Monthly Themed Book Selections

Two teens — one Black, one white — reckon with a single act of police brutality and its aftermath. Told in alternating voices, this novel forces readers to confront complicity, courage, and what it means to stand up in a divided community.

Justyce McAllister is a high-achieving Black teen who writes letters to Dr. King as he tries to make sense of the racism he faces despite his success. A raw, urgent novel about identity, injustice, and what it means to be seen.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unseen — until she discovers slam poetry. This National Book Award winner explores faith, family, body autonomy, and a young woman's fight to claim her own voice.

In a near-future Canada ravaged by climate collapse, Indigenous people are hunted for their bone marrow. A visceral, prophetic novel that links environmental destruction to colonial violence and the fight for survival.

Fabiola Toussaint arrives in Detroit from Haiti only to find her mother detained at the border. A lyrical, mythic novel about navigating a new country, family loyalty, and the gap between the America promised and the America found.

Felix Love is a Black, transgender teen navigating first love, family, and identity over one summer in New York. A joyful, complex novel that centres trans joy alongside trans struggle — and refuses to let either define the whole story.

In a near-future America, Muslim Americans are forced into internment camps. Layla Amin refuses to accept her fate. A chilling, timely novel about civil liberties, resistance, and what ordinary people owe each other in extraordinary times.

Craig Gilner checks himself into a psychiatric hospital after a breakdown and discovers unexpected community, creativity, and clarity. An honest, darkly funny novel about pressure, mental health, and finding your way back to yourself.

Seventeen-year-old Piddy Sanchez navigates a new school, a dangerous neighbourhood, and the weight of her Cuban-American identity. A fierce, honest novel about code-switching, belonging, and the cost of assimilation.

Starr Carter witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend by a police officer and must decide whether to speak out. A landmark novel about activism, code-switching, community, and what it costs to tell the truth.

Twelve urban Native Americans converge on the Big Oakland Powwow, each carrying a different piece of a fractured history. A stunning debut that dismantles myths about Native identity and insists on the full complexity of Indigenous life today.

Amir and Hassan grow up together in Kabul until a single act of cowardice tears their friendship apart. A sweeping novel about guilt, redemption, and the bonds that survive war, exile, and time — a reminder of our shared humanity across borders.