16-year-old Amal Shahid is an artist, a poet, a son, a cousin, a student. But in the eyes of the law, he is a monster and nothing more. After a fight in a gentrified neighborhood sends a white boy to the hospital, knocked unconscious, the world turns to Amal to shoulder the blame. He didn’t do it — but to the world, that doesn’t matter. Convicted of the crime and sent to prison, Amal suddenly finds that the weight of prejudice and racism and despair and rage is unbearably suffocating.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, is a realistic fiction novel about Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza. Aristotle is a lonely, angry teenager. He wants to learn more about his brother, who is in prison. And his father, who has become quiet and closed off after returning from war. Once he meets his best friend, Dante, he starts questioning more things than he ever had before.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton provides a look into what teenage life looked like in the 60’s in America. A book targeted towards teens, The Outsiders tries to capture a more accurate perspective on these children. Almost sixty years have passed since its release, however, meaning that most of the book is not applicable to today’s society.
