School Libraries

As a teenager, I lived in two worlds: the traditional Bengali heritage inside our home and the contemporary California of my suburban peers.

Sometimes the gap between those two worlds seemed huge. Apple pie? Didn’t taste it till I got to college. Our kitchen smelled of mustard-seed oil, turmeric, and cardamom. Bikinis? No way. A one-piece bathing suit felt too revealing (and still does). My mother never showed her legs in public, even when she eventually shelved her sarees in favor of jeans and long skirts. Dating? Fuhgeddaboudit. My parents’ marriage was arranged, and the clan expected the same for me.

We offer seven books in various formats for middle graders and up that do not offer one-on-one substitutions for Ayn Rand's Anthem, but will certainly satisfy readers' dystopian cravings.

Those assigning Scott O'Dell's 1960 novel Island of the Blue Dolphins may want to look at these contemporary and historical works featuring coming-of-age themes and accurate depictions of Indigenous culture. 

If the prospect of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations for your students looks dim, the NCTE and SLJ has curated a list of books with similar themes that provide greater context or recast Pip's story into a more accessible format, such as the highly graphic manga version included here. 

Laura Ingalls Wilder's 1935 novel Little House on the Prairie features a young girl coming of age amid the homesteading movement. These suggested titles feature accurate portrayals of the period and of Indigenous communities, as well as works with themes of family bonds and migration.

George Orwell's modeling of a totalitarian society in 1984 has long been a staple of the literary canon. Consider these seven titles that feature dystopian, futuristic, and repressive societies—and teens who fight back.

The power of friendship, identity, and the search for a place to belong are some of the themes explored in John Steinbeck's slim novel Of Mice and Men and in these five selections.