Books on Justice & Injustice

James Baldwin said, "It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have." In this collection, we've compiled texts that explore the idea of what justice is — and how it can thrive.

Cane River

by Lalita Tademy

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Fear, Race, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Social Class, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Race & Racism, Southern Literature, African American Literature

Cane River (2001) by Lalita Tademy is a story about four generations of women from Tademy’s family. Set in the United States, the novel progresses from the era of enslavement to Post-Reconstruction. In retelling her family’s history, Tademy chooses to pen a work of historical metafiction, blurring the boundary between recorded events and imaginative stories in order to capture the essence of who the women in her family truly were. In the final reckoning, the... Read Cane River Summary

Canyons

by Gary Paulsen

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Indigenous Identity, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Colonialism, Nation, Equality, Justice, Religion & Spirituality, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Survival Fiction, Children`s Literature

... Read Canyons Summary

Captive Prince

by C. S. Pacat

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Family, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Fate, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Wins & Losses, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy, Love & Sexuality, Romance

... Read Captive Prince Summary

Capture The Flag

by Kate Messner

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes The Past, Appearance & Reality, Friendship, Teamwork, Social Class, Immigration, Nation, Politics & Government, Justice, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature

... Read Capture The Flag Summary

Career of Evil

by Robert Galbraith

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Hate & Anger, Disability, Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Death, The Past, Place, Friendship, Mothers, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

Career of Evil (2015) is the third novel in the Cormoran Strike detective series by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling’s pseudonym). The story begins when Strike’s assistant, Robin Ellacott, receives a package containing a woman’s severed leg. The gruesome delivery sparks the investigative duo’s pursuit of a sadistic killer of women. As Strike and Robin investigate suspects from Strike’s troubled past, the story delves into themes of trauma, misogyny, and the lasting effects of violence. A... Read Career of Evil Summary

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

by Isabel Wilkerson

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice

Tags Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter, US History, Sociology, World History, Social Justice

Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is a 2020 historical and narrative nonfiction work about the nature of inequality in the United States, India, and Nazi Germany. Wilkerson is a writer and former journalist, best known for her work in the New York Times, for which she received a Pulitzer Prize. She achieved further acclaim with her 2010 work, The Warmth of Other Suns. Wilkerson has also taught journalism at many colleges and... Read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents Summary

Caught Up

by Navessa Allen

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Love, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, The Past, Family, Politics & Government, Justice, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance

... Read Caught Up Summary

Chain-Gang All-Stars

by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Justice, Fame, Community, Teamwork, Death, Future, Race, Gender Identity, Mental Health

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Satirical Literature, LGBTQ+, Black Lives Matter, Business & Economics, Grief & Death, US History, Incarceration, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Social Justice, Fantasy

... Read Chain-Gang All-Stars Summary

Chains

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Family, Power & Greed, Hope, Perseverance, Justice, Equality

Tags Historical Fiction, American Revolution, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History

Laurie Halse Anderson's middle-grade novel Chains (2008), a National Book Award finalist and Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award winner, is the first installment in her Seeds of America series. The historical fiction, set in 18th-century New York City, follows a young Black girl on her journey to escape slavery while the sparks of the colonists’ rebellion gradually ignite the American Revolution. The protagonist, 13-year-old Isabel Finch, narrates her search for identity while caring for her... Read Chains Summary

Chapterhouse: Dune

by Frank Herbert

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Hate & Anger, Hope, Memory, Regret, Revenge, Femininity, Race, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, Appearance & Reality, Climate, Self Discovery, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy

... Read Chapterhouse: Dune Summary

Chasing the Scream

by Johann Hari

Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Justice

Tags Sociology, Health, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science & Nature, World History, Psychology, Psychology

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs is a 2015 work of investigative nonfiction by British-Swiss author Johann Hari. Hari explores the so-called international war on drugs by looking deeply into its historical roots, its legal and social implications, and the possibility for reform. He examines addiction and the consequences of past and present drug laws across nine continents and 30,000 miles. A major focus is the criminalization and... Read Chasing the Scream Summary

Child 44

by Tom Rob Smith

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Justice, Safety & Danger

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Russian Literature, Horror & Suspense, Historical Fiction

British author Tom Rob Smith’s debut Child 44 (2008) is a suspense novel set in the Cold War-era. It is the first in a trilogy, followed by The Secret Speech (2009) and Agent 6 (2011). A former Ministry of State Security official Leo Demidov investigates a series of horrific child murders in Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union, only to be stonewalled by Soviet bureaucracy as he discovers that some very powerful people may not want the... Read Child 44 Summary

Child of God

by Cormac McCarthy

Publication year 1973

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Fate, Justice

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Southern Gothic, American Literature, Southern Literature, Southern Gothic, Gothic Literature

Child of God (1973) is the third novel by American Pulitzer Prize–winning author Cormac McCarthy. Like McCarthy’s first two novels, The Orchard Keeper (1965) and Outer Dark (1968), Child of God is a Gothic horror set in Appalachia. The story follows the deterioration of 27-year-old Lester Ballard after he is violently dispossessed of his family farm and becomes a serial killer. Through Lester’s extreme isolation and moral corruption, McCarthy explores the themes of Fate in... Read Child of God Summary