Take the summer reading challenge!
Pledge to read one of our suggested reads and get a cute sticker!
Come back in August and PROVE you read one or more of our books and we'll enter you in a draw to win one of our limited edition UHS Red Devil Reader t-shirts.
America and social justice
In your Junior year, you'll deepen your understanding about American history in your HUSH class. But whether or not you've taken HUSH, the fiction and nonfiction books below will help you view events though different lenses and recognize different perspectives.
Fiction
The Four Winds by Publication Date: 2021An propulsive and sweeping epic about Dust Bowl-era Texas and its dramatic aftermath. (ebook)
The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Publication Date: 2021An engaging fictional history of Afro-punk performer Opal Jewel and white Englishman Nev Charles, an avant-garde rock duo who win some success and a cult following in the 1970's. (ebook)
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by Publication Date: 2021Set in the Gold Rush, this dreamy short novel is about two orphans who are seeking to bury their father's body according to Chinese customs. (in the library)
Lessons in Chemistry by Publication Date: 2022What is this marvelous novel? A romantic comedy? A feminist history? A science lesson? Yes! (ebook)
The Reformatory by Publication Date: 2023A chilling historical horror novel set in Jim Crow-era Florida at the haunted Gracetown School for Boys reformatory. (ebook)
Wandering Stars by Publication Date: 2024A poignant multigenerational saga that captures Native American oppression from 1864 to the present day, focusing on one family from Oakland. (ebook)
The Underground Railroad by Publication Date: 2018Powerful and intense, this follows escaped slave Cora on her journey North on a literal underground railway. (in the library and ebook)
Nonfiction
The Address Book by Publication Date: 2020Why do street addresses matter? This book answers that question through journeying to ancient times and around the world. Filled with fascinating people and history. (in the library)
America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History by Publication Date: 2023A stunning illustrated history through lesser-known and frequently erased parts of US history using collages of maps, magazine ads, and old photos in 21 short chapters. (in the library and ebook)
Evicted by Publication Date: 2016Uses wrenching real-life stories and detailed research to explore the impact of eviction on poverty-stricken families while also offering concrete solutions to this crisis. (in the library and ebook)
Just Mercy by Publication Date: 2014This wonderful and inspiring memoir from the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative describes how he found his calling in seeking justice for the wrongly condemned. (in the library, ebook and audiobook)
Nomadland by Publication Date: 2017Journalist Bruder spent years living and working with a group of "workampers," low income aging Americans squeaking out a living while driving from place to place for work. (in the library)
