DISCUSSION GUIDES

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren't Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson's emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This follow-up to The Underground Railroad brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. • "One of the most gifted novelists in America today." —NPR

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD® FOR BEST PICTURE AND DIRECTED BY ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE RAMELL ROSS

When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.

Based on the real story of a reform school that operated for 111 years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers and “should further cement Whitehead as one of his generation's best" (Entertainment Weekly).

Captivating and action-packed, From Blood and Ash is a sexy, addictive, and unexpected fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa.

An ecological mystery for those who love the great outdoors and reading at the beach! The main character “Jenn is a pleasantly quirky heroine who takes ‘tree hugging’ to a whole new level.” Kirkus Reviews. Your book group members will enjoy discussing the serious environmental issues raised in this ecological mystery, and laughing about the lighthearted issues raised by Jenn’s potential romance.

My Monticello is a debut collection of short stories and a gripping novella in which a diverse cast of characters struggle to find a sense of belonging in America. In the title novella, a young Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings leads her grandmother and neighbors to seek refuge at Jefferson’s estate when a white militia drives them out of their homes during a great unraveling.

This short story collection offering a portrait of Cambodian-American life, diving deep into queer and immigrant communites. As the children of refugees carve out radical new paths for themselves in California, they shoulder the inherited weight of the Khmer Rouge genocide and grapple with the complexities of race, sexuality, friendship, and family.

A piercing howl of a novel and "a tart pleasure . . . with echoes of Zadie Smith and Sally Rooney," about one young woman’s endless quest for an apartment of her own and the aspirations and challenges faced by the Millennial generation as it finds its footing in the world, from a shockingly talented debut author (Kirkus, starred review).

The summer of 1932 found Americans struggling in the depths of what would become the Great Depression. Virginian May Marshall struggles to keep her family together and grow her family business. Boston teenager Dorrit Sykes lives hand-to-mouth in a tenement, attempting to cure her anxiety issues and come to terms with her questions of faith. When she joins her father at the Veteran’s Bonus March in Washington, DC, she begins a summer-long odyssey that will lead her to May’s door, where their lives will intersect in ways neither could have anticipated.