Lawrence High School Book Club
The Lawrence High School Book Club meets weekly throughout the school year to share a love of all things book-ish. The club is open to all LHS campus students across academies and grade levels. When Ms. Levine took over the mantle of club advisor last year, she incorporated the LHS Book Club as part of the national Project LIT Book Club Community, a grassroots movement of over 1700 chapters that strives to increase access to diverse books throughout the country and the world. LHS Book Club is excited to participate in Project LIT events throughout the year, as well as read and discuss a wide variety of texts at their weekly meetings. They are also hoping to become more involved in literacy-based community service projects. You can follow them and read along on Instagram and Twitter at @LancersRead.
“The New Jim Crow is an excellent introduction to one of the systems in America that is against black people. This book discusses race-related issues specific to African-American people and mass incarnation. I loved this book because it is so informative and was an easy read for me. Understanding the systems that oppress people is really important for doing the work to be anti-racist. This book is a great one to start with.”
Angelina A. - Grade 10
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Alexander is an associate professor of law at The Ohio State University, a civil rights advocate and a writer.
“Dear Martin by Nic Stone is a book in which a story of racism and injustice is told. This is a book that will stay with you forever. Anger, fear, excitement, and action are all present: once you start reading it, you won't be able to stop. It is an excellent read that makes you stop and reflect about the assumptions and judgements made in American society. “
Johanny M. - Grade 12
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nic Stone was born and raised in a suburb of Atlanta, GA, and the only thing she loves more than an adventure is a good story about one. After graduating from Spelman College, she worked extensively in teen mentoring and lived in Israel for a few years before returning to the US to write full-time. Growing up with a wide range of cultures, religions, and backgrounds, Stone strives to bring these diverse voices and stories to her work.
“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of Universe by Benjamin Alire Sánez is a sweet, friendship story about two Mexican-American teenagers. They discover together the importance of their secrets, their sexual identity, and their families who never taught them Spanish. The character development is amazing. I love this book because it’s comforting and an easy read. There are some cheesy moments, but this book motivates you to live life to the fullest.”
Angela V. - Grade 11
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Benjamin Alire Sáenz is an author of poetry and prose for adults and teens. He was the first Hispanic winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and a recipient of the American Book Award for his books for adults. He is the author of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, which was a Printz Honor Book, the Stonewall Award winner, the Pura Belpré Award winner, the Lambda Literary Award winner, and a finalist for the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, and its sequel, Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. His first novel for teens, Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood, was an ALA Top Ten Book for Young Adults and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His second book for teens, He Forgot to Say Goodbye, won the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, the Southwest Book Award, and was named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. He lives in El Paso, Texas.
“Blackout is a collaborative book written by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. This collection of love stories takes place during a citywide blackout in New York City. I love how this book was able to connect various stories in an interesting way. The changes in perspective and writing styles in each chapter kept me intrigued and made it hard to put down.”
Brianna G. - Grade 11
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Dhonielle Clayton spent much of her childhood hiding beneath her grandmother's dining table with a stack of books. As an English teacher at a ballet academy, Clayton rediscovered her passion for children's and young adult literature. To ground herself in the canon, she pursued her Masters in Children's Literature from Hollins University before receiving her MFA in Writing for Children at the New School. She is a former middle school librarian, where she pestered children to read and curated a diverse collection. An avid traveler, Dhonielle's lived in several foreign countries, but she's now settled in Harlem, where you'll find her writing late into the night, lurking in libraries, and hunting for the best slice of New York pizza. She is the COO of We Need Diverse Books and the co-founder of Cake Literary. The co-author of the dance dramas Tiny Pretty Things and Shiny Broken Pieces, as well as the upcoming Rumor Game, Dhonielle is the author of the New York Times bestselling YA fantasy series The Belles.
“I once thought that certain thoughts could not be put into words, but Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous has changed my mind completely. For the first time in a book, I got to know the main character, Little Dog, through how he translated America and how he contemplated perception, beauty, sexuality, and masculinity. The organization of this book was another extraordinary first fo me since Vuong writes as if piecing together Little Dog’s broken memories.” “The novel was organized in vignettes and I wanted this novel to be broken apart purposefully and that to be broken is not to be wrong. It’s a careful orchestration of an explosion.” - Ocean Vuong
Jennifer M. - Grade 11
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist and novelist. Vuong is a recipient of the 2014 Ruth Lilly/Sargent Rosenberg fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, a 2016 Whiting Award, and the 2017 T.S. Eliot Prize for his poetry. His debut novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, was published in 2019. He received a MacArthur Grant the same year.