Skip to Main Content

Upper School Reading

On Display in the Library

Large, centered text reads
A bubble at the top left says “memoir - noun. A narrative composed from personal experience (Source: Merriam Webster). There are two drawings of people on colorful circles underneath with speech bubbles coming out of their mouths. One reads, “We’re spotlighting memoirs from the library’s collection! Check out the books in this presentation and on display around the library.” The other reads, “From celebrities setting the record straight to ordinary people living through unprecedented times, these titles speak to a wide range of human experiences.”
Text reads, “The Lucky Ones by Zara Chowdhary. Zara Chowdhary is sixteen years old in 2002 when a gruesome train fire in India claims the lives of sixty Hindu right-wing volunteers and upends the life of five million Muslims. In the following months, Zara and her community are put under a siege as Hindu neighbors, friends, and members of civil society transformed overnight into bloodthirsty mobs, hunting and massacring their fellow citizens. The Lucky Ones gazes unflinchingly back at a country rushing to move past the biggest pogrom in its modern history. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “One day I'll grow up and be a beautiful woman : a mother's story by Abi Maxwell. When Abi Maxwell’s child changes her name, grows her hair long, and announces that she is a girl, a firestorm descends on the family. This fiery, heartbreaking, and riveting memoir follows Abi’s family over the course of three years, unspooling a story of gender identity, poverty, trans youth, and a child caught in the riptide of America's culture wars. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Sociopath by Patric Gagne, PhD. Ever since she was a small child, Patric Gagne knew she was different. As an adult, Patric realized that she was a sociopath. Although she instantly connected with the official descriptions of sociopathy, she also knew they didn't tell the full story. As her darker impulses warred against her attempts to live a settled, loving life with her partner, Patric began to wonder--was there a way for sociopaths to integrate happily into society? And could she find it before her own behaviour went a step too far? (Source: BTCAT.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Monstrous : a transracial adoption story by Sarah Myer - SORA Bullied by her classmates, Sarah, a Korean American girl growing up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors, channels her rage into her art and cosplay until it threatens to explode. (Source: library catalog.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Viewfinder by Jon M. Chu and Jeremy McCarter. Long before he directed ‘Wicked,' 'In The Heights,' or 'Crazy Rich Asians,' Jon M. Chu was a movie-obsessed first-generation Chinese American, helping at his parents' Chinese restaurant in Silicon Valley and forever facing the cultural identity crisis endemic to children of immigrants. In this book, Chu dives deep into his life and work, telling the universal story of questioning what it means when your dreams collide with your circumstances, and showing how it's possible to succeed even when the world changes beyond all recognition. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “The woman in me by Britney Spears. Pop star Britney Spears offers a moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope. (Source: library catalog.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “There's always this year: on basketball and ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib. Growing up in Columbus in the '90s, Hanif Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron were forged, and countless others weren't. His lifelong love of the game leads Abdurraqib into a lyrical, historical, and emotionally rich exploration of what it means to make it, who we think deserves success, the tensions between excellence and expectation, and the very notion of role-models, all of which he expertly weaves together with memoir. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “I’m glad my mom died by Jeannette McCurdy. This memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy chronicles her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Numb to this: a memoir of a mass shooting by Kindra Neely. Author Kindra Neely recounts her journey to healing after surviving a mass shooting during her first year of college. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “We are not broken by George M. Johnson. In this memoir, Black non-binary writer and activist George M. Johnson details their childhood in New Jersey, growing up with their brother and two cousins, all under the supervision of their larger-than-life grandmother. (Source: library catalog.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Being Heumann by Judith Heumann. This is a story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism, from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington. The book recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “It won't always be like this : a graphic memoir by Malaka Gharib. This is an intimate graphic memoir about an American girl growing up with her Egyptian father's new family, forging unexpected bonds and navigating adolescence in an unfamiliar country. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Bless the blood: a cancer memoir by Walela Nehanda. When Walela is diagnosed at twenty-three with advanced stage blood cancer, they're suddenly thrust into the unsympathetic world of tubes and pills, doctors who don't use their correct pronouns, and hordes of people offering unsolicited advice as they navigate rocky personal relationships and share their story online. But this experience also deepens their relationship to their ancestors, providing added support from another realm. Walela's diagnosis becomes a catalyst for their self-realization. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “My name is Jason. Mine too: our story, our way by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin. Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin. One a poet, one an artist. One Black, one white. Two voices, one journey. These best friends are willing to have a hard life if it means a happy life. All they need is a chance. This is a memoir of a moment in time within a lifetime of friendship. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Family style : memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham. Told through the lens of meaningful food and meals, this graphic memoir chronicles the author's life, beginning with his childhood immigration to America, where food takes on new meaning as he and his family search for belonging, for happiness and for the American dream. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Improve : how I discovered improv and conquered social anxiety by Alex Graudins. To pull herself free of an endless cycle of social anxiety, Alex Graudins does something truly terrifying: she signs up for an improv comedy class. By forcing herself to play silly games and act out ridiculous scenes, Alex confronts the unbearable weight of embarrassment, makes new friends, rediscovers parts of herself that she'd hidden away, and ultimately faces her greatest fear by performing onstage for all to see. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads,
Text reads, “Hijab butch blues by Lamya H. In this book, a queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran. This searingly intimate memoir in essays, spanning Lamya’s childhood to her arrival in the United States for college through early-adult life in New York City, tells a universal story of courage, trust, and love, celebrating what it means to be a seeker and an architect of one’s own life. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “My life with sea turtles: a marine biologist’s quest to protect one of the most ancient animals on Earth by Christine Figgener. In 2015, a team of researchers carefully removed a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nostril off the coast of Costa Rica. The disturbing incident, which was captured on video, went viral, leading to corporate straw bans around the world. In this evocative book, the marine biologist behind the camera, Christine Figgener, recounts her own life spent studying and protecting sea turtles. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.
Text reads, “Grief is for people by Sloane Crosley. How do we live without the ones we love? After the pain and confusion of losing her closest friend to suicide, Sloane Crosley looks for answers in philosophy and art, hoping for a framework more useful than the unavoidable stages of grief. Upending the “grief memoir,” Grief Is for People is a story of the struggle to hold on to the past without being consumed by it. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes colorful abstract shapes.