Books Change Lives…But Books Are Not Enough

A great reading list of books for teens! Illustration by @idealbookshelf

Of course I love books.

Of course I will celebrate wonderful books, and the power of story to change hearts and minds, to change life trajectories, until the end of time.

Of course I want to highlight and celebrate books by Black authors, whose works are, in turns, hilarious, heartbreaking, thought-provoking, complex, goofy, sophisticated, old-fashioned, silly, poignant…you get the idea.

But books are not enough.

Hashtags are not enough.

Protests are not enough.

Allyship is not enough.

To change what has been unchanged in our country since before the name America was official, we all must do more.

White people (like me) must support policies that might cause them to personally lose some economic or social benefit. White people must sit with the fact that their lack of knowledge — their ignorance, to use a more loaded and accurate word — has caused harm.

White employers and educators have to move way beyond a token addition to the reading list (during Black History Month) or a nod to the “colorblind culture” in the office and push themselves and their colleagues to actually be anti-racist in their work.

White people need to learn how not to be defensive, how not to tone police, how not to feel personally attacked when we are talking about systems of racism for which we bear responsibility, if not guilt.

White parents have to figure out how to teach their kids things they never learned, things they are still learning themselves.

And it still won’t be enough to bring the change we need at the speed we want it.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t try.

And it doesn’t mean that books aren’t important, and supporting Black authors doesn’t matter, and that showing up and putting your body between Black protesters and police doesn’t matter, and that posting information and awareness and links don’t matter. Because it does. Everything we do adds up to who we are, and the good news is that the meter is always running. There is always time to start turning our thoughts into actions, our actions into movement, our movement into change.

Books can change lives. Below are a few books by Black authors that I have adored. I’m trying to highlight the ones that are not already super-mega-totally famous *waves to Angie Thomas and The Hate U Give*, not because I don’t think they are incredibly powerful books *waves again to Jason Reynolds* but because if you don’t know about them yet, then you’re probably not reading this blog.

These are not books I’m recommending because they’re important (though some of them are), or ground-breaking (though they might be). I’m not recommending them because they will open your eyes (but they might). I’m not recommending them the way your doctor might tell you to eat more leafy greens…these are not books to read because they’re good for you (though they are).

I’m recommending them because they’re freaking awesome stories. They will transport you and engage you, and that’s what stories do. Because I do believe in the power of stories, and in the power of Black stories to move readers of all backgrounds and races, so that we can imagine more clearly the changes we need to make. So we can imagine, more clearly, why we have to keep saying Black Lives Matter.

Happy reading.

BOOKS FOR MIDDLE READERS (ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL)

BOOKS FOR TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS

There are so many, many more, some of which you can see when you click the illustrations (which lead to great booklists). But these are a few of my favorites.

Reading them might change a kid’s life. Might change your life. But they’re still not enough. We have more to do.

Onward.

A great list of books for kids! Illustration by @idealbookshelf