A late summer listening list for the curious young minds in your home
At its best, literature makes us feel seen and heard. A character suffers a hard breakup and we feel a twinge of pain ourselves, reminded of having gone through something similar. A character says farewell to a family member, celebrates a victory, overcomes the odds, has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day – and we, as listeners, feel connected to the emotion of their broader human experience. We hear ourselves represented.
However, those experiences were traditionally limited in terms of class, race, sexual orientation and ability. Often, it was white, cisgender, straight, able characters represented by authors of the same identity.
Kids of every background, identity and experience deserve to be represented in literature. It’s important for young BIPOC kids, LGBTQ+ kids or kids with different abilities to feel a connection to the stories they hear. In addition to this, an inclusive and diverse array of perspectives, stories and characters help kids – no matter their background or identity – to , inclusivity and empathy.
Listening can be a great way for young people to explore diverse voices and perspectives. Luckily, the YA genre has been on the vanguard recently for inclusive, diverse perspectives, with many great #ownvoices titles amplifying BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse voices.
Let's celebrate that diversity with a late summer listening list. Recommend these titles to your kids; listen to them yourself; or discover how by listening together.
To get started, here are five fantastic titles that represent the tip of the iceberg!
A Poignant Story about Finding Love (and Finding Yourself) with Tobly McSmith
After all the attention he got at his last school for coming out as transgender, Pony is just looking to lay low when he gets to Hillcrest High. He doesn’t want to be exposed.
With one year left before she officially graduates, Georgia just wants to lay low as well. As a cheerleader, she feels she has to date the football players, but her last relationship ended disastrously.
But you know what they say about best laid plans. The moment Pony and Georgia lock eyes on the first day of school, sparks fly. Sparks that are both beautiful and uncomfortably illuminating.
As an emotionally honest, poignant story about coming-of-age and being true to oneself, Stay Gold is universal. As a step forward for transgender representation in YA romance, this spiritual successor to S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders is radically unique.
A Fearless, Necessary Look at Racial Injustice with Angie Thomas
Starr Carter is a young girl moving between worlds: the streets of the poor, predominantly Black neighbourhood where she grew up and the halls of the mostly white suburban preparatory school she attends. It’s not always easy to move back and forth, but she gets by.
