It seems like most people either like fiction or
non-fiction, with little interest in exploring the other. Sometimes, however, a historical fiction
novel (or a movie) can pique interest in how true to history it actually
was. Or a non-fiction book is written so
engagingly that is reads like fiction.
We love finding books that complement each other and think these
pairings go very well together; if you read one, you’ll probably want to read
the other!
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson/Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Chances are that you’ve heard of Just Mercy, even if
you haven’t read it or watched the movie.
A powerful true story about a young black lawyer who fights to free a
man who was wrongly convicted of murder, it highlights the racial injustices in
our justice system. Dear Martin
shows the struggle of a young black teen from a fictional perspective who deals
with racism and false accusations and chooses to emulate and write letters to
Martin Luther King, Jr, as a way of dealing with the pressure.
Borders by Thomas King/How We Go Home: voices from
Indigenous North America
At first glance, Borders seems like a simple graphic
novel for young people. However, that
simplicity holds a depth and profundity that resonates. A young Blackfoot boy and his mother travel
from Canada into the U.S. to visit his sister, but when asked if they are
Canadian or American, the mother truthfully claims her Blackfoot nationality.
Neither country recognizes the sovereignty of the native nation and the two are
caught in a limbo of red tape.
How we Go Home is a nonfiction collection of true
stories by indigenous people that highlight the injustice and atrocities they
have faced with resiliency, working to better the world and raise awareness.
A Woman of No Importance/Code Name Verity/West with the
Night (female pilot)
Code Name Verity was a bestselling novel that highlighted
the changing roles that women were able to take during World War II. The story
of friendship between a female spy and female pilot is a nail-biter as the spy
tries to reveal as little as possible about her friend while being tortured by
the enemy.
Two non-fiction pairings come to mind: A Woman of No
Importance by Sonia Purcell tells the story of Virginia Hall, a female spy
during WWII, who established a spy network throughout France and was
instrumental in changing the course of the war. West with the Night is
the autobiography of Beryl Markham, a female pilot who was the first to fly
solo across the Atlantic.
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