Book Recommendations: Non-Fiction

Describes the physiological effects of stress, provides stress-reducing techniques, offers organizational tips, and discusses how to cope with side effects of stress.

Naoki Higashida, a thirteen-year-old autistic boy, demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds by answering more than fifty questions.

An anthology of essays and illustrations by young adult authors that illuminate mental health topics in a straightforward way.

A brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder--and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side--in this powerful and inspiring memoir.

The story of Elena Dunkle, a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia.

Through the case history of Phineas Gage, a 19th century Vermonter who had an iron bar driven through his brain and lived, the book examines what is known of brain function.

Look at how the disappearance and murders of civil rights workers Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney would help bring about civil rights and social justice.

Discusses the trial of Lizzie Borden and the murders of her parents.

The numbers are staggering: nearly one in five girls ages fourteen to seventeen have been the victim of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. This is the true story of one of those girls, and it takes a magnifying glass to the institutions that turn a blind eye to such behavior and a society that blames victims rather than perpetrators.

A history of modern forensic science from the first test for arsenic poisoning in the 1700s to criminal profiling, fingerprinting, blood splatter analysis, DNA evidence, and all the milestones in between.

Tells about eight of the world's most wanted men, including John Dillinger and Osama bin Laden, and how they were captured.

A collection of essays in which inmates at American prisons who were sentenced to death while still in their teens share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up in prison and how they feel about capital punishment.

Presents the history of the Thompson submachine gun, discussing its development by John Taliaferro Thompson and its use in World War II and by gangsters including Al Capone and John Dillinger.

The author relates how, as a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to become a writer.

The autobiography of Shyima Hall, who at the age of eight, was sold by her Eygptian parents into domestic slavery.

Examines the history of the atomic bomb, discussing the discovery of the behavior of uranium when placed next to radioactive material, the race to build a bomb, and the impact of the weapon on societies around the world.

An account of the Siege of Leningrad reveals the role played by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony in rallying and commemorating their fellow citizens.

Combines text with vintage photographs, advertisements, cartoons, and songs to examine how women have used bicycles throughout history to improve their lives.

The true story of the relationship between brothers Theo and Vincent van Gogh.

World War II resistance fighter Pearl Witherington Cornioley describes her experiences as a special agent for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE).

A biography of English naturalist Charles Darwin that provides an account of the personality behind evolutionary theory and the affect of his work on his personal life, such as his relationship with his religious wife.

The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South.

Tells the story of a group of boy resistance fighters in Denmark after the Nazi invasion during World War II.

Chronicles the experiences of American nurses who served in the Philippines during World War II.

Details the history of Russia's last royal family, the Romanovs.

The story of Daniel Ellsberg and his decision to steal and publish secret documents about America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

In this personal, eloquently-argued essay -- adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning author of Americanah, offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author's exploration of what it means to be a woman now -- and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.

An exploration of the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City and the national gay rights movement that followed.

Documents the history and origin of the Ku Klux Klan from its beginning in Pulaski, Tennessee, and provides personal accounts, congressional documents, diaries, and more.

Lynda Blackmon Lowery recounts her experiences as the youngest marcher on the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Examines factors that lead to conflicts and wars and discusses ways in which countries come to agreements.

Tells the true story of an agender teen who was set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, a crime that focuses on the concepts of race, class, gender, crime, and punishment.

The author, a survivor of the commercial sex industry, shares her personal story, and discusses her efforts to help other girls who are victims of sexual exploitation through her nonprofit organization GEMS, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services.

Malala Yousafzai's describes her fight for education for girls under Taliban rule, the support she received from her parents to pursue an education, and how the Taliban retaliated against her by trying to kill her.

Describes how homosexuals were treated during the Holocaust.

Describes the fifty black sailors who refused to work in unsafe and unfair conditions after an explosion in Port Chicago killed 320 servicemen, and how the incident influenced civil rights.

Examines the events and forces leading up to 1919 race riots in Chicago.

The authors, who met at a summer computer programming camp for girls, share their knowledge of gaming, programming, and the tech industry, and provide advice on getting into the field of computer programming.

From the brilliant mind of Japanese artist Bunpei Yorifuji, an illustrated guide to the periodic table that gives chemistry a friendly face. Every element is a unique character whose properties are represented visually: heavy elements are fat, man-made elements are robots, and noble gases sport impressive afros.

Explores space travel and answers a number of curious questions about what life would be like without gravity.

Explores the explosion of the Chernobyl Power Plant on April 26, 1986, in Northern Ukraine, and discusses the long term effects of radiation on wildlife in the Exclusion Zone that was abandoned after the accident.

Explores the pros and cons of bringing animals like the passenger pigeon or the woolly mammoth back from extinction and discusses the cutting-edge science that makes it possible.

Provides an overview of the search for Mary Mallon, also known as Typhoid Mary, who is thought to have caused the spread of typhoid fever, a disease spread by bacteria in food and water, in New York in 1909.

Examines the history, science, and impact of the influenza pandemic of 1918.

Tells the story of David Hahn, the Michigan teenager who built a nuclear breeder reactor in his backyard in 1994, endangering the residents of his Michigan hometown and raising the ire of the federal government.

Meet nine courageous young adults who have lived in the United States with a secret for much of their lives: they are not U.S. citizens.

In this dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends--and better people--through their long-distance exchange .as pen-pals.

Examines and provides real-life accounts of urban poor families living in Bombay, India.

Profiles thirty young Native Americans in the United States and Canada in an exploration of how they connect to their culture in urban settings, including through stories, poems, and art.

Six teens tell what it is like for them to be members of the transgender community.

Looks at twenty-three individuals who were either lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender who fought, created and loved on their own terms.

In this poetic memoir, Margarita Engle, the first Latina woman to receive a Newbery Honor, tells of growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War.

A history of the United States for young people told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples, revealing how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the U.S. empire.