With new social issues arising every day, it’s important to always keep yourself informed. If you’re looking for the latest books to keep you woke this year, this complex mix of fiction and nonfiction will bring you up to date on all the need-to-know issues.
1. The Opposite of Never by Mary Kathleen Mehuron
Image Via Book Sparks
Kenny Simmons and Georgia Best have both just lost the love of their lives but are making sure that they continue to better themselves for the sake of their children. Becoming fast friends, the now single parents find comfort in one another but before long, Kenny learns that his stepdaughter has fallen in love with a young man, leading her to a dangerous opiate addiction. This new novel from Mehuron faces the harsh reality of drug addiction in our current world and the ways families handle the shock of the situation and the ways in which they help lead their children down the road to recovery.
2. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Image Via Book Sparks
The new novel from New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer brings feminism to the forefront and digs deep into what it means to find your purpose in life. Greer Kadetsky thought she knew what she wanted from life when she started college but she’s about to find out that life has other plans for her when she meets the brilliant Faith Frank. As a central figure in the movement for women’s rights and equality, Faith has inspired many over the years and is about to transform Greer’s life as well. The Female Persuasion is an inspiring novel that teaches readers to never settle.
3. Now I Can See the Moon: A Story of a Social Panic, False Memories, and a Life Cut Short by Alice Tallmadge
Image Via Book Sparks
The 80s and 90s were a controversial time for many and saw a sweeping social panic that rocked the lives of families everywhere. Hundreds of people with false memories of child abuse began to accuse family members and others of abusing them as children. What resulted from this epidemic was the story of Alice Tallmadge and the effect this overwhelming social panic had on her family. This shocking memoir takes an intimate look at a difficult time in America’s history and the lives ruined as a result.
4. Vox by Christina Dalcher
Image Via Book Sparks
If you can’t get enough of The Handmaid’s Tale, Christina Dalcher’s new novel should be at the top of your reading list. In Vox, women are only allowed 100 words a day and Dr. Jean McClellan can’t believe that this is happening in a country as grand as the United States. But soon, Jean will have a lot more to deal with when women are no longer allowed to hold jobs or learn the basics: reading and writing. Unable to accept the horrific future ahead of her, Jean knows she can’t be silent and begins a quest to take back the things both she and her young daughter have worked so hard to achieve.
5. Raising Myself: A Memoir of Neglect, Shame, and Growing Up Too Soon by Beverly Engel
Image Via Book Sparks
Author Beverly Engel never had it easy growing up but her story of redemption and recovery is certainly one to be admired. Healing from years of neglect, rape, and sexual abuse, Beverly lets readers in on a difficult childhood that led to an even harder adulthood. On the verge of becoming a child abuser herself and contemplating ending her own life, she found a way to pull herself out of the darkness and into the light. This story of reinvention is a must-read for anyone needing evidence that your past doesn’t define you.
6. This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jerkins
Image Via Books Sparks
Morgan Jerkins’s New York Times bestseller brings a new meaning to the word honesty as she dives deep into what it means to be a black woman and a feminist in our current world. In This Will Be My Undoing, she unveils what it’s really like to be a black woman in the twenty-first century, making this an important book for readers of all identities. Morgan brings the injustices she has faced as a woman of color to the forefront, forcing people to change the way they think. This eye-opening read challenges readers to begin an important discussion about one of society’s most prevalent issues.
7. Tree Dreams by Kristin Kaye
Image Via Book Sparks
Jade may only be seventeen-years-old but in this coming-of-age novel, she learns what it means to stand up for what she believes in and make a change in her community. After bearing witness to a violent protest between an environmentalist and a local logger, she knows that she has no choice but to get involved in the initiative to save the redwoods of Portland, Oregon. Now living a new life within the trees, she can’t help but feel like she’s turned her back on the community that raised her and instead of taking advice from her new mentors, she turns to the trees and their wisdom to establish her rightful place in the world.
8. A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey
Image Via Book Sparks
There’s no doubt that James Comey has been at the center of some of the country’s most shocking political scandals and in his first book he looks back at all the defining moments of his career. Exposing scandals and what he thinks makes the best kind of leader, A Higher Loyalty is an important read when it comes to being in the know about the United States government. Rumors about fake news, corrupt government officials and compromised elections make this book an enlightening read for anyone wanting to better understand the inner workings of our current political climate.
9. Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture Edited by Roxane Gay
Image Via Book Sparks
Talking about rape in our culture is a subject many shy away from but in Gay’s latest release, she tells the important stories of those who have suffered the harsh reality of the horrific crime. The true stories in this collection range from personal accounts to the rape epidemic in countries around the world and features pieces written by writers Roxane Gay adores, both popular and up-and-coming. This new release is Gay’s opportunity to bring attention to a difficult subject that is oftentimes ignored by mainstream media and society as a whole.
10. Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It by Charlamagne Tha God
Image Via Book Sparks
This instant New York Times bestseller is a self-help book from Charlamagne Tha God who believes that success is something everyone can and must accomplish on their own. The author takes all the advice he’s gotten over the years by interviewing some of the most profitable people in the entertainment industry and puts it into this new release. Through the telling of his own life story, he teaches readers and followers alike to embrace their individualized privilege and use it on their journey to finding success in both their personal and professional lives.
Featured Image Via iStock