Exploring Common Ground - Suggested Reads

[Anne]

For One City, Many Stories, we will be discussing the theme of “Exploring Common Ground.” This theme is open to your interpretation. Books can be fiction or nonfiction and can cover a range of topics and ideas. For example, you could read a book about another culture, a book from a viewpoint different than your own, or a book about social change.

These titles were recommended by the library's Teen Advisory Board as some suggested reads for this topic.

Americanah: A Novel
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jashar Awan (Illustrator)
Fiction.A story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home.
Place a Hold on Americanah: A Novel

Kindred
by Octavia Butler
Fiction.Having just celebrated her 26th birthday in 1976 California, Dana, an African-American woman, is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland.
Place a Hold on Kindred

Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Fiction.The story follows 10 year old Hà, as she flees from Saigon as a result of the War to America, where she learns about the coldness of strangers, the different foods, and the strength of her own family.
Place a Hold on Inside Out & Back Again

March
by John Lewis
Graphic Novel. graphic novel trilogy covering the life and work of Congressman John Lewis, an American icon for civil rights and racial justice
Place a Hold on March Volume One
Check out March Volume One on ComicsPlus (No waitlist or holds!)
Place a Hold on March Volume Two
Check out March Volume Two on ComicsPlus (No waitlist or holds!)
Place a Hold on March Volume Three
Check outMarch Volume Three on ComicsPlus (No waitlist or holds!)

The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Fiction. Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community.
Place a Hold on The Giver

The Blossom & the Firefly
by Sherri L Smithi
Fiction.Japan 1945. Taro is a talented violinist and a kamikaze pilot in the days before his first and only mission. He believes he is ready to die for his country . . . until he meets Hana. Hana hasn't been the same since the day she was buried alive in a collapsed trench during a bomb raid. She wonders if it would have been better to have died that day . . . until she meets Tar..
Place a Hold on The Blossom & The Firefly


Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
by Bryan Stevenson
Biography. A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice.
Place a Hold on Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

They Called Us Enemy
by George Takei
Graphic Novel. They Called Us Enemy is George Takei’s graphic memoir of growing up as a child in American concentration camp during World War II.
Place a Hold on They Called Us Enemy
Check out They Called Us Enemy on ComicsPlus (No waitlist or holds!)


The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
Fiction. The book follows Starr Carter, who witnessed the police shooting her childhood best friend Khali. The story unfolds about her telling the truth about the shooting and the struggle that comes with it, including being an African American teenager in an all-white school and figuring out how to stay true not only to herself but also her community.
Place a Hold on The Hate U Give

Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld
Fiction. The Uglies trilogy follows Tally, who at sixteen, she’ll be able to turn from ugly to pretty, along with her friend, Shay. When Shay leaves town prior to the surgery, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world that isn’t very prettyy.
Place a Hold on Uglies

The Sun is Also a Star
by Nicola Yoon
Fiction.A romance story of two teens from different cultures. This novel explores identity, family, friends and interconnectedness between it all.
Place a Hold on The Sun is Also a Star