This year, book lovers, bookworms, and bibliophiles alike celebrate National Book Lover’s Day on August 9. In honor of this holiday, Kelly Tumy, Harris County Department of Education’s (HCDE) curriculum director for English language arts and social studies, shares some of her recommended summer reads for middle school and high school students.

Middle School

• “Black Boy Joy” edited by Kwame Mbalia is a vibrant collection of stories, comics, and poems which celebrate the joys of Black boyhood with stories from 17 bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors.
• “Prairie Lotus” by Linda Sue Park is multilayered book about a half-Asian girl, Hanna, in small-town America in 1880 who navigates prejudice and remains determined to realize her dreams—get an education, become a dressmaker in her father’s shop, and make at least one friend.
• “The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the fight for Civil Rights” by Steve Sheinkin is a thoroughly-researched and documented story of the men who refused to work in unsafe conditions following a massive explosion in the segregated Navy base in 1944 Port Chicago, California and the 50 men charged with mutiny who faced decades in jail and even execution.

High School

• “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely tells an explosive story from the alternating perspectives of two young men, one black and one white, as they grapple with the complications that spin out from an act of shocking violence and reverberate in their families, school, and a town divided by racial tension.
• “Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All” by Laura Reynolds is an unforgettable story of two young women dealing with loss, desire, and the fragility of the American dream during WWII.

For more inspiring authors and thought-provoking stories, @hcdereads on Instagram.