3.5 starsThings I liked:- It's a book about books!- The book's organization - each chapter was a different topic; there was a short intro to the topic before the list of books.- Sections for "preteens" and "teens" so the reader can find age-appropriate options.- It's a great resource for teachers and librarians when kids are looking for specific topics.- I was introduced to a fair number of new-to-me books that looked interesting. Things I didn't like:- Topic intros seemed a little long.- Some o...

As a teacher, this was such an amazing resource to stumble upon! I added so many books to my To Read list and found some of my favorites on some lists, too. Overall, the lists and blurbs in each section led me to find many high-quality books that address so many of life’s big challenges. I hope my readers can connect with or learn to have empathy through these books!

So, I love books, and I love books about books, so this one was pretty much a shoe-in for my approval. This book reference book is SO easy to use, with the book lists divided first into topics, and within the topics also divided by age-group. It's a librarian, teacher's, or book-lover's dream. All the featured books were published within the last 10 years, so you can feel assured of a similar "sensibility" around hot-topic issues to what kids and teens are experiencing today. My copy is full of

Great book. So many choices, and lots of ideas for people who are looking for that just right book for those tweens and teens in their lives.

Book about a books which have contraversial topics is always a great choice even if you might don't do this usually (or ever)!! I'm still not sure what made me bought this book few years ago, but I don't feel bad about it. It took me long time to read it because of business + stress and I'm so happy that I've had an opportunity to do so. :)♡

Great complication of books for preteens and teens to read to help them develop empathy. I like the way they lists were broken down into categories and then into the age groups. This would be a wonderful resource for any middle school/high school librarian or a teen librarian. This would also be a great book for parents who want to share excellent books with their kids. Could have great discussions.

Great resource for middle grade and young adult teachers and librarians and parents and caregivers as well. Wish I had used the categories as goodreads shelves. Adoption and foster careBody imageImmigrationLearning challengesLGBTQIA+ youthMental healthNature and environmentalismPhysical disabilityPoverty and homelessnessRace and ethnicityReligion and spirituality

This book is genius. I love that it describes so many novels -- 500! -- and that they're all recently published; young people can really relate to them and the real-world problems the characters face. This is a powerful resources for libraries, parents, counselors, and educators, including religious educators.

This was a very useful collection development aid. It was nice to see that we already had a lot of the books listed in the various chapters, and I was able to add even more to a future book order list. I can see that this book will become less useful as time goes on because the bulk of it is lists of recommended books that deal with the various diversity topics included in the book, and those lists will become dated and incomplete. I really liked how each chapter had two lists, one for tweens an...

A wonderful book discussing different topics that important for Teens/Tweens, each topic includes a list of books on the topic for tweens and for teens. A great resource for a librarian or teacher who works with tweens/teens.

A librarian's dream. Such a great resource!

I enjoyed reading about the different books for each topic. I was disappointed by some of the books being included multiple times in different sections. While I get that, it was kind of annoying reading about the same books multiple times. Anyway, it’s a good resource for books for teens and preteens.

We are always looking for book recommendations, especially for more diverse books. The girls really got interested that some of their favourites were on the list (Front Desk for B, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon for L), and we have tried quite some books since, and haven't been disappointed so far!I really enjoyed the fact that there is a difference made between tween and teen books, as I cannot see my girls reading teen books yet, but the books they have read from the tween list were wonderf...

As a child and teen therapist this book is so helpful to me so I can recommend great reads for teens and tweens that address issues they are dealing with.

This book would be an awesome gift for a new upper elementary or middle school reading teacher! The book recommendations are spot on and I love that they move away from the basic genres and focus on more important themes!

I won an advanced copy of this book. Each chapter centers on a different topic...race and ethnicity, body image, learning challenges, etc. The chapters conclude with a list of contemporary titles for preteens and teens. This is an excellent resource for parents, teachers, librarians, and counselors!

I wish this book had been around when I was young, but I am so relieved it is now, when we need it more than ever. I love the layout, with book suggestions divided into subject areas and prefaced by short essays of introduction to the topics. This not only saves hours and days of research for busy teachers, librarians, and parents, but the essays add so much to this collection. Hart’s personal stories, anecdotes, and reflections add texture and depth that make this book worth a read even aside f...

In an era of the internet, we often feel as though we've been given access to the whole world, but in reality, we use it to find others like ourselves and find ourselves distanced from those different from us. Sustained interaction with different ideas and cultures is essential to understanding them, and Better with Books provides an overwhelming pick of reads to develop that understanding. Her research into the world of diverse literature is the most comprehensive you'll find anywhere, and you

A must have for librarians and teachers of preteens and teens!

Really good resource. There were books that I hadn't heard of, and a few that I had heard of, but this books' synopsis convinced me to read. This would be a nice start for a diversity audit for a library YA collection.