When it comes to literature, teaching the classics is important. But it's a good idea to add contemporary titles to your curriculum, too, especially if your students sometimes have trouble connecting with older texts.
That’s why we created the Discovering Literature collection, a curated selection of noteworthy books that are capturing the attention of teachers and students across the country.
Written by women of color, the novels in this month’s Discovering Literature Digest explore themes of survival, freedom, and strength. Whether it’s Shobha Rao’s heartbreaking narrative about lost friendship, Traci Chee’s story of injustice set against historical events, Jenny Torres Sanchez’s haunting tale of Central American refugees, or Thi Bui’s personal account of her family’s emigration from wartorn Vietnam, these stories will take students on journeys they will never forget.
We Are Not from Here
After witnessing an act of unspeakable violence, Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña make the difficult choice to abandon their Guatemalan hometown and head for refuge in the United States. To reach their destination, the three teens must cross through Mexico following the route of La Bestia, an infamous system of trains fraught with threats of murder, kidnapping, hunger, and other dangers. Inspired by real events, We Are Not from Here tackles themes of survival, freedom, and humanitarianism. Scenes of graphic violence and sexual assault make this book better suited for older readers.
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Girls Burn Brighter
In this debut novel by Shobha Rao, two girls form an enduring bond that spans conflict and continents. Though they both live in poverty, Poornima and Savitha find joy in each other’s friendship, making the best out of life in their Indian village. But after a devastating act of cruelty drives Savitha away, Poornima sets out on a harrowing journey to the United States to find her friend. Alternating between each girl’s perspective, Girls Burn Brighter will surely spark conversations about domestic abuse, human trafficking, immigration, and feminism. Due to depictions of violence and sexual assault, this book is better suited for older readers.
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We Are Not Free
Told through multiple perspectives, this moving historical narrative details the injustices faced by Japanese Americans during World War II. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the US government forced over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry into internment camps. We Are Not Free follows fourteen teenagers whose lives are irrevocably changed during this time. Uprooted from their San Francisco neighborhood, they are incarcerated simply because they are Nisei, or second-generation Japanese American citizens. Despite their differences, the teens must band together and protect each other from the hostilities of the world within and beyond the camp’s barbed wire fence.
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The Best We Could Do
In this poignant graphic memoir, artist Thi Bui reflects on the consequences of war and the impact of intergenerational trauma by chronicling her family’s turbulent history. Starting with the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, Bui documents the struggles they faced as immigrants adjusting to new lives in America. It’s only through experiencing her own trials as a first-time mother that she truly understands the incredible sacrifices her parents made to give their children a better life. Tackling themes of identity and family, The Best We Could Do makes a great addition to any nonfiction unit.
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Find even more exciting books in the Discovering Literature collection!