Contemporary Books on Social Justice

Social justice is the pursuit of fairness in society based on the belief that all people deserve equal opportunities and rights. We curated the following study guide collection (including books for middle-grade and young adult readers) to help readers get the most out of books that cover contemporary issues and topics in social justice.

Starry Messenger

by Neil Degrasse Tyson

Publication year 2022

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Space, Education, Truth & Lies, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Community, Gender Identity

Tags Science & Nature, Philosophy, World History, Politics & Government, Animals, Education, Diversity, Disability, Food, Health, Internet & Social Media, Military & War, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, Social Justice, Technology, Philosophy

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Strangers in Their Own Land

by Arlie Russell Hochschild

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Death, Climate, Environment, Place, Social Class, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality

Tags Sociology, Politics & Government, US History, American Literature, Social Science, Business & Economics, World History, Social Justice

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right (2016) is an in-depth exploration of the rise of the Tea Party movement in Louisiana by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. In an effort to understand the Tea Party and bolster her empathy for political opinions oppositional to her own, Hochschild spent five years getting to know residents and conducting interviews in and around Lake Charles, Louisiana. Hochschild argues that by understanding one another’s... Read Strangers in Their Own Land Summary

Swing Time

by Zadie Smith

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Femininity, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Mothers, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Art, Beauty, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Music, Realistic Fiction, British Literature, Arts & Culture, Social Class, Finance, Gender & Feminism, History: African , European History, Love & Sexuality, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction

Swing Time (2016) is renowned author Zadie Smith’s fifth novel. Inspired by classic movie musicals and Smith’s childhood passion for musical theater, Swing Time is a story about women, how forms of privilege warp our worldviews, and the ways in which history informs our present. The novel is divided into seven parts, each narrated by the same unnamed protagonist sometimes as a child and sometimes as an adult.One of the most respected literary voices of... Read Swing Time Summary

Sylvia And Aki

by Winifred Conkling

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Education, Race, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Family, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Social Class, Community, Equality, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Social Justice, World War II, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Arts & Culture

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Tales of Two Americas

by John Freeman

Publication year 2017

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Social Class, Immigration, Economics

Tags World History, Social Justice, Poverty, Politics & Government, US History, Social Class, Sociology, Race & Racism

Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation is a 2017 non-fiction collection of 36 essays, poems, and short stories edited by former Granta editor John Freeman and including contributions by Rebecca Solnit, Sandra Cisneros, Edwidge Danticat, Julia Alvarez, Joyce Carol Oates, Ann Patchett, Annie Dillard, Roxane Gay, and more. The text crosses disciplinary boundaries, covering sociology, history, racial and ethnic studies, and gender studies.The personal essays, stories, and poetry in Tales... Read Tales of Two Americas Summary

Teaching Critical Thinking

by bell hooks

Publication year 2007

Genre Collection of Letters, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Femininity, Self Discovery, Education, Equality, Community, Politics & Government, Colonialism

Tags Race & Racism, Education, Gender & Feminism, Politics & Government, Leadership, Education, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice

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Teaching to Transgress

by bell hooks

Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Education

Tags Education, Race & Racism, Education, Gender & Feminism, Sociology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice, Politics & Government

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom is a collection of 14 essays and interviews examining how to transform the multicultural classroom into an inclusive space dedicated to the practice of freedom for all students. “bell hooks” is Gloria Jean Watkins’s pen name, which she chooses not to capitalize so that her work is emphasized more so than her name. She is an acclaimed feminist scholar, cultural critic, writer, and educator. She’s the... Read Teaching to Transgress Summary

Tell Me How It Ends

by Valeria Luiselli

Publication year 2017

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Politics & Government, Immigration

Tags Immigration & Refugeeism, Social Justice, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Education, Education, World History, Politics & Government

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions is Valeria Luiselli’s 2017 book-length essay exploring the influx of undocumented child migrants from Latin America that began in 2014. Through her work as a volunteer translator, Luiselli became intimately aware of what these children experienced, and the essay argues that their inhumane treatment at the hands of American bureaucracy is an unjust denial of due process and the core principles of the American Dream... Read Tell Me How It Ends Summary

That Summer

by Jennifer Weiner

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Justice, Marriage

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Social Justice, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

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The 57 Bus

by Dashka Slater

Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Crime & Law, Race & Racism, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Social Justice

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives (2017) is a work of narrative nonfiction by Dashka Slater, a journalist and children’s book author. The book covers an event that happened on November 4, 2013, when two high school students were riding the same city bus and one set the other on fire.The interaction between these two teenagers lasts just a matter of minutes, but the events... Read The 57 Bus Summary

The Address Book

by Deirdre Mask

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Race, Justice, Economics, Power & Greed, Politics & Government

Tags World History, Politics & Government, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Science & Nature, Urban Development, Sociology

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