The summer holidays are a wonderful time to dive into books both for enjoyment and to broaden knowledge and understanding of key issues. With the issue of diversity and the differing experiences of communities both within the UK and across the globe in mind, the English department has initiated a reading list which helps to explore this and related topics. The list is by no means exhaustive but hopefully a good starting point to help young people explore this key area and build greater understanding.   

 Younger readers: 

Face  by Benjamin Zephaniah 
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman 
The Help by Kathryn Stockett  
 
Older Readers: 
 
The State of Africa by Martin Meredith 
Vermeer’s Hat  by Timothy Brook  
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 
The Color Purple by Alice Walker 
Twelve Years A Slave  by Solomun Northup  
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah 
White Teeth by Zadie Smith 
Girl, Woman, Other  by Bernadine Evaristo 
Small Island by Andrea Levy 
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 
 

Poetry by Langston Hughes 
Poetry by Daljit Nagra (‘Look We Have Coming to Dover’ Collection) 
Poetry by Shivanee Ramlochan (Everyone Knows I Am a Haunting’ Collection) 
Poetry by Danez Smith (Don’t Call us Dead’ Collection) 
 
‘Have You Heard George’s Podcast?’ George the Poet (podcast)