Toxic, radioactive material infecting girls, mostly teenagers, daily, without the girls knowing about it. In The Radium Girls, the horrors that girls who worked in radium factories faced in the 1920s in Orange, New Jersey, and Ottawa, Illinois. These factories used radium to create watches that had glowing dials, and the young girls working there painted these dials using a method which involved them putting the paintbrushes in their mouths.
In Without You, There Is No Us, Suki Kim shows us a world most would consider psychological warfare. Inside one of the most elite schools in Pyongyang, Suki Kim teaches English in a world of censorship from not only her Supervisors but also her peers. Suki finds herself bonding with her students which only makes being under the umbrella of the DPRKs watchful eye even more painful. This book gives you the suspense of a mystery and the fear of a horror book…except it’s not fiction.
The Prince is a political treatise written by Niccolo Machiavelli during his time imprisoned, following the wars in Italy in the 1500s. He wrote this book as a gift to his captors: the de’ Medici family. The main purpose of the book is to inform rulers how to gain power and, most importantly, maintain power at any cost. The book covers how to conquer foreign lands, how to maintain control of your lands, how to deal with your army or traitors, how to behave with people of different social statuses, etc.
Rich Dad Poor Dad is a financial book that teaches the reader how to be financially independent. It follows the narrative of the narrator showing the financial choices of his poor dad (his real dad), and his rich dad (his best friend's father). It talks about different topics on how to build wealth and gives simplified ways to understand how making money works.
In this book, author, Sonia Nazario, follows a young boy named Enrique on his journey from Honduras to the United States where his mother lives in hopes that all of his problems will get better. While on the journey, Enrique faces many obstacles and hardships but remains determined to meet his mother again.
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is a diary about a girl, and is also a journal. She is a Jewish teenager who she and her family hid during the German occupation of the Netherland in WWII. She wrote her experiences for the world to see how her and those around her lives were impacted.
Know My Name is an amazing memoir, perfect for those who enjoy true stories. It discusses the Stanford sexual assault case and is not an easy book to read, but Chanel Miller’s powerful words define her as a survivor rather than a victim. Miller describes her experience after the assault to her readers, writing about confronting the truth, her loved ones, and her new reality. Readers are also introduced to the case that was filed and gain knowledge about the legal aspect of the situation.
Often when people of color are asked how exactly racism works, a one-sentence answer isn't enough for the complexity, history, and future of the United States’ racism. However, Coates’ book, Between the World and Me, offers an insight into racism that I believe every American should have exposure to. Coates writes this book to his son, Samori, to explain the vulnerability of his black body in a country ignorant of a racist reality. This novel covers topics from slavery,
Tuesdays with Morrie is the story about one man and one professor. Mitch Albom was once a student of Morrie Schwartz, a professor at Brandeis University in 1979. Mitch, 16 years later, reconnects with Morrie about life lessons.
This was one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. I would recommend this book to people who need essential life advice from a wise soul!! I liked the parts that Morrie talked about being in love, and love is something that shouldn’t be rushed. It was very eye opening to me.
Do Hard Things is exactly what it sounds like the whole book is how to do hard things. Alex Harris talks about his experience with hard things and shares the stories of others to help motivate people. The book is split up chapter by chapter and focuses on different aspects of doing hard things and how teens need to break the ideology of laziness. Teens in the current day are looked at as soft, unsuccessful, and dependent on others.
