By the time readers are young adults, their worlds have broadened to include a wide range of people and life experiences that inform their developing identities.

As teenage readers discover who they are, it's important that they have access to stories that reflect and celebrate the full range of human experiences and a diversity of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical and mental abilities, religion, and culture.

The following topics and themes are explored in this list:

• Race and Ethnicity - diversity in race and ethnicity in the text
• Social Justice - civil disobedience, advocacy, and attempts to seek justice for oppressed groups of people
• LGBTQIA+ - featuring characters who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, or any identification within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum
• Mental Health - featuring characters with temporary, cyclical, or episodic mental illnesses and other mental health struggles
• Immigration - immigrant and emigrant experiences
• Neurodiversity and Neurodivergence - featuring characters who have neurological variances and differences, such as autism, dyslexia, and ADHD
• Physical Disability - featuring characters with impairments that limit physical functioning

For even more Scholastic books that explore these themes, check out our catalog, The Power of Story: Diverse Books for All Readers.