The Whatif Monster Chapter Book Series: A New Friend for Jonathan James

What We Saw

The Day of the Pelican

Sure Signs of Crazy

Diary of a Witness

Keeping Safe the Stars

Ways to Grow Love: Ryan Hart

Shark Girl

Dear Martin meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting YA novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system.

Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time—her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens. The police arrive in the night, and Tracy’s older brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a “thug” on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texas town’s racist history that still haunt the present?

Fans of Nic Stone and Jason Reynolds won’t want to miss this provocative and gripping debut.

Discover Your Child's Next Read

The Whatif Monster Chapter Book Series: A New Friend for Jonathan James

Michelle Nelson-Schmidt, 2019

What We Saw

Aaron Hartzler, Mary Downing Hahn, 2022

The Day of the Pelican

Katherine Paterson, 2009

Sure Signs of Crazy

Karen Harrington, 2013

Diary of a Witness

Catherine Ryan Hyde, 2009

Keeping Safe the Stars

Sheila O'connor, 2012

Ways to Grow Love: Ryan Hart

Renée Watson, Niña Mata, 2021

Shark Girl

Kelly Bingham, 2007