Narrative Nonfiction

A rebel in Auschwitz : the true story of the resistance hero who fought the Nazis from inside the camp / Jack Fairweather.

Witold Pilecki, a Polish underground operative, accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands interned at a new concentration camp called Auschwitz.

#NotYourPrincess : voices of Native American women / edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible.

Killers of the flower moon : the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI : adapted for young readers / David Grann.

In this young readers edition, David Grann revisits his gripping investigation into the shocking crimes against the Osage people.

A few red drops : the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 / Claire Hartfield.

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

Trouble maker for justice : the story of Bayard Rustin, the man behind the march on Washington / Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, Michael G. Long.

Fascinating look at one of the most influential activists of our time, who was an early advocate for African Americans and gay rights.

The code breaker : Jennifer Doudna and the race to understand our genetic code / Walter Isaacson with Sarah Durand.

Walter Isaacson’s bestselling history of our third scientific revolution: CRISPR, gene editing and the quest to understand the code itself.

In the shadow of the moon : America, Russia, and the hidden history of the space race / Amy Cherrix

The award-winning author of Eye of the Storm chronicles the lesser-known rivalry between former Nazi-turned-U.S. Cold War scientist Wernher von Braun and Russian rocket designer Sergei Korolev, explaining how their controversial scientific achievements shaped human history.

Black birds in the sky : the story and legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre / Brandy Colbert.

The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass? What exactly happened? And why are the events unknown to so many of us today?

From a whisper to a rallying cry : the killing of Vincent Chin and the trial that galvanized the Asian American movement / Paula Yoo.

A compelling account of the killing of Vincent Chin, the verdicts that took the Asian American community to the streets in protest, and the groundbreaking civil rights trial that followed.

The family Romanov : murder, rebellion & the fall of imperial Russia / Candace Fleming

When Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II, inherited the throne in 1894, he was unprepared to do so. With their four daughters (including Anastasia) and only son, a hemophiliac, Nicholas and his reclusive wife, Alexandra, buried their heads in the sand, living a life of opulence as World War I raged outside their door and political unrest grew into the Russian Revolution. Deftly maneuvering between the lives of the Romanovs and the plight of Russia's peasants and urban workers--and their eventual uprising--Fleming offers up a fascinating portrait, complete with inserts featuring period photographs and compelling primary-source material that brings it all to life.

Flowers in the gutter : the true story of the Edelweiss Pirates, teenagers who resisted the Nazis / K.R. Gaddy

The Edelweiss Pirates were a loosely organized group of working-class young people in the Rhine Valley of Germany. They faced off with Nazis during the Third Reich and suffered consequences for their resistance during and after World War II.

Inaugural ballers : the true story of the first US women's Olympic basketball team / Andrew Maraniss

Twenty years before women's soccer became an Olympic sport and two decades before the formation of the WNBA, the 76 US women's basketball team laid the foundation for the incredible rise of women's sports in America at the youth, collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels. Though they were unknowns from small schools such as Delta State, the University of Tennessee at Martin and John F. Kennedy College of Wahoo, Nebraska, at the time of the 76 Olympics, the American team included a roster of players who would go on to become some of the most legendary figures in the history of basketball. From Pat Head, Nancy Lieberman, Ann Meyers, Lusia Harris, coach Billie Moore, and beyond these women took on the world and proved everyone wrong.

Hanged! : Mary Surratt & the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln / Sarah Miller

The thrilling story of Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the US government for her alleged involvement in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln"-- "A dubious distinction belongs to Mary Surratt: on July 7, 1865, she became the first woman to be executed by the United States government, accused of conspiring in the plot to assassinate not only President Abraham Lincoln, but also the vice president, the secretary of state, and General Grant. Mary Surratt was a widow, a Catholic, a businesswoman, a slave owner, a Union resident, and the mother of a Confederate Secret Service courier. As the proprietor of the boardinghouse where John Wilkes Booth and his allies are known to have gathered, Mary Surratt was widely believed, as President Andrew Johnson famously put it, to have "kept the nest that hatched the egg"? But did Mrs. Surratt truly commit treason by aiding and abetting Booth in his plot to murder the president? Or was she the victim of a spectacularly cruel coincidence?

The 57 bus / Dashka Slater.

One teenager in a skirt. One teenager with a lighter. One moment that changes both of their lives forever.

Queer, there, and everywhere : 23 people who changed the world / by Sarah Prager

This first-ever LGBTQ history book of its kind for young adults will appeal to fans of fun, empowering pop-culture books like Rad American Women A-Z and Notorious RBG. World history has been made by countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals--and you've never heard of many of them. Queer author and activist Sarah Prager delves deep into the lives of 23 people who fought, created, and loved on their own terms. From high-profile figures like Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt to the trailblazing gender-ambiguous Queen of Sweden and a bisexual blues singer who didn't make it into your history books, these astonishing true stories uncover a rich queer heritage that encompasses every culture, in every era. By turns hilarious and inspiring, the beautifully illustrated Queer, There, and Everywhere is for anyone who wants the real story of the queer rights movement.

Packing for Mars : the curious science of life in the void / Mary Roach

Describes the weirdness of space travel, answers questions about the long-term effects of living in zero gravity on the human body, and explains how space simulations on Earth can provide a preview to life in space.

Undefeated : Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School football team / Steve Sheinkin

A great American sport and Native American history come together in this true story of how Jim Thorpe and Pop Warner created the legendary Carlisle Indians football team.

March. Book one / John Lewis Andrew Aydin [art by] Nate Powell.

March is a vivid first-hand account of Lewis's lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation.

Thrill seekers : 15 remarkable women in extreme sports / Ann McCallum Staats

What is the allure of the extreme? Who are the women who seek out and excel at sports outside the conventional, such as cave diving, wingsuit flying, or Formula 1 racing? This collection of female adventure dynamos is as fascinating as it is empowering. Thrill Seekers introduces readers to a diverse and fascinating selection of women whose determination, grit, and courage have propelled each of them into a life far from the sidelines. Each chapter introduces readers to modern role models and leaders, change-makers who opt into a life of risk--but one of astonishing rewards. Their stories inspire young people to approach life with the same bold resolve.