Books About Social Justice
- Jun 1
- 4 min read
By Tanaz Tahery
Disclaimer: Some of the books listed explore difficult themes, including violence and police brutality. Reader discretion is advised.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: Only suitable for those in High School
Recommended Age: 14+
Why: Deals with police brutality, racism, protests, and trauma. Suitable for high‑school readers who can engage with heavy themes thoughtfully.
This book is Thoma’s debut novel, which was adapted from a short story she wrote in college (university) in reaction to the police shooting of Oscar Grant.
Sixteen‑year‑old Starr Carter spends her life moving between two very different worlds: the low‑income community where she lives and the wealthy private school she attends. She’s learned how to switch between them — until everything changes the night she witnesses her childhood best friend, Khalil, being shot by a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
His death quickly became national news. Some people label him a criminal, while others protest in the streets demanding justice. At the same time, Starr and her family face pressure from police and threats from the local drug world. Starr is the only person who knows exactly what happened that night, and her voice could change everything.
Speaking up could bring truth and justice — but it could also put her and her community at risk. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this novel follows Starr’s journey as she navigates fear, courage, and the fight for what’s right.
Malala’s Magic Pencil
Recommended Age: 6–10
Why: A picture book written for younger readers, focusing on hope, imagination, and early ideas about justice. Gentle introduction to Malala’s story.
In her childhood in Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai often imagined having a magic pencil she could use to change the world around her — from helping her family to making her neighbourhood cleaner and safer. As she grew older, her wishes became bigger. She began to see the inequalities around her, especially the barriers preventing girls from going to school. Even though she never found a real magic pencil, Malala realised she could still create change through her words, her courage, and her determination.
This picture book, told in Malala’s own voice, shares her story with younger readers. It shows how she learned to stay hopeful, speak up for what is right, and use her voice to make a difference, even in the most challenging circumstances.
Still alive : notes from Australia's immigration detention system Safdar Ahmed
Recommended Age: 15+
Why: Graphic‑novel format but with mature themes — detention, trauma, and human rights abuses. Best for older teens who can handle confronting content.
Still Alive explores the realities of Australia’s system of mandatory and indefinite detention for asylum seekers and refugees. Based on Safdar Ahmed’s years of volunteer work at Sydney’s Villawood detention centre, the book brings together the voices, stories, and artwork of people held in detention, as well as the experiences of those who work with them. Human rights organisations have long criticised the system for its harsh conditions, and Ahmed’s work offers a close, collaborative look at what life inside detention is actually like.
Rather than portraying refugees as either threats to national security or passive victims, Still Alive highlights their resilience, creativity, and agency. Through personal testimony and visual storytelling, the book reveals the emotional and psychological impact of indefinite detention and provides a powerful account of the challenges asylum seekers face upon arriving in Australia.
Justice Failed: How "Legal Ethics" Kept Me in Prison for 26 Years by Alton Logan Berl Falbaum
Recommended Age: 15+
Why: Explores wrongful conviction, legal ethics, and systemic racism. Requires emotional maturity and some understanding of legal systems.
Justice Failed tells the story of Alton Logan, an African American man who spent twenty‑six years in prison for a murder he did not commit. In 1983, Logan was wrongly convicted of killing an off‑duty corrections officer at a Chicago McDonald’s and was sentenced to life in prison. Around the same time, the real perpetrator, Andrew Wilson, confessed the crime to his own lawyers. However, because of strict attorney‑client confidentiality rules, the lawyers were legally prevented from revealing the truth.
They wrote and sealed an affidavit declaring Logan’s innocence, but it could only be released after Wilson’s death in 2007. When it finally came to light, the evidence helped free Logan after more than two decades behind bars.
Written with journalist Berl Falbaum, the book examines the tension between moral responsibility and the legal obligations that kept an innocent man imprisoned. Through interviews, legal analysis, and Logan’s own reflections, it traces his life from childhood to the lasting impact of losing twenty‑six years to a wrongful conviction.
Refugee By Alan Gratz
Recommended Age: 11–15
Why: The book deals with war, violence, and displacement, but it’s written for middle‑grade and early high‑school students. Mature themes are handled sensitively and clearly.
Refugee follows the journeys of three young people escaping danger in different parts of the world and at different moments in history. Josef is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany, where rising persecution forces his family to flee across the ocean in search of safety. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994 who leaves her home on a fragile raft as her country faces political unrest and economic crisis. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015 whose family undertakes a dangerous journey toward Europe as war devastates their homeland.
Each child faces life‑threatening challenges — from violence and bombings to treacherous seas and betrayal — yet each holds onto hope for a safer future. Although their stories unfold decades apart, the novel reveals powerful and unexpected connections between them.
Fast‑paced and deeply moving, Refugee has remained on the New York Times bestseller list for years. It continues to resonate with readers for its exploration of survival, courage, and the universal search for home.
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