I keep a spreadsheet of new book releases, both hardcover and paperback, and update it every few months with publisher catalogs. This lets me figure out when books are coming out — obviously! — but also to plan what it is I want to write about here and at Book Riot.
But with so many book publication dates in April, May, and even early June being moved around because of COVID-19, my spreadsheet isn’t as useful as it usually is. I’m double checking dates and revisiting catalogs which, as you might guess, haven’t been updated. A lot of publication date changes have come in by email or they’ve been updated on consumer sites, so it’s a matter now of checking a couple of different places each time I want to write. Not the end of the world, but rather a preface for this post.
Every few months, I like to highlight the upcoming YA nonfiction titles hitting shelves. I covered January through April at the start of the year, so no better time than now to highlight those young adult nonfiction titles coming May through August. These are books marketed for teens or are those marketed for that weird 10-14 age group that nonfiction for young readers tends toward, being neither strictly middle grade nor young adult. Some of these will skew younger while others might skew a bit older.
I’ve done what I can with publication dates, and I’m certain this isn’t comprehensive. Though publishing does tend to slow in the summer, with so many new variables, the likelihood I missed a few titles is good, so do feel free to drop a note in the comments and let me know. I’ve stuck with new nonfiction and have not included nonfiction titles that published in previous years and are being released in paperback this season. Some of these titles are paperback originals.
Grab your TBR and get excited about these young adult nonfiction titles hitting shelves this summer. As has been the case for a long time, this is a wonderfully inclusive collection of titles, with an especially powerful array of queer books.
Descriptions are pulled from the ‘zon, as some of these don’t have quite the robust Goodreads descriptions I prefer to use. YA nonfiction is forever the underdog.
Summer 2020 New YA Nonfiction Books
May
Atomic Women: The Untold Stories of the Scientists Who Helped Create the Nuclear Bomb by Roseanne Montillo (19)
- Lise Meitner and Irène Joliot-Curie (daughter of Marie Curie), who led the groundwork for the Manhattan Project from Europe;
- Elizabeth Rona, the foremost expert in plutonium, who gave rise to the “Fat Man” and “Little Boy,” the bombs dropped over Japan;
- Leona Woods, Elizabeth Graves, and Joan Hinton, who were inspired by European scientific ideals but carved their own paths.
Poisoned Water: How The Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought For Their Lives and Warned The Nation by Candy J Cooper and Marc Aronson (19)
In 2014, Flint, Michigan, was a cash-strapped city that had been built up, then abandoned by General Motors. As part of a plan to save money, government officials decided that Flint would temporarily switch its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Within months, many residents broke out in rashes. Then it got worse: children stopped growing. Some people were hospitalized with mysterious illnesses; others died. Citizens of Flint protested that the water was dangerous. Despite what seemed so apparent from the murky, foul-smelling liquid pouring from the city’s faucets, officials refused to listen. They treated the people of Flint as the problem, not the water, which was actually poisoning thousands.
Through interviews with residents and intensive research into legal records and news accounts, journalist Candy J. Cooper, assisted by writer-editor Marc Aronson, reveals the true story of Flint. Poisoned Watershows not just how the crisis unfolded in 2014, but also the history of racism and segregation that led up to it, the beliefs and attitudes that fueled it, and how the people of Flint fought-and are still fighting-for clean water and healthy lives.
The Queer Eye Guide: How To Love Yourself The Fab Five Way (26)
This insightful and detailed guide will help middle schoolers and high schoolers survive adolescence . . . with style!
Whether you’re craving some advice on after-school snacks or what to wear to prom, looking for a bedroom make-better, or searching for ways to work what you’ve got to become your best self, get ready to celebrate all the things that make you you with a little help from The Fab Five!
June
Beyond The Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon (2)
Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us.
In Beyond the Gender Binary, poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary.
Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.
Imaginary Borders by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (2)
In this personal, moving essay, environmental activist and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez uses his art and his activism to show that climate change is a human issue that can’t be ignored.
“It won’t take you long to read this book, but it will linger in your heart and head for quite a while, and perhaps inspire you to join in the creative, blossoming movement to make this world work.” — Bill McKibben
Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, Earth Guardians Youth Director and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez shows us how his music feeds his environmental activism and vice versa. Martinez visualizes a future that allows us to direct our anger, fear, and passion toward creating change. Because, at the end of the day, we all have a part to play.
The New Queer Conscious by Adam Eli (2)
In The New Queer Conscience, LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli argues the urgent need for queer responsibility — that queers anywhere are responsible for queers everywhere.
Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, The New Queer Conscience, Voices4 Founder and LGBTQIA+ activist Adam Eli offers a candid and compassionate introduction to queer responsibility. Eli calls on his Jewish faith to underline how kindness and support within the queer community can lead to a stronger global consciousness. More importantly, he reassures us that we’re not alone. In fact, we never were. Because if you mess with one queer, you mess with us all.
This Is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew (2)
In this powerful and hopeful account, arts writer, curator, and activist Kimberly Drew reminds us that the art world has space not just for the elite, but for everyone.
Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, arts writer and co-editor of Black Futures Kimberly Drew shows us that art and protest are inextricably linked. Drawing on her personal experience through art toward activism, Drew challenges us to create space for the change that we want to see in the world. Because there really is so much more space than we think.
Call Me American (Adapted for Young Adults): The Extraordinary True Story of a Young Somali Immigrant by Abdi Nor Iftin (16)
Abdi Nor Iftin grew up amidst a blend of cultures, far from the United States. At home in Somalia, his mother entertained him with vivid folktales and bold stories detailing her rural, nomadic upbrinding. As he grew older, he spent his days following his father, a basketball player, through the bustling street of the capital city of Mogadishu.
But when the threat of civil war reached Abdi’s doorstep, his family was forced to flee to safety. Through the turbulent years of war, young Abdi found solace in popular American music and films. Nicknamed Abdi the American, he developed a proficiency for English that connected him–and his story–with news outlets and radio shows, and eventually gave him a shot at winning the annual U.S. visa lottery.
Abdi shares every part of his journey, and his courageous account reminds readers that everyone deserves the chance to build a brighter future for themselves.
The Mars Challenge by
Nadia is a teen with a dream: to be the first woman on Mars. But to get there, she’s got to learn all she can about the science of spaceflight. It’s a good thing her friend Eleanor is an Attitude Determination and Control Officer―basically, she pilots the International Space Station!
Eleanor takes Nadia on a conceptual journey through an entire crewed mission to Mars, and explains every challenge that must be overcome along the way; from escaping Earth’s gravity well, to keeping the crew healthy as they travel through deep space, to setting up a Mars base, to having enough fuel for the trip home!
In The Mars Challenge, writer Alison Wilgus and artist Wyeth Yates bring the reader on a thrilling interplanetary voyage and clearly illustrate the scientific concepts and complex machinery involved. Humans can reach Mars in our lifetime―this book explains how it can be done.
Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar by Catherine Reef (16)
A tantalizing biography for teens on Sarah Bernhardt, the first international celebrity and one of the greatest actors of all time, who lived a highly unconventional, utterly fascinating life. Illustrated with more than sixty-five photos of Bernhardt on stage, in film, and in real life.
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actor who became a global superstar in the late nineteenth century—the Lady Gaga of her day—and is still considered to be one of the greatest performers of all time. This fast-paced account of her life, filled with provocative detail, brilliantly follows the transformation of a girl of humble origins, born to a courtesan, into a fabulously talented, wealthy, and beloved icon. Not only was her acting trajectory remarkable, but her personal life was filled with jaw-dropping exploits, and she was extravagantly eccentric, living with a series of exotic animals and sleeping in a coffin. She grew to be deeply admired around the world, despite her unabashed and public promiscuity at a time when convention was king; she slept with each of her leading men and proudly raised a son without a husband. A fascinating and fast-paced deep dive into the world of the divine Sarah. Illustrated with more than sixty-five photos of Bernhardt on stage, in film, and in real life.
Thank You For Voting Young Readers’ Edition: The Past, Present, and Future of Voting by Erin Geiger Smith (16)
In this young readers’ edition of Thank You for Voting, debut author and journalist Erin Geiger Smith presents a fascinating look into America’s voting history and inspires young people to get involved!
Voting is a privilege and a right, but it hasn’t always been for many people. From the founding fathers to Jim Crow to women’s suffrage to gerrymandering—and everything in between—readers will get a look at the complex history of voting and become empowered to ask BIG questions like:
—What can I do to support my favorite leader?
—Who can I talk to about the issues I believe in?
—How can I make a difference in my community?
Every citizen has the right to vote. Let each one count!
Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life by Winifred Conkling (30)
Throughout the years, Gloria Steinem is perhaps the single-most iconic figure associated with women’s rights, her name practically synonymous with the word “feminism.”
Documenting everything from her boundary-pushing journalistic career to the foundation of Ms. magazine to being awarded the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom, Winifred Conkling’s Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life is a meticulously researched YA biography that is sure to satisfy even the most voracious of aspiring glass-ceiling smashers.
Gloria Steinem was no stranger to injustice even from a young age.
Her mother, Ruth, having suffered a nervous breakdown at only 34, spent much of Gloria’s childhood in and out of mental health facilities. And when Gloria was only 10 years old, her father divorced her mother and left for California, unable to bear the stress of caring for Ruth any longer.
Gloria never blamed her mother for being unable to hold down a job to support them both after that, but rather blamed society’s intrinsic hostility toward women, and working women in particular. This was the spark that lit a fire in her that would burn for decades, and continues to burn brightly today.
July
True or False : A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News by Cindy L. Otis (28)
A former CIA analyst unveils the true history of fake news and gives readers tips on how to avoid falling victim to it in this highly designed informative YA nonfiction title.
“Fake news” is a term you’ve probably heard a lot in the last few years, but it’s not a new phenomenon. From the ancient Egyptians to the French Revolution to Jack the Ripper and the founding fathers, fake news has been around as long as human civilization. But that doesn’t mean that we should just give up on the idea of finding the truth.
In True or False, former CIA analyst Cindy Otis will take readers through the history and impact of misinformation over the centuries, sharing stories from the past and insights that readers today can gain from them. Then, she shares lessons learned in over a decade working for the CIA, including actionable tips on how to spot fake news, how to make sense of the information we receive each day, and, perhaps most importantly, how to understand and see past our own information biases, so that we can think critically about important issues and put events happening around us into context.
True or False includes a wealth of photo illustrations, informative inserts, and sidebars containing interesting facts and trivia sure to engage readers in critical thinking and analysis.
August
Into the Streets: A Young Person’s Visual History of Protest In The US by Marke Bieschke (4)
This lively book guides readers through the art and history of significant protests, sit-ins, and collective acts of resistance throughout US history. Photos, artwork, signs, and other visual elements highlight the history of social action, from American Indian resistance to colonists through Black Lives Matter and Women’s Marches.
Into the Streets introduces the personalities and issues that drove these protests, as well as their varied aims and accomplishments, from spontaneous hashtag uprisings to highly planned strategies of civil disobedience. Perfect for young adult audiences, this book highlights how teens are frequently the ones protesting and creating the art of the resistance.
Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy edited by Kelly Jensen (18)
My book!
It’s time to bare it all about bodies!
We all experience the world in a body, but we don’t usually take the time to explore what it really means to have and live within one. Just as every person has a unique personality, every person has a unique body, and every body tells its own story.
In Body Talk, thirty-seven writers, models, actors, musicians, and artists share essays, lists, comics, and illustrations—about everything from size and shape to scoliosis, from eating disorders to cancer, from sexuality and gender identity to the use of makeup as armor. Together, they contribute a broad variety of perspectives on what it’s like to live in their particular bodies—and how their bodies have helped to inform who they are and how they move through the world.
Come on in, turn the pages, and join the celebration of our diverse, miraculous, beautiful bodies!