Reading List

An introverted teenager navigates friendship, first love, and mental health during his first year of high school. An honest portrayal of adolescence and finding where you belong.

Starr Carter witnesses the fatal shooting of her unarmed friend by a police officer and must find her voice. A powerful exploration of identity, race, and community.

A nostalgic story of love, loss, and growing up in 1960s Tokyo. Explores how grief shapes identity and the difficulty of genuine human connection.

The memoir of the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate who stood up for girls' education in Pakistan's Swat Valley. A story of identity shaped by courage and conviction.

A young Nigerian woman navigates race, identity, and belonging while living in America and returning home. Sharp, witty, and deeply human.

Explores why introversion is undervalued in a world that prizes extroversion, and how introverts can harness their unique strengths. Eye-opening for self-understanding.

Traces the entire history of our species from the Stone Age to the present, examining how biology and history have shaped human societies. Ambitious and thought-provoking.

A nine-year-old boy befriends a child on the other side of a concentration camp fence, unaware of the horrors around him. A devastating perspective on the Holocaust.

A witty, accessible tour through science and its history — from the Big Bang to the rise of civilisation. Perfect for understanding our place in the universe.

A story of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against the backdrop of Afghanistan's turbulent history from the 1970s to the early 2000s.

Explains how physical geography — mountains, rivers, oceans — has shaped political decisions and conflicts throughout history. Fascinating blend of geography and geopolitics.

Written as a letter to the author's son, this book explores the history and ongoing reality of race in America. Urgent, poetic, and deeply personal.

A shepherd boy travels from Spain to Egypt in search of treasure, discovering that the real journey is about following your personal legend. A philosophical fable about purpose.

A series of poetic vignettes about a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, exploring themes of home, identity, culture, and the power of writing.

A groundbreaking exploration of how we look at art, examining the relationship between seeing, knowing, and the cultural context of images. Essential for visual arts students.

A graphic novel memoir about growing up during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Combines personal and political storytelling through powerful black-and-white illustrations.

Talking Heads frontman explores how music is shaped by the spaces, technologies, and cultures it's created in. A fascinating look at creativity and its context.

A sheltered Nigerian teenager discovers freedom and self-expression when she visits her aunt's family. A beautifully written novel about finding your voice amid oppression.

An astronaut stranded on Mars must use science, engineering, and sheer determination to survive. A gripping, scientifically accurate survival story that makes STEM thrilling.

A concise, accessible guide to the biggest ideas in astrophysics — dark matter, the Big Bang, black holes — in bite-sized chapters. Perfect for curious beginners.

The story of the gene — from Mendel's pea experiments to CRISPR gene editing. Explores the science, the ethics, and the deeply personal implications of genetics.

Builds up from flashlights and Morse code to explain how computers actually work at a fundamental level. An elegant introduction to the logic behind all computing.

A dystopian novel imagining a future where technology controls every aspect of human life — from birth to death. Raises profound questions about progress and freedom.

Explores how algorithms make decisions in justice, medicine, cars, and crime — and what happens when we trust machines more than people. Timely and thought-provoking.

Six classic lectures from the legendary physicist, covering atoms, energy, gravity, and quantum behaviour. Feynman's clarity and enthusiasm make complex physics feel approachable.

Challenges our instinct to see the world as worse than it is, using data to show real global progress. An optimistic, evidence-based view of the world's biggest trends.

A collection of speeches by the young climate activist, covering the climate crisis, political inaction, and the power of youth movements. Short, urgent, and inspiring.

Traces four meals back to their origins, revealing the environmental and ethical costs of our food systems. Fascinating exploration of industrial agriculture and sustainability.

Set in the Sundarbans, this novel explores the tension between environmental conservation and the survival of local communities. Beautiful writing about humans and nature.

Proposes a new economic model shaped like a doughnut — meeting everyone's needs without overshooting the planet's limits. A fresh take on how economics and sustainability connect.

A Malawian teenager builds a windmill from scrap materials to bring electricity to his village during a famine. An inspiring true story of innovation against the odds.

A lawyer in the American South defends a Black man wrongly accused of a crime, seen through the eyes of his young daughter. A timeless exploration of justice, prejudice, and moral courage.

Mandela's autobiography covering his childhood, activism, 27 years in prison, and rise to the presidency. A monumental story of perseverance and the fight for equality.

A political fable about a farm revolution that descends into tyranny. A sharp, accessible allegory about power, corruption, and inequality that remains deeply relevant.

Documents the oppression of women worldwide and argues that empowering women is the key to solving many global challenges. Harrowing but hopeful, with concrete solutions.

A memoir by a former child soldier in Sierra Leone's civil war. Brutal and honest, it reveals the impact of conflict on children and the possibility of rehabilitation.

A funny and heartbreaking semi-autobiographical novel about a Native American teenager who transfers to an all-white school, navigating poverty, racism, and identity.