TOP FICTION TITLE
Helena Haywoode Henry. Last Chance Live! October 2025 by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House. $21.99. 544 pages. 9780593625309. Ages 12-16.
Summary: Last Chance Live! by Helena Haywoode Henry is a YA dystopian thriller set in a near future where death row inmates compete on a deadly, televised reality show for a chance at freedom. Eighteen-year-old Eternity Price enters the competition to avoid execution and reunite with her younger brother. As she battles public opinion, shifting alliances, and ruthless betrayals, Eternity is forced to confront the true cost of survival—and decide whether winning her life is worth sacrificing the people she’s come to care about.
Trigger Warnings: juvenile incarceration, confinement, systemic racism, emotional manipulation
Sensitivity Note: Carceral control is central, not incidental.
Emma Bland-Smith. Growing Up in the Shadow of Alcatraz. January 2025. Published by Capstone Press, Hardback $22.95. 32 pages. 9781669088622. Ages 14 & Up.
Summary: This 32-page picture book by Emma Bland Smith offers a rare glimpse into the everyday lives of children who grew up on Alcatraz while their parents worked at the prison. Combining engaging storytelling, historical photographs, and firsthand accounts, the book brings to life the unique experiences of these families living on the island.
Trigger Warnings: References to incarceration, prison life, and historical hardships.
Sensitivity Note: While aimed at older readers, the book deals with life in a prison environment and may prompt reflection on the impact of incarceration on families.
Channelle Desamours. Needy LittleThings. February 2025. Wednesday Books, an imprint of The St. Martin’s Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers. Hardback $20.00. 320 pages. 9781250334817. Ages 10-12.
Summary: Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need—small, tangible things—an ability known only to her family and best friend. When she fulfills a need for her friend Deja, who soon goes missing, Sariyah begins to fear her gift may be a curse. With police and media failing to act, she and her friends search for answers, determined not to let Deja become another forgotten Black girl. As her family faces financial strain and her brother’s sickle cell complications, Sariyah risks everything by using her ability for money—putting her closer to the truth and in grave danger herself.
Trigger Warnings: emotional manipulation, coercive dynamics, low self-esteem
Sensitivity Note: Psychological harm unfolds subtly.
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Adapted by Paul Peart-Smith. Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. October 2025. Published by Beacon Press. Hardback $22.95. 120 pages. 9780807012680. Ages 12 & Up.
Summary: This nonfiction graphic adaptation of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s acclaimed work, illustrated by Paul Peart-Smith, presents an accessible, visual history of the United States from an Indigenous perspective. Through full-color artwork and engaging storytelling, it centers the voices and experiences of Indigenous peoples displaced by European settlers and their descendants. Spanning more than 400 years, the book examines settler colonialism, genocide, and systemic efforts to erase Indigenous nations, while highlighting enduring resistance, resilience, and survival. It challenges foundational myths of American expansion and reframes U.S. history through the lens of Indigenous perseverance.
Trigger Warnings: Genocide, Colonization, Forced displacement, Cultural erasure, Boarding schools, Massacres and physical violence, Sexual violence (referenced), Broken treaties, Intergenerational trauma
Sensitivity Note: This work addresses historical and ongoing violence against Indigenous peoples. The content may be distressing, particularly for Indigenous readers and others directly impacted by colonialism and systemic oppression. While the book emphasizes resistance, resilience, and survival, readers are encouraged to engage with the material thoughtfully and at their own pace.
Candace Fleming. Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Loat Dream of Jonestown. April 2025. Published by Anne Schwartz Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Book, a division of Penguin Random House. Hardback $24.99. 368 pages. 978059340069. Ages 12-15.
Summary: Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming is a young adult work of creative nonfiction that examines the 1978 Jonestown massacre, in which cult leader Jim Jones led more than 900 followers to their deaths. Through careful research and narrative storytelling, the book traces the rise of the Peoples Temple, the manipulation and control Jones exerted over his followers, and the devastating collapse of a promised utopia. Fleming explores how idealism, fear, and betrayal combined to produce one of the most tragic events in modern history.
Trigger Warnings: Mass death, suicide, cult dynamics, psychological manipulation, abuse of power, violence, death of children.
Sensitivity Note: This book discusses real historical trauma and mass loss of life in a factual but emotionally intense manner. Readers may find its exploration of coercion, death, and betrayal distressing, particularly given the young age of some victims. 5
TOP 10
Kim Johnson. The Color of a Lie. June 2024. Published by Random House Books for Young Readersan imprint of Randon House Childrens Books, a division of Penguin Random House. Hardback $19.99. 336 pages. 9780593118801. Ages 12-17.
Summary: After the murder of his sister by a white mob, Calvin Greene and his parents flee their Chicago home and resettle in an all-white suburban town called Levittown, Pennsylvania. They are light-skinned and “pass” as white for their safety. Blending mystery with social commentary, this novel follows uncovering buried truths shaped by racism and institutional protection. Johnson emphasizes courage, truth-telling, and the consequences of historical silence.
Trigger Warnings: racism, police misconduct, violence, death
Sensitivity Note: Law-enforcement harm is explicit.
Frederick Joseph. This Thing of Ours. May 2025. Published by Candlewick Press. Hardback $18.99. 384 pages. 9781536233463. Ages 12-17.
Summary: This Thing of Ours by Frederick Joseph follows Ossie Brown, a Black high school basketball star whose life is upended by a career-ending injury. Struggling to find his identity, he discovers a passion for writing in a program led by a Black teacher, exploring stories by marginalized authors. But when an “anti-woke” video targets the program, Ossie and his friends must navigate racism, censorship, and the challenges of standing up for what they believe in.
Trigger Warnings: violence, peer coercion, systemic injusticeSensitivity Note: Moral compromise is contextual, not sensationalized.
TOP 10
Normandy D. Piccolo. Bug. January 2025. Published by Normandy’s Bright Ideas.Paperback $19.99. 242 pages. 9780997934991. Ages 16-18.
Summary: Bug follows Tobi “Bug” Jackson, a young girl navigating life after abuse, housing instability, and emotional neglect, as she cautiously searches for safety and belonging. Told with care and restraint, the novel centers Tobi’s interior life—her hyper-vigilance, guarded hope, and small acts of trust—while recurring images of fireflies offer moments of beauty, resilience, and the possibility of healing that is gradual and non-linear rather than assured.
Trigger Warnings: child abuse, homelessness, emotional neglect, trauma responses, persistent grief
Sensitivity Note: Trauma is central and experienced through Tobi’s perspective; while handled with sensitivity, the material may be difficult for readers with lived experience of abuse or housing insecurity and is best engaged with thoughtful discussion and support.
Jason Reynolds. Coach. October 2025. Published by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Hardback $17.99. 256 pages. 979834710237. Ages 10-12.
Summary: Set in the late 1980s, this novel explores the experiences that shaped Coach Brody into the firm yet compassionate mentor seen in Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu. Against the backdrop of youth sports, the story examines mentorship, emotional inheritance, and how adult guidance influences young people’s sense of self. Reynolds tenderly centers Black boyhood, showing how care, expectation, and absence shape identity long before any final outcome is determined.
Trigger Warnings: emotional neglect, grief, verbal conflict, pressure to perform
Sensitivity Note: The story depicts relational harm rather than physical violence; adult failings and unmet expectations may resonate strongly with some readers.
TOP NONFICTION TITLE
Raymond Santana. Pushing Hope: an Illustrated Memoir of Survival. October 2025. Published by Calkins Creek, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, a division of Astra Publishing House. Hardback $24.99. 288 pages. 9781662680397. Ages 14-17.
Summary: Raymond Santana takes readers on a journey from his move to Harlem, to his arrest and trial, and from his time in prison to his ongoing fight for justice. Exonerated in 2002, Santana has made it his mission to fight wrongful convictions and injustice.
Trigger Warnings: Wrongful incarceration, racism, police misconduct, prison conditions, emotional trauma.
Sensitivity Note: This memoir addresses real-world injustices within the criminal legal system and includes firsthand accounts of trauma and incarceration that may be distressing for some readers.
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