50 Books Every Black Teen Should Read

Written By NewsOne Staff

(Source NewsOne):

National Read A Book Day, which falls on Monday, couldn’t come at a better time.

Not only is the start of the school year upon us, what with students loading their backpacks with books and other study materials. But it is also a time when there is no shortage of books addressing certain unavoidable topics like race that fuel conversations in the classroom and at home.

And while there are many ways to stay informed in the age of the internet, opening up a book and reading it is a true throwback that provides experiences that aren’t always accessible online.

All of which is why at NewsOne, we believe that the child who reads is the child who leads. In keeping with that idea, we decided to take a look at the state of reading for Black youth.

Research has found that the proportion of young people who are daily readers drops has dropped dramatically in recent years. According to some studies, since 1984, the percentage of 13-year-olds who are weekly readers dropped from 70% to 53%. Even worse, the percentage of 17-year-olds who are weekly readers fell from 64% to a startling 40%. And the percentage of 17-year-olds who never or hardly read tripled during the same period, from 9% to 27%. It’s jarring news.

We tapped our brother and sister sites Hello Beautiful and The Urban Daily to get their reading recommendations. Here are dozens of titles they said had an impact on them and that every Black youth should read.