Ten Books That Will Inspire You to Mobilize
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Last updated on June 17, 2026
Our 2026 reading guide features titles that will move you to take action and mobilize in your local neighborhood.
As years prior, we’ve selected books that are central to our work and uplift underrepresented voices—and that we ourselves enjoyed. We hope these books grow your understanding of the real-world impact issues like immigration enforcement and houselessness have on our communities and inspire you to make your voice heard.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND POLICE PRACTICES
Backtalker: An American Memoir by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
Influential academic Kimberlé Crenshaw’s contributions reshaped national and global conversations about race and gender. This intimate memoir traces the lived experiences that led her to develop the concepts of intersectionality and critical race theory.
Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage by Heather Ann Thompson
A Pulitzer Prize-winning author shines a new light on the infamous 1984 New York subway shooting of four Black teens, revealing the racial hostilities underpinning the public reaction. Michelle Alexander, former director of the Racial Justice Project of the ACLU NorCal, and renowned author of The New Jim Crow, has called Fear and Fury “a secret decoder ring for all those trying to understand the politics of white rage today."
GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE
Rainbow Rainbow: Stories by Lydi Conklin
Queer, trans, and gender non-conforming characters seek love and intimacy in this prize-winning collection. Conklin’s stories celebrate the experiences not typically represented: liminal or uncertain identities, queer conception, and queer and trans joy.
Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra
Filled with the unforgettable stories of patients seeking abortions, this urgent investigation into post-Roe America reveals the devastating consequences of being denied reproductive care. Luthra examines abortion as a basic human right, one that’s worthy of our collective attention and with immense power to transform our lives, families, and futures.
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YOUNG READERS
Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
Reza is an Iranian immigrant keeping his sexuality secret from his family. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer whose beloved uncle has AIDS and is an activist with ACT UP. Art is Judy’s best friend and their school’s only out and-proud teen. This life-affirming young adult novel—a Stonewall Honor Book—follows the three teenage friends as they navigate identity, self-acceptance, and love during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.
A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila
America’s first successful school desegregation case was brought in Lemon Grove, California two decades before Brown v. Board of Education. This Newbery Honor winning novel-in-verse follows the lead plaintiff in that case, celebrating a child’s courage—and that of his family and community—in speaking out for what’s right.
I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough with Grace Lin, Illustrated by Julia Kuo
This important picture book introduces children to the young man who, in 1898, fought for his right to be an American—and confirmed birthright citizenship for everyone born in this country. The story is especially relevant as we await the Supreme Court’s ruling on the vital ACLU lawsuit defending against Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship.
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IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS
Here to Stay: Poetry and Prose from the Undocumented Diaspora by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Janine Joseph, and Esther Lin
Gathering poetry and prose from currently and formerly undocumented poets, as well as those from mixed-status families, this moving collection provides timely insight into what it means to live as an undocumented person in America.
Detained: A Boy’s Journal of Survival and Resilience by David Esperanza and Gerardo Iván Morales
David Esperanza was just 13 years old when, under the first Trump administration’s notorious family separation scheme, he and his cousins were separated and detained at the border. Over the next five months, he kept a journal of his experiences. As the second Trump administration continues to put children in detention, this is a powerful account of the violence and inhumanity of U.S. immigration policy.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone
This investigative book follows five working families struggling to remain housed. Though it’s set in Atlanta, the stories are just as relevant to Southern California, showing the human cost of our housing crisis.
WHERE TO FIND THIS GUIDE
Find our reading guide at participating bookstores throughout Southern California including: Chevalier Books, Reparations Club, The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs, Skylight Books and North Figueroa Bookshop.