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Project LIT Community

2024–25 Book Selections

Calling all Project LIT chapter leaders and book group members! Check out our curated vocabulary lists for this year’s book picks. Vocabulary.com makes it easy to master every word in these engaging and diverse titles.
  • Buffalo DreamerViolet Duncan
    Twelve-year-old Summer learns of her grandfather's traumatic childhood suffering because of his indigenous (Cree) heritage. Her family's present happiness and unity within their native community in Alberta, Canada, is a beautiful lesson in resilience, honor, and the healing power of love.
  • The First State of BeingErin Entrada Kelly
    In this novel, Michael and Elizabeth, ordinary kids living in the year 1999, meet a boy from the future.
  • Black Boy JoyKwame Mbalia, Jerry Craft and Jason Reynolds
    In this collection of stories from seventeen authors, in settings ranging from Atlanta to outer space, the joys of growing up are emphasized in the experiences of Black boys from ages nine to thirteen.
  • Max in the House of SpiesA Tale of World War IIAdam Gidwitz
    With input from two immortal creatures on his shoulders, twelve-year-old Max Abraham Bretzfeld decides to become a British spy in order to reunite with his parents, who had sent him away from the anti-Jewish dangers in Nazi Germany.
  • Out of My MindSharon M. Draper
    Born with cerebral palsy, Melody has difficulty communicating with others — but in spite of the obstacles she faces, Melody is determined to prove how smart she really is.
  • Out of My HeartSharon M. Draper
    In this sequel to Out of My Mind, sixth-grader Melody Brooks will not let her cerebral palsy stop her from enjoying all the activities offered by The Green Glades Therapeutic Recreational summer camp.
  • The Last CuentistaDonna Barba Higuera
    After Earth is destroyed by a comet, twelve-year-old Petra Peña wakes up on a new planet and discovers she is the only one who remembers Earth. She must use her stories and her wits to save humanity's legacy.
  • The Lost YearKatherine Marsh
    Stuck in his New Jersey house during the Covid pandemic, thirteen-year-old Matthew helps his hundred-year-old great-grandmother organize her stuff and learns about her life as a Young Pioneer in 1930s Ukraine.
  • Kareem BetweenShifa Saltagi Safadi
    In this novel in verse, Syrian American Kareem struggles to fit in and make his middle school football team during a time of difficulty for his family.
  • Impossible CreaturesKatherine Rundell
    Two kids — Mal and Christopher — unite to save the magical islands of the Archipelago, full of mythical creatures. On the way, each learns who they are and their destiny in life.
  • The Tenth Mistake of Hank HoopermanGennifer Choldenko
    Eleven-year-old Hank and his toddler sister, Boo, are abandoned at home by their mom, and he must use his wits to survive, take care of his sister, and find a new place to live. Over the next few months, they learn a lot about family, love and forgiveness, and second chances.
  • Two DegreesAlan Gratz
    Four young people find themselves struggling to survive against the devastating effects of climate change. Akira is caught inside a California wildfire; Owen and George battle and save a struggling polar bear in the Canadian tundra; and Natalie survives Miami's "Big One" hurricane.
  • Finally HeardKelly Yang
    In this sequel to Finally Seen, ten-year-old Lina joins the world of social media, and finds herself caught up in cyberbullying and overwhelmed by others' opinions.
  • The Bletchley RiddleRuta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
    A brother and sister — 19-year-old Jakob, a code breaker, and 14-year-old Lizzie, an investigator — find themselves in Britain's Bletchley Park during WWII. They are helping Britain decode the Nazi’s Enigma communications, while also trying to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother’s disappearance.
  • Louder than HungerJohn Schu
    In this novel in verse, 13-year-old Jake struggles with anorexia and learns to understand his own worth during treatment at a residential facility.
  • And Then, Boom!Lisa Fipps
    In this novel in verse, preteen Joe Oak is abandoned by his mother and loses his beloved grandmother, but kindness from friends, family, and strangers helps him get back on his feet again.
  • Everything We Never HadRandy Ribay
    This novel follows four generations of fathers and sons from the Filipino American Maghabol family as they struggle to survive and understand each other.
  • Imposter Syndrome & Other Confessions of Alejandra KimPatricia Park
    A descendant of Korean immigrants who had initially settled in Argentina, high school senior Alejandra Kim does not feel like she belongs in either her diverse New York City neighborhood or the private school she attends on a scholarship.
  • The Blood YearsElana K. Arnold
    As a Jewish teenager in German-occupied Romania during World War II, Frederieke Teitler struggles with the sacrifices she makes in order to survive.
  • Not Like Other GirlsMeredith Adamo
    In this mystery novel, a high school senior searches for her missing ex-best friend and comes face-to-face with her own trauma in the process.
  • Black Girl You Are AtlasRenée Watson
    In this poetry collection, author Renée Watson explores Black culture and girlhood as the narrator grows up from age 7 to age 17.
  • Twenty-Four Seconds from NowJason Reynolds
    This novel, told in reverse, is a sweet and tender look at teenage male anxieties about love.
  • HeirSabaa Tahir
    In this romantic fantasy novel, the lives of three young people intersect: Aiz, a poor orphan languishing in prison; Sirsha, an outcast banished from her tribe; and Quil, a crown prince.
  • Shut Up, This Is SeriousCarolina Ixta
    In this novel, high school senior Belén deals with panic attacks in the wake of her father leaving while she tries to help her pregnant best friend Leti prepare to be a mother.
  • This Book Won't BurnSamira Ahmed
    After her father leaves her family, high school senior Noor Khan moves from Chicago to a small town, where she starts a movement to challenge the prejudiced book bans she finds at her new school.
  • Blood at the RootLaDarrion Williams
    In this novel, 17-year-old Malik gets the opportunity to go to a magical university after 10 years hiding his powers, but he finds himself digging up dangerous secrets about his community and his late mother.
  • Compound FractureAndrew Joseph White
    In this novel, trans teen Miles Abernathy survives an attempted murder and finds himself caught up in a century-old blood feud while also being haunted by his own ancestor.
  • Where Wolves Don't DieAnton Treuer
    In this novel, Ezra Cloud, a 15-year-old Ojibwe boy, is falsely suspected of arson and sent to stay with his grandfather during the investigation, where he learns more about his culture, his family, and his responsibilities.
  • The Color of a LieKim Johnson
    In this historical novel set in 1955, a Black family moves to a white-only town and begins passing for white, but their life there is threatened when one of them begins to uncover the town's dangerous secrets.
  • FledglingS.K. Ali
    In this first book of The Keeper's Records of Revolution duology, a fractured world is rocked by the consequences of a political kidnapping that leads to revolution.
  • The Black Girl Survives in This OneDesiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell
    This horror anthology features 15 short stories about Black girls surviving in the face of terrifying supernatural and human threats.

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