SJPL Picks: Best-Of YA NonfictionLike this list

63 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

• White Lies

  How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History

  Bausum, Ann,

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  Warning: This is not your average U.S. history book. After the Civil War, the Confederates may have laid down their arms, but they were far from accepting defeat. By warping the narrative around what really happened during and after the Civil War,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• American Spirits

  the Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad That Haunted a Nation

  Rosenstock, Barb,

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  Rap. Rap. Rap. The eerie sound was first heard in March of 1848 at the home of the Fox family in Hydesville, New York. The family’s two daughters, Kate and Maggie, soon discovered that they could communicate with the spirit that was making these…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A World Without Summer

  a Volcano Erupts, a Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out

  Day, Nicholas, 1991-

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  A couple of hundred years ago, on a quiet Indonesian island, a volcano called Tambora erupted with a force and violence that changed history. It tore apart the island, and in the months and years that followed, its fallout tore apart the world. The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• White House Secrets

  Medical Lies and Cover-ups

  Jarrow, Gail

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  Did you know President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke that his wife and doctors concealed for months? Or that Mrs. Wilson took total charge of his presidential duties? Neither did the American public. Did you know President John F.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Most Perilous World

  the True Story of the Young Abolitionists and Their Crusade Against Slavery

  Gaddy, Kristina R.,

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  Flowers in the Gutter author Kristina R. Gaddy tells the story of America’s tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War and of the war itself from the viewpoints of four children of famous abolitionists, including those of Frederick Douglass and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ban This!

  How One School Fought Two Book Bans and Won (and How You Can Too)

  Ellis, Christina,

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  In September 2021, the school board in York, Pennsylvania, voted to remove a record-breaking number of books from school libraries in its community. The Panther Anti-Racist Union (PARU) at Central York High School, comprised of four students and two…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Banned Together

  Our Fight for Readers' Rights

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  This bold collection of fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic narratives, essays, and other genres explores book bans through various lenses, and empowers teens to fight back. From moving personal accounts to clever comebacks aimed at censorship, fifteen…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Fascinating Fungi

  Nourishers, Killers, Connectors, and Healers /

  Kenney, Karen Latchana,

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  Although scientists estimate that only 10 percent of fungi have been discovered, these findings have proved fantastic. Some fungi are toxic. But others are tasty sources of protein or drive the production of bread, cheeses, and fermented drinks.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Fight AIDS!

  How Activism, Art, and Protest Changed the Course of a Deadly Epidemic and Reshaped a Nation

  Long, Michael G.,

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  Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS! This was the slogan for ACT UP—or AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power—an activist organization that emerged in the 1980s during the height of the AIDS epidemic. The group was loud, direct, and confrontational as it…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants

  Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds

  Hirsch, Rebecca E.,

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  Science, history, and true crime converge in an informative and exciting look at Mother’s Nature’s ghoulish garden. From a hallucinogenic fungus linked to the Salem Witch Trials to the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln’s mother, learn how certain…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Represent

  the Unfinished Fight for the Vote

  Dyson, Michael Eric,

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  Drawing clear lines from then to now, with impeccable research and exhilarating prose, Represent weaves this crucial struggle for democracy into an enthralling American drama that will help readers understand our past, present, and future.

• Shift Happens

  the History of Labor in the United States

  Mann, J. Albert,

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  You need to work to live. That’s the truth for most people, and plenty of people in power have been abusing that truth for centuries. Long before the first labor unions were formed, workers still knew what exploitation looked like. It looked like…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Accountable

  the True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed

  Slater, Dashka,

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  Also available as an eBook and eAudiobook. 2024 Winner. When a high school student started a private Instagram account using racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as edgy humor. Once everyone found out, no one was…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• America Redux

  Visual Stories From Our Dynamic History

  Aberg-Riger, Ariel,

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  Also available as an eBook and eAudiobook. 2024 Finalist. America Redux explores the themes that create our shared sense of American identity and interrogates the myths we’ve been telling ourselves for centuries. With iconic American catchphrases as…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Family Style

  Memories of An American From Vietnam

  Pham, Thien,

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  Also available as an eBook. 2024 Finalist. A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do!

• From Here

  a Memoir

  Mufleh, Luma,

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  Also available as an eBook and eAudiobook. 2024 Finalist. In her coming-of-age memoir, refugee advocate Luma Mufleh writes of her tumultuous journey to reconcile her identity as a gay Muslim woman and a proud Arab-turned-American refugee.

• Nearer My Freedom

  the Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself

  Edinger, Monica, 1952-

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  Also available as an eBook and eAudiobook. 2024 Finalist. Millions of Africans were enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade, but few recorded their personal experiences. Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Victory. Stand!

  Raising My Fist for Justice

  Smith, Tommie, 1944-

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  Available as an eBook and eAudiobook. 2023 Winner. In this stunningly illustrated graphic memoir, 1968 Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith recounts how his love of running and his passion for activism resulted in one of the most enduring images in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Abuela, Don't Forget Me

  Ogle, Rex,

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  Also available as an eAudiobook. 2023 Finalist. Touching on topics including domestic abuse, homelessness, racism, homophobia, and poverty, Ogle demonstrates how the unconditional love of his Abuela saved his life. Ogle’s powerful and moving verse…Read moreRead more of this annotation