Children’s, middle grade, and young adult fiction are all incredibly important in helping shape young readers’ perspectives and sense of the world. Reading has been proven to make people more empathetic over time via an absolute sleeper effect, meaning it does not manifest immediately but rather can be seen over time. If this is true about readers, there is little doubt that the fiction that young readers consume is something parents, guardians, and other adults should take an interest in, especially when it comes to topics that are considered taboo and not talked about enough in and out of the classroom or home. For this reason, here is a list of a few books that address a taboo topic (and their trigger warnings!) that some younger readers might check out.
Dealing with themes of coming to terms with a trans identity as a child, Melissa offers a perspective on being trans that isn’t often seen, especially in the discourse regarding whether it is acceptable to transition as a child or not.
Trigger warnings: Transphobia, homophobia, bullying
Amina’s Voice is the story of a young girl learning how to embrace both her voice and her culture in middle school. The story is a powerful representation of how it feels to be a part of an immigrant community and tackles many important issues that can be validating and informative for young readers.
Trigger warnings: Islamophobia, bullying, arson
A story about a teenage girl who calls the police at a high school party and later gets shunned by all of her friends and peers, Speak is an incredibly emotional story that explores how trauma manifests and how healing is not linear. Another great option to check out if the book seems too daunting or emotional is the graphic novel edition of the novel, written by Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrated by Emily Carroll.
Trigger warnings: Rape, bullying, self harm, depression, anxiety, PTSD, victim-shaming
Another story wonderful for exploring queer identities, The Black Flamingo is unique in both content and style. The story, told in verse, is so well written that I didn’t want it to end. The central focus of the book is about the main character coming to terms with his identity as a gay, mixed-race teen and how he becomes infatuated with drag.
Trigger warnings: Homophobia, racism
Dress Coded is a middle-grade novel that tackles unfair and unequal dress codes in schools and how a group of female classmates decide to take things into their own hands to make a change.
Trigger warnings: Objectification, vaping
If reading truly nurtures empathy over time, then the fiction young readers absorb holds more than just entertainment value—it becomes part of their moral and emotional foundation. With that in mind, books can offer young people a lens into challenging but crucial issues such as racism, bullying, sexism, and identity-based discrimination (and many more not even mentioned in the list above). These topics may be uncomfortable, but they’re necessary to confront, and I can only hope that young readers will continue to read diverse stories to broaden their view of the world.
Vanshikha Vij Pine Reads Review Writer