This Book Won't Burn

This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed is the story of one young woman standing up to racism in her new school. 

After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mom moves them a million miles from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves.

Reeling from being uprooted and deserted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation. 

But things aren’t so simple. At school, Noor discovers hundreds of books have been labeled “obscene” or “pornographic” and are being removed from the library in accordance with a new school board policy. Even worse, virtually all the banned books are by queer and BIPOC authors. 

Noor can’t sit back and do nothing, because that goes against everything she believes in, but challenging the status quo just might put a target on her back. Can she effect change by speaking up? Or will small-town politics—and small-town love—be her downfall? 

Ahmed has written a very powerful book that should be read by all lovers of books!

Ahmed, Samira. (2024). This Book Won't Burn. New York: Little Brown & Co.

The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir

The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir by Gaby Rodriguez is the story of one young woman faking a pregnancy during high school to study people's reactions.

Gaby Rodriguez grew up in a family where her older siblings were setting a trend of becoming teen parents. Gaby felt like it was expected that she would follow this pattern, but she had already decided she wanted to go a different route - college.

When considering her upcoming senior project - on a topic of her choosing - one of her brothers made a comment. He said that he drank because his father drank. It was genetic. He got Gaby to thinking about who people are perceived by others and the stereotypes that form - and that people did not have to live up to.

Convincing her school to let her do the project, she told only a few people what she was planning. Her boyfriend had to be in on the secret. Her mother knew. And one sister and one friend from school who could keep track of the comments said about her. Gaby was convinced she could handle the comments because the pregnancy would not be real.

The Pregnancy Project is the story of Gaby's project and how people reacted - both during and after she announced the truth. Her project gained so much attention that she ended up on nation wide news and Lifetime made a movie about her story.

Rodriguez, Gaby and Jenna Glatzer. (2012). The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Secrets of Truth & Beauty

Secrets of Truth & Beauty by Megan Frazer is a story of self-image and prejudice.

Dara Cohen's life is about to change. An assignment as school to create a multi-media autobiography is misunderstood. Dara was Little Miss Maine when she was a kid. She took the footage of the pageant and created a video that compares societies image of what is acceptable or beautiful with pictures of herself. She thought she was creating a clever look at weight prejudice.

Dara's teacher, her school counselor, and her parents did not get the same message from the video. Her parents take her out of school and she has to see a counselor before she can return in the Fall.

Dara takes this opportunity to look for the sister she has never met. When she finds her, Dara drives to Hollis, Massachusetts and meets her sister Rachel. Rachel lives on the Jezebel Goat Farm. It has been a safe haven for young women whose families kicked them out for being lesbians since the 1940s.

Dara's summer of self-discovery and getting to know her sister is a coming of age story of one girl who grows to love herself. Frazer has written a thoughtful book.

Frazer, Megan. (2009). Secrets of Truth & Beauty. New York: Hyperion.