The following is a selection of titles recently acquired by the Upper School library that address issues in diversity in thought-provoking and informative ways. We encourage everyone in our community to peruse the list and explore some of these illuminating books!
Upper School
Non-Fiction
• The Education of a British Protected Child by Chinua Achebe
This is a collection of seventeen autobiographical essays from Chinua Achebe in which he describes his childhood in colonial Nigeria, family life, a visit to Nigeria, a car accident, and more.
• Far from Zion by Charles London
This book chronicles the author’s examination of his Jewish identity after growing up in a nonreligious Jewish family; it describes his discovery of a loose community of Jews in various places, including war-torn Bosnia, Cuba, and an Arkansas bowling alley, while embarking on a physical and spiritual journey back to his roots.
• Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World by Wendy Smith
This book looks at how even the smallest charitable donations can make a difference in the global fight against poverty, and shares stories of people and organizations working to address the related problems of hunger and access to health care, education, and tools and technology.
• I Love Yous Are for White People: A Memoir by Lac Su
This memoir of the author’s experiences as an immigrant from Vietnam covers his family’s escape from communism and their new life in squalid living conditions in Los Angeles, where Lac got involved in a gang culture before eventually finding success.
• The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights by Irene Khan
This book argues that poverty is not just an economic issue but a violation of global human rights, and that continually defining it as an economic issue prevents governments and individuals from taking the necessary measures to end poverty and protect the basic rights of all humans.
• The Case for God by Karen Armstrong
This book examines how humans from prehistoric times to the present have tried to experience a sacred reality, describing the different ways religion has been practiced and how attitudes towards a holy being have changed throughout time.
• Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
This book tells the stories of women in Africa and Asia who have been victims of sex trafficking, forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality, and shows how girls’ education and micro-finance can change their lives while providing a boost to the economies of developing countries. The book is also Marymount’s December 2009 Book of the Month.
• Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices against Oppression by Ida Lichter
This book provides an in-depth look at the status of Muslim women in twenty-seven countries, each followed by the stories and words of Muslim women reformers who are fighting to secure women’s rights. It includes profiles of seven male Muslim activists, as well as a list of supporting organizations.
• Zeitoun by David Eggers
This book details the experiences of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Syrian-American and New Orleans resident, and his family in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, detailing how he was arrested and falsely imprisoned because of his ethnicity.
Fiction
• Push by Sapphire
Precious Jones, a sixteen-year-old girl who is pregnant with her second child by her father, is pushed by her courageous African-American teacher to learn to read, and discovers the truth about herself and her life.
• Luna by Julie Anne Peters
Fifteen-year-old Regan’s life, which has always revolved around keeping her older brother Liam’s transsexuality a secret, changes when Liam decides to start the process of “transitioning” by first telling his family and friends that he is a girl who was born in a boy’s body.
• Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Sisters Pearl and May Chin are forced into marriages to Chinese men living in America after their father gambles away his wealth; but life in American proves more difficult than they expected.