Five Books to Battle the Literacy Crisis

As the rise of technology and social media have emerged and become completely dominant forces in society, there have been notable shifts in children and adults’ literary ability. We can see the decline in reading through student reading scores, which is why we need to make reading for all ages as accessible as possible. In this list, I will recommend mostly young adult books but will add a few teen titles for anyone to share. The most important thing we as people in society can do to battle this literacy crisis is to pick up any book that is interesting and just get reading. Reading can provide lifelong benefits in the form of stronger memory, increased empathy, solid vocabulary, and increased critical thinking (Barker, 2024). One thing that primary schooling may have taught you is that reading has to be something very analytical, and that is not that case. So, without further Ado, here is a list of some incredible books with incredible messages! 

1. The Women by Kristin Hannah. This historical fiction novel follows the story of a 20-year-old woman, Frankie. This nursing student is watching the people she loves go off to fight in Vietnam and she wants in, so she enlists as an Army Nurse. This story shines a light on the women of war and their critical impact that is often not told in our history books.  

2. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This book is targeted for teen audiences but could be read for all ages. This book is written in a novel in verse. This means that the page formatting looks like a poem and can be incredible beneficial to get reluctant readers interested in reading. Reluctant readers may like reading stories this way because time spent reading a page is a lot faster. Esperanza is a young girl of age trying to understand her heritage, community, and build hope to become a writer. This story is a great way to learn that bonds within the community can carry you up and onwards.  

3. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. This novel, similar to The House on Mango Street, is written in letter form. The Correspondent is a story that can transcend generations as it follows an older woman writing letters to her friends and family as a primary form of communication. Sybil Van Anterwerp bestows important messages about aging and the reality of coping with trauma within the senior years. 

4. The Authenticity Project by Claire Pooley. If there is one book to pick in this list, pick this one. The Authenticity Project is an incredibly relevant story to remind readers that to be authentic is the greatest way to live life. A journal is left in a cafe and prompts the person currently in possession to write their story. We find that the characters within this journal have lived very different lives, but interconnected lives.  

5. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. This one is for my romantasy readers! Fourth Wing is an incredible story that merges romance, fantasy, government corruption, and erasure into one neat package. This story follows Violet Sorrengail, raised to become a Scribe and at the last minute, required to become a Rider. The Rider Quadrant has dragons and is extremely unsafe, but Violet naturally possesses talents to continue to live. As she spends her time learning in her war college, she unearths life changing information and dedicates a life to correcting history. Underneath this plot, there is an important message about what happens when history is erased and stories are censored. Censoring history will not further society to become a better place but will lead us to continue to repeat wrong doings. Rebecca Yarros illustrates just why winner perspectives writing history can be dangerous for future generations.  

“Keep good company, read good books, love good things, and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can.”

– Louisa May Alcott 

References 

Barker, J. (2024). Why is reading important? 13 benefits for readers. 95 Percent Group. https://www.95percentgroup.com/insights/reading-importance/