Teaching Tolerance Grades 7-12

The books on this list have been curated for grades 7-12 by Guilford Free Library librarians. These books address acceptance of others and of yourself by showcasing stories of all kinds of characters (some fictional, some based on real people & events) overcoming hardships and/or bias they have experienced. These books may introduce teens to the concept of injustice and provide a conversation starter between kids and adults. By reading and/or discussing "tough topics" through the safety of a book, students will build the social-emotional skills and resilience necessary to confidently handle these issues when they come up in the real world later on. Sensitive topics are presented in these books in age-appropriate language and visuals. Parents/caregivers are encouraged to read these titles along with their children to encourage learning and growing together, practice communicating about potentially difficult conversations, and bonding over the shared experiences books provide. This project is also presented by the Guilford Anti-Bias Anti-Racist (ABAR) Alliance, a collaborative partnership of educators, parents, and caregivers who work to further inclusion, equity, and tolerance within Guilford Public Schools. Learn more at www.GuilfordCtABAR.com .

Showing 1 - 7 of 7  There are a total of 53 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "The black flamingo"
Star rating for The black flamingo
Author:
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he's navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican--but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough. As he gets older, Michael's coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs--and the Black Flamingo is born. Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the...
Book cover for "Felix ever after"
Star rating for Felix ever after
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend. Felix Love has never been in love, painful irony that it is. He desperately wants to know why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. He is proud of his identity, but fears that he's one marginalization too many-- Black, queer, and transgender. When an...
Book cover for "Honestly Ben"
Star rating for Honestly Ben
Description:
Ben Carver returns for the spring semester at the exclusive Natick School in Massachusetts determined to put his relationship with Rafe Goldberg behind him and concentrate on his grades and the award that will mean a full scholarship--but Rafe is still there, there is a girl named Hannah whom he meets in the library, and behind it all is his relationship with his distant, but demanding father.
Book cover for "The love & lies of Rukhsana Ali"
Star rating for The love & lies of Rukhsana Ali
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali is looking forward to going to Caltech and getting away from her conservative Muslim parents' expectation that she will marry, especially since she is in love with her girlfriend Ariana--but when her parents catch her kissing Ariana, they whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh and a world of tradition and arranged marriages, and she must find the courage to fight for the right to choose her own path.
Book cover for "The music of what happens"
Star rating for The music of what happens
Description:
It is summer in Phoenix, and seventeen-year-old Maximo offers to help Jordan, a fellow student in high school, with the food truck that belonged to Jordan's deceased father, and which may be the only thing standing between homelessness for Jordan and his mom; the boys are strongly attracted to each other, but as their romance develops it is threatened by the secrets they are hiding--and by the racism and homophobia of those around them.
Book cover for "Openly straight"
Star rating for Openly straight
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
Tired of being known as "the gay kid", Rafe Goldberg decides to assume a new persona when he comes east and enters an elite Massachusetts prep school--but trying to deny his identity has both complications and unexpected consequences.
Book cover for "What we left behind"
Star rating for What we left behind
Description:
Toni and Gretchen are the couple everyone envied in high school. They've been together forever. They never fight. They're deeply, hopelessly in love. When they separate for their first year at college--Toni to Harvard and Gretchen to NYU--they're sure they'll be fine. The reality of being apart, though, is very different than they expected.