Tomorrow Begins Now: Teen Heroes Who Faced Down Injustice

by Ava Lorelei Deakin

Are you ready to change the world? The eleven teen activists in this book were!

Tomorrow Begins Teen Heroes Who Faced Down Injustice tells the inspiring stories of activists fighting for their civil rights and liberties while still in their teens.

These stories, spanning from the 1950s to today, show the real impact teens have had on the most important issues of their day-- from racial equality to freedom of speech to LGBTQ+ rights.

This book features exclusive interviews with activists such Empowering and hopeful, it's a must read if you're interested in creating change for a better tomorrow!

174 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2022

Reviews

[Kai Gilchrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tomorrow Begins Now is a true story non-fiction book by Ava Lorelei Deakin. Our main character is Ava Deakin herself, while still living with her parents, Deakin had moved into a new town, however she faced injustices against her disability in this new neighborhood. Ava pushed through her struggles and won her cases but not without inspiration from other brave teenagers who stood up and spoke their minds against injustice. This book covers Ava Lorelei Deakin’s story as well as the stories of those who inspired her.

I appreciated Deakins diversity in injustice issues in which she focused on Ableism, Racism, censorship/digital censorship, homophobia, unjust deportation, and Transphobia. Ava Lorelei Deakin does a great job at sharing the stories of others who faced these hardships. The stories in Tomorrow Begins Now are easy to follow and understand, i recommend this book to someone between the grades of 9-10.

[Lit.for.Lit · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring book about teen activists written by a teen activist. The author not only fought a battle against a historic society, she also compiled the stories of others who set precedent in their own times. Ava highlights cases of those who dedicated their time and in some cases put their life and safety on the line to improve the lives of those to follow.

An aspect that sets her book apart is that she is not just summarizing facts, she is giving us insight on the activists’ motivation. She humanizes these historical figures we have come across in study and helps us relate by opening a window to their mind and heart through her interviews. She shares with us their reasons, their experiences, and snippets of their life beyond litigation.

Read if you enjoy biopics and inspirational stories. I can also see this as a great buddy read between parents and their teens or preteens!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a young woman inspired by disabled activists that came before her, Ava Lorelei Deakin had to fight for renovations that would make her home more accessible after the local housing board tried to block her family from doing so—for aesthetic reasons.

It’d be hard not to take pride in her and her story as she saw through her fight to the end and won. Not only that, she took the time to write a whole book highlighting many others, drawing parallels that showed her own empathy and will hopefully encourage other young people to take charge of their own lives in the face of blatant ableism/racism/misogyny/bigotry/etc.

“I believe we can live in a just world if we challenge the status quo. Civil rights and liberties can only be attained and strengthened if we question the way things are done and consider what course of action would make the world a more welcoming place for everyone. Young people have always helped in pushing society forward.” 🙌🏻