptly taken by Soviet soldiers from her home along with her mother and brother. The year is 1941 and Stalin's troops are systematically moving people to villages in Siberia where they are forced to do hard labor and given minimal shelter and food. This chronicle of Lina's family's struggles is fictional, but based on real stories from survivors of these atrocities. Lina is an artist and finds ways to use her art to send messages to her father who she believes is imprisoned by the Russians. The captives react in a range of ways--some are generous, some are cruel, some give up, some collude with the enemy. I was deeply affected by the original novel, and this new graphic novel reminded me of how important this story is. Both are highly recommended for grades 7-up. This is definitely a young adult book that adults can and should read. 

Slay by Brittney Morris

 

Kiera is an honor student by day and a game developer by night. No one knows that she developed the multiplayer card-based online gaming world called Slay--not even her sister or her parents or her boyfriend Malcolm. Slay is a safe space for Black gamers from around the world, and is based on Black culture, cameraderie, and excellence. Kiera is proud of the world she has developed along with a virtual partner in Paris, and is devastated to hear that a Black teen is murdered over a dispute relating to the game. Now Slay is in the news and it's only a matter of time untli the game's developers are publically outed and potentially even sued. All the while, Kiera deals with a white best friend who doesn't always understand her difficulties, a Black boyfriend who becomes controlling and insular, and a sister who she has never been close with. Slay spoke to me on multiple levels--the story is riveting and enjoyable on its own. But what makes it really special is the honest discussion of race and privilege, and the many ways that Black young people express their culture. This book will build empathy among non-Black readers, and will also be enjoyed as a good story. Recommended to 8th graders-up due to some mature content.