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.

Some Desperate Glory

by Emily Tesh

Publication year 2023

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Revenge, Gender Identity, Language, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Future, Space, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Power & Greed, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, LGBTQ+, Fantasy

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Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby

by Donald Barthelme

Publication year 1973

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Justice, Friendship, Death

Tags Satirical Literature, Postmodernism, US History, Humor, Classic Fiction

“Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby” is a short story by American author Donald Barthelme. Originally published in a 1973 issue of The New Yorker, it was later included in Barthelme’s 1976 anthology, Amateurs. The narrative follows the extended and absurd deliberation of a group of friends about how to hang their friend for committing an unnamed offense. With the friends embodying a range of logistical roles and viewpoints concerning the act... Read Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby Summary

Someone We Know

by Shari Lapena

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Good & Evil, Marriage, Mothers, Conflict, Revenge, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Family, Justice

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Parenting, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

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Sounder

by William Armstrong

Publication year 1969

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Loneliness, Disability, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Social Class, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Animals, Classic Fiction, Southern Literature

Sounder is a 1969 book for young readers by American author William H. Armstrong. In the novel, a young boy grows up in a Black sharecropping family on a sprawling plantation in the 19th-century in the American South, where he lives with his parents, his siblings, and his faithful dog, Sounder. Bored and lonely, the boy dreams of returning to school and learning to read, and he copes with his life of obligation by hunting... Read Sounder Summary

So You Want to Talk About Race

by Ijeoma Oluo

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Justice

Tags Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter, Gender & Feminism, Sociology, Social Justice, Politics & Government

So You Want to Talk About Race is a 2018 non-fiction book written by Ijeoma Oluo, an American author of Nigerian descent whose columns and news articles on race have appeared in The Guardian, The Stranger, and Jezebel, among other places. This guide refers to the first edition published in 2018 by Seal Press. The title gestures to the discourse that is necessary to combat racial oppression in the United States. The book made Bustle’s... Read So You Want to Talk About Race Summary

Spare

by Prince Harry

Publication year 2023

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Perseverance, Conflict, Grief, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Self Discovery, Social Class, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Loyalty & Betrayal, Justice, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags European History, Politics & Government, British Literature, Animals, Grief & Death, Depression & Suicide, Social Class, Relationships, Journalism, Bullying, World History, Biography

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Sparring Partners

by John Grisham

Publication year 2022

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Justice, Siblings, Teamwork, Social Class, Politics & Government

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Realistic Fiction, Crime & Law, Incarceration, Social Justice, Finance

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Speak

by James Wright

Publication year 1968

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Grief, Loneliness, Self Discovery, Justice, Literature

Tags Lyric Poem

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Speaker for the Dead

by Orson Scott Card

Publication year 1986

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Guilt, Loneliness, Future, Environment, Family, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

Speaker for the Dead (1986) is the second book in the Ender sextet written by Orson Scott Card. Card is a renowned American science fiction author and has won numerous awards for his writing, including four for Speaker of the Dead—the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel, the Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award for Best Novel, and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.Speaker for the Dead is set... Read Speaker for the Dead Summary

Spilled Milk

by K.L Randis

Publication year 2013

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Safety & Danger, Justice, Family, Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Crime & Law, Trauma & Abuse, Psychology, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Biography

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Spy School

by Stuart Gibbs

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Friendship, Community, Teamwork, Safety & Danger, Memory, Daughters & Sons, Science & Technology, Childhood & Youth, Education, Power & Greed, Shame & Pride, Fear, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Perseverance, Good & Evil, Justice, Politics & Government, Appearance & Reality, Truth & Lies, Conflict, Fathers, Loneliness

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

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Squirm

by Carl Hiaasen

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Animals, Fathers, Family, Justice

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

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Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice

Tags Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, World History, Social Justice, Politics & Government

Jason Reynolds’s Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (2020) is a nonfiction book by the American authors Jason Reynolds and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. It is a self-described “remix” of Kendi’s 2016 National Book Award winner Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. An award-winning writer of young adult fiction and poetry, Reynolds frames America’s history of racist ideas for an audience of middle school and high school readers. Reynolds’s remix... Read Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You Summary

Stone Blind

by Natalie Haynes

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Family, Masculinity, Truth & Lies, Safety & Danger, Mothers, Power & Greed, Justice, Good & Evil, Equality, Shame & Pride

Tags Mythology, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, World History

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