Book Insights: Excerpts for Parental Guidance
The following books can be found in the Rockwood School District as of the date in the post, unless otherwise noted. Click the book title to view the description, location(s) and key excerpts.
A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G. and Julies Zuckerberg
Activists Assemble: We Are All Equal by Shannon Weber
Against White Feminism by Rafia Zakaria
All American Boys: A Memoir Manifesto by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson (Author), Peter Parnell (Author), Henry Cole (Illustrator)
And The People Carried Signs by L.A. Smith (Author) and Moshin Khan (Illustrator)
Answers in the Pages by David Levithan
Bad for You by Abbi Glines
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
Batman: White Knight* by Sean Murphy (Author)
Be Gay Do Comics!* by The Nib et al
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Because of Low by Abbi Glines
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
Big Wig by Jonathan Hillman (Author) and Levi Hastings (Illustrator
Bingo Love* by Tee Franklin (Author), Jenn St. Onge (Artist), Joy San (Artist) et al
Born Ready by Jodie Patterson (Author) and Charnelle Pinkney Barlow (Illustrator)
Breathe by Abbi Glines
Breathless by Jennifer Niven
Bumped by Megan McCafferty
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Club Drugs by Hal Marcovitz
Continuum by Chella Man
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Darkness Before Dawn by Sharon M. Draper
Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Dead End by Jason Myers
Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
Ellen Outside the Lines by A. J. Sass
Fade by Lisa McMann
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Fire Force 01* by Atsushi Ohkubo
Flamer* by Mike Curato
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
From Archie to Zack by Vincent X. Kirsch
From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Gender Identity: Beyond Pronouns and Bathrooms by Marie Cook
Gender Queer: A Memoir* by Maia Kobabe
Generation Brave by Kate Alexander
George by Alex Gino
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Gilgamesh: A Graphic Novel* by Andrew Winegarner
Girls Resist!: A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a Revolution by Kaelyn Rich
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Growing Up Trans: In Our Own Words edited by Dr. Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry
Heroine by Mindy McGinnis
Hold on Tight by Abbi Glines
Hold Still by Nina LaCour
Home After Dark* by David Small
Hooked by Catherine Greenman
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
Infinity Son by Adam Silvera
Intercepted by Alexa Martin
Intersection Allies by Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, and Carolyn Choi
Introducing Teddy: A Gentle Story About Gender and Friendship by Jessica Walton
It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Thresa Thorn
Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by L. C. Rosen
Julian at the Wedding by Jessica Love
Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
Just for Now by Abbi Glines
l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle
Last Man: The Royal Cup by Bastien Vivès, Michael Sanlaville, and Balak
Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles
Let's Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human* by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan
Lighter Than My Shadow* by Katie Green
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Lush by Natasha Friend
Man o’ War by Cory McCarthy
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Melissa by Alex Gino
Middle School’s a Drag by Greg Howard
milk and honey by Rupi Kaur
Misbehaving by Abbi Glines
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
My Rainbow by Trinity and DeShanna Neal
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Oh, The Things We're For! by Innosanto Nagara
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Our Subway Baby by Peter Mercurio and illustrated by Leo Espinosa
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
People of Pride: 25 Great LGBTQ Americans by Chase Clemesha, MD
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Steven Salerno
Pride Puppy! written by Robin Stevenson and illustrated by Julie McLaughlin
Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes
Pumpkin by Julie Murphy
Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall
Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition by Katie Rain Hill
Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles
Rise Up! The Art of Protest by Jo Rippon
Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
Rupaul Charles (People of Pride) by Little Bee Books and Illustrated by Vincent Chen
Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness* by Kristen Radtke
Sex Plus: Learning, Loving, and Enjoying Your Body* by Laci Green
Shine by Lauren Myracle
Slaughterhouse-Five: The Graphic Novel by Ryan North (Adapter) and Albert Monteys (Illustrator)
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh
Some Girls Bind by Rory James
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano
Sometimes it Lasts by Abbi Glines
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Strong by Rob Kearney & Eric Rosswood and illustrated by Nidhi Chanani
Sula by Toni Morrison
Sumomomo, Momomo, Vol. 1: The Strongest Bride on Earth* by Shinobu Ohtaka
SuperMutant Magic Academy* by Jillian Tamaki (Author)
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
The Antiracist Kid: A Book About Identity, Justice, and Activism by Tiffany Jewell and illustrated by Nicole Miles
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson
The Color of Earth by Dong Hwa Kim
The Deep & Dark Blue by Niki Smith
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Good Earth: Graphic Adaptation* by Pearl S. Buck (Author) and Nick Bertozzi (Adapter)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel* by Margaret Atwood (Author) and Renee Nault (Illustrator)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Haters by Jesse Andrews
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The League of Super Feminists by Mirion Malle
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado (Author) and Dani Strips (Illustrator)
The Meaning of Pride by Rosiee Thor (Author) and Sam Kirk (Illustrator)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli
The Other Talk: Reckoning with our White Privilege by Brenden Kiely and Jason Reynolds
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Power Book by Claire Saunders, Georgia Amson-Bradshaw, Mik Scarlet and Hazel Songhurst
The Sacrifice of Darkness* by Roxane Gay and Tracy Lynne Oliver
The Stranger: The Graphic Novel* by Albert Camus (Author) and Jacques Ferrandez (Illustrator)
the sun and her flowers* by Rupi Kaur
The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines
They She He Me: Free to Be! by Maya and Matthew Gonzalez
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki
Tiger Honor by Yoon Ha Lee
Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard by Alex Bertie
ttfn by Lauren Myracle
ttyl by Lauren Myracle
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Two Grooms on a Cake by Rob Sanders
Until the End by Abbi Glines
Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving
Watchmen* by Alan Moore (Author) and Dave Gibbons (Illustrator)
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson (Editors)
What Girls are Made of by Elana K. Arnold
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Where I End and You Begin by Preston Norton
While it Lasts by Abbi Glines
White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America by Margaret A. Hagerman
Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner
Who is RuPaul? by Nico Medina
Why Comics?: From Underground to Everywhere* by Hillary Chute
Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles
Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne
Woke Baby by Mahogany L. Browne
yolo by Lauren Myracle
Zahra's Paradise* by Amir (Author) and Khalil (Illustrator)
Please keep in mind that some of the books listed here may have been revised and may feature a different cover from the one shown on this site. As a result, the book numbers may not match up with the images provided.
We strongly encourage you to read these books on your own in order to form your own opinions and gain a deeper understanding of the content.
*View the list of removed titles in response to Missouri Senate Bill 775