Multicultural books for high schoolers or teenagers need to be interesting enough, along with lessons of history and humanity. This is the age for young adults to form their own opinion, decide on right or wrong in the path of becoming the future citizen of the country.
The books need to guide the youngers to the correct path of racial identity, issues faced, and above all should provide hope. The below list covers a wide variety. While there is a lot to learn from Japanese history in America, immigrant issues, one also needs to be aware of the racial and other crisis the second-generation Americans face. A rainbow of ranges to choose from.
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Multicultural Books For High School
Ink Knows No Borders
This book is a collection of sixty-four poems by young adults refugees, immigrants, writers in exile. The poems are deeply moving, breathtaking, uplifting at times. A book to understand refugee\immigrant experience, for every high schooler and above.
Badass Black Girl
It is a book designed for young black girls. The words of affirmation are empowering and healing. It is a book to embrace one’s authenticity. The perfect book for high schooler\teens\young adults girls.
We Are Not from Here
This book is about the journey of three young teen immigrants through the Mexico border to the USA. The fictional story narrates the causes of immigration and the dangers of it. A real eye-opener for children in high school and above, to make them understand how lucky one is to be born in the right country and right time.
Sanctuary
This book is a fictional novel set in the future. A teenager, Vali and her family, all illegal immigrants, are spending a quiet, happy life in a small town. However, soon the Deportation Forces raid the town, and they are forced to flee. While her mother is detained, Vali must carry on with her younger brother to safety. A gripping tale for high schoolers.
American Betiya
This is a book about a young Indian teenage girl growing up in America – the troubles she finds herself in and her eventual self-discovery. The story highlights many issues of other race children growing up in America – starting with cultural stereotypes, racism, family relationships. A powerful and gripping book for teenagers.
We Are Not Free
This is the story of fourteen second-generation Japanese American citizens, growing up in Japantown, San Francisco. A tale of racism and USA concentration camp for the Japanese during WWII, where 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry were removed from their homes and put. It is mandatory and a must-read for any USA teenager and above to understand the culture clash in America.
Color Me In
This is an outstanding tale of a teenager, Nevaeh Levitz, from a mixed-race family. As she struggles to fit in either side of her parental family, she realizes that she too has a choice and voice. A story of the privilege of being born white, racial struggles, and finding inner self through it all.
The Silence of Our Friends
This semi-autobiographical story is written from author Mark Long’s view when he was young. His father was a reporter covering the story of five black college students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman. Set in the backdrop of 1960’s Texas, when the civil rights struggle was at its peak, the story narrates the fights of two families – one white and one black – against racism. Beautiful artwork compliments the gripping tale. A book for high school and above.
I See the Promised Land
This novel is the biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. It covers the formations of civil rights, fights against segregation, the influence of Mahatma Gandhi, and many such events. A book for a dose of history for the teenagers.
They Called Us Enemy
This is the courageous tale of author George Takei’s experience in American concentration camps during World War II, as a child. How his family survived four years behind the barbed wire and how they moved forward once the war was over. A gripping black and white novel for every middle grader and high schooler.
