Our teen book spotlight this week is all about featuring some more amazing YA nonfiction titles! It can be easy to think that nonfiction is boring but these titles are the complete opposite of that thought; we have everything from true crime to war history and memoirs and you will not even realize you are reading nonfiction because they are that good. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #amazingyanonfiction as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
Flowers In the Gutter by K.R. Gaddy--Looks at a specific group of working-class German youth who actively resisted the Nazi war effort during WWII and called themselves the Edelweiss Pirates. While some stopped at anti-Nazi graffiti and protest literature, others joined resistance movements and even partisan sabotage units. Despite heavy-handed punishment, the Edelweiss Pirates persisted.
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz--Offers a young reader adaptation of the 2014 work which chronicles the centuries of persecution faced by indigenous peoples of the United States at the hands of the American government, including genocidal programs, corrupt policy-making, and the seizing of indigenous lands. Includes maps, photographs, sidebars, points for discussion, and a recommended book list.
The Freedom Summer Murders by Don Mitchell--Describes the 1964 murders of three young men by the Ku Klux Klan for helping black Americans vote in Mississippi, the FBI's investigation, and its aftermath. Includes black-and-white photographs and quotes.
Brave Face: A Memoir by Shaun David Hutchison--Shaun David Hutchinson discusses coming of age in the early 1990s when a lack of positive queer representation forced his own sexuality to become a thing of negativity that left him depressed and angry. He shares passages from his own diary at the time where he reveals the self-harm and abuse he suffered, and the constant messages from a society who told him to "repent" or he would never find love. He goes on to explain how he eventually found happiness and acceptance in the gay community.
The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets by Sarah Miller--In 1934, the Dionne quintuplets were born in Ontario, Canada--the first known quintuplets to survive infancy. As medical anomalies they were exploited as oddities by unscrupulous showmen at the expense of their unwitting parents. To protect them, the Ontario government took custody, sequestering them in a custom-built hospital, but who also exploited them up for public observation. Here, the author discusses their early life, their resiliency, and the bonds of sisterhood.
The (Other) F Word by Angie Manfredi--A collection of stories, poems, and personal essays celebrating fat bodies. Features more than twenty-five diverse authors, including young adult and middle-grade authors, and fat influencers and creatives.