SJPL Picks: YA True CrimeLike this list

26 items

• Death in the Jungle

  Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown

  Fleming, Candace,

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  Using riveting first-person accounts, award-winning author Candace Fleming reveals the makings of a monster: from Jones’s humble origins as a child of the Depression… to his founding of a group whose idealistic promises of equality and justice…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Black Dahlia

  Geary, Rick,

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  Graphic Novel. On January 15, 1947, a woman walking with her daughter in a Los Angeles neighborhood passed what looked to be a discarded mannequin. It turned out to be the body of Elizabeth Short: posed, drained of blood, meticulously scrubbed, and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Doomed

  Sacco, Vanzetti, and the End of the American Dream

  Florio, John, 1960-

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  Relates the story of how in the early 1920s, as a Red Scare gripped America, two Italian immigrants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, were wrongly accused, tried, and executed for murder, making front-page headlines as they maintained their…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Murder Among Friends

  How Leopold and Loeb Tried to Commit the Perfect Crime

  Fleming, Candace,

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  Taking readers back to 1924, this shocking true crime story follows two eighteen-year-old college students who kidnapped and murdered a child they both knew, their trial, and how a renowned defense attorney enabled them to avoid the death penalty.

• A Few Red Drops

  the Chicago Race Riots of 1919

  Hartfield, Claire,

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  On a hot day in July 1919, five black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the "white" beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry

  the Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial That Galvanized the Asian American Movement

  Yoo, Paula,

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  A groundbreaking portrait of Vincent Chin and the murder case that took America's Asian American community to the streets in protest of injustice. America in 1982. Japanese car companies are on the rise and believed to be putting American…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Just Mercy

  Adapted for Young Adults : a True Story of the Fight for Justice

  Stevenson, Bryan,

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  Bryan Stevenson delves deep into the broken U.S. justice system, detailing from his personal experience his many challenges and efforts as a lawyer and social advocate, especially on behalf of America's most rejected and marginalized people. In this…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Grand Theft Horse

  Neri, Greg,

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  Gail stole her own horse. A modern-day outlaw at fifty-three, Gail learned the law at night while living out of her truck in order to move the horse to safe havens, evade private investigators, and take on a powerful Los Angeles attorney determined…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Chasing King's Killer

  the Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassin

  Swanson, James L., 1959-

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  James Earl Ray and Martin Luther King, Jr. had two very different life journeys -- but their paths fatally collide when Ray assassinates the world-renown civil rights leader. This book provides an inside look into both of their lives, the history of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Have the Right to

  a High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope

  Prout, Chessy,

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  The numbers are staggering: nearly one in five girls ages fourteen to seventeen have been the victim of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. This is the true story of one of those girls.

• No Choirboy

  Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row

  Kuklin, Susan,

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  Explores life behind bars for teenage prisoners who have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution on death row, discussing the effects of their past actions on themselves and others, and their personal views on the death penalty itself.

• We Say #Never Again

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  Student reporters from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, recall the attack on their school, describe recovery efforts and their classmates' part in the struggle for gun control, and discuss their roles as journalists.

• Bonnie and Clyde

  the Making of a Legend

  Blumenthal, Karen,

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  Bonnie and Clyde: we've been on a first name basis with them for almost a hundred years. Immortalized in movies, songs, and pop culture references, they are remembered mostly for their storied romance and tragic deaths. But what was life really like…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• What Are My Rights?

  Q&A About Teens and the Law

  Jacobs, Thomas A.

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  Provides information to help young readers understand laws, recognize responsibilities, and appreciate their rights, especially in relation to parents, school, job, and personal matters.

• 59 Hours

  Kovatch, Johnny,

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  Recounts the true case of an innocent teen who becomes a hostage stuck in the middle of a dangerous drug-fueled conflict.

• Deep Water

  Nichols, Katherine,

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  It's 1971 in Coronado, a small southern California beach town. For seventeen-year-old Eddie Otero, a skilled waterman and avid surfer, life is simple. Then a friend makes him an offer: Swim an illicit package across the border from Mexico. The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Acid King

  Pollack, Jesse P.,

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  True story of the tragic murder of Long Island teen Gary Lauwers by Ricky Kasso in 1984, called a "Satanic Sacrifice" by the international media. The effects of drugs, occultism, and violent crime on the teenagers involved caught the attention of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The 57 Bus

  Slater, Dashka,

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  One teenager in a skirt. One teenager with a lighter. One moment that changes both of their lives forever. If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California. Sasha, a white…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Borden Murders

  Lizzie Borden & the Trial of the Century

  Miller, Sarah Elizabeth, 1979-

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  Examines the Borden murders, using newspaper articles to recreate the events and the trial and acquittal of Lizzie Borden and exploring Lizzie's story to theorize on what may have happened.

• Blood, Bullets, and Bones

  the Story of Forensic Science From Sherlock Holmes to DNA

  Heos, Bridget,

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  Blood, Bullets, and Bones provides young readers with a fresh and fascinating look at the ever-evolving science of forensics. Since the introduction of DNA testing, forensic science has been in the forefront of the public's imagination.