This blog post supports the upcoming event “Broken Trust: Film Screening & Child Abuse Community Conversation.”
Books for Adults
In the tiny forest community of Beartown, the possibility that the amateur hockey team might win a junior championship, bringing the hope of revitalization to the fading town, is shattered by the aftermath of a violent act that leaves a young girl traumatized.
This is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games–games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother’s games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an “it.”
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity.
Enduring an isolated existence after the death of her mother, 14-year-old Turtle roams the rocky shores and tide pools of the California coast and refutes every outside attempt to engage her before an unexpected friendship with a newcomer helps her realize the vulnerabilities of her life with her charismatic father.
Awarded a college basketball scholarship away from his childhood home silenced by tragedy, a young man befriends a spirited young woman who welcomes him into her loving, loud, chaotic household.
Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove, an African-American girl in an America whose love for blonde, blue-eyed children can devastate all others, prays for her eyes to turn blue, so that she will be beautiful, people will notice her, and her world will be different.
Erika accepts a new contract job investigating lawsuits as a private investigator. She is assigned to investigate a sexual assault. When the case and her life both implode at the same time, she must figure out how to help win the case without losing herself.
At the age of 12, Astrid has her world blown away when her mother is sentenced to life in prison for murdering her lover. Sharpened by harsh foster home environments, Astrid remakes herself as a survivor, and ultimately, an artist.
Books for Teens
This book explores the nuances of emotions, comfort, and discomfort in sexually charged and emotionally abusive situations. Tween readers will learn about consent, harassment, abuse, and healthy boundaries in all types of relationships.
Zion Clark has always had big dreams for himself despite the many hardships he faced growing up as a Black disabled child in the foster care system of Ohio. As he says, “Work with what you got! If I can do it, so can you.
A traumatic event in the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year of high school. A bestselling modern classic about consent, healing, and finding your voice.
A poetic memoir and urgent call-to-action that blends free-verse reflections with deeply personal stories from the author’s life to rally today’s young people to stand up and fight the abuses, censorship and hatred of today’s world.
Books for Youth
A girl who receives repeated unwanted attention from the boys in her school begins doubting herself before rediscovering her voice in the mutually respectful environment of a new karate class.
An inclusive, frank and funny guide to navigating consent for tweens and teens of all genders. This guide breaks down situations involving consent and bodily autonomy.
Moving to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, a young gymnast hides a secret as she makes new friends and investigates her grandmother’s claim that someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm.
This book opens up conversations between young people and their caregivers in a way that allows adults to convey their values and beliefs while providing information about boundaries, safety, and joy.
Picture Books
A young girl describes what it’s like when her mom’s new friend comes to stay. A moving story about domestic violence that ends on a hopeful note.
Using rhyming text, teaches young readers to recognize sexual abuse, to tell a parent or authority figure if they are abused, and encourages them to respect and love their bodies.
Teaching children about body boundaries, both theirs and others, is crucial to their growing sense of self, and how they should expect to be treated by others.
Doug prefers not to be hugged, but there are a variety of other ways his loved ones can show him affection. This fun story aims to spark discussions about bodily autonomy and consent.
This book serves to normalize and celebrate the experience of asking for and being asked for permission to do something involving one’s body.
This blog post was created by librarians from Park City Library with help of information found in NoveList – a database that is free with your library card. NoveList is a comprehensive reading recommendation resource.