In this epistolary novel, the speaker “Little Dog” addresses his mother who cannot read. The letters narrate the complicated story of the speaker’s family history. They are not limited to Little Dog’s life, but instead include themes such as the lasting impact of war and struggles of immigration. Whereas the text’s level of difficulty is […]

This award-winning graphic novel tells, or rather shows, the autobiographical coming-of-age story of Craig Thompson. Raised in rural isolation, Craig and his younger brother Phil are both depicted as devout Christians with a knack for art. Through his teen years, however, Craig finds it hard to fit in with his peers and suffers a lot […]

17-year-old Lily Hu wasn’t planning on falling in love. 1954’s San Francisco isn’t a safe place for two young women in love, and the Red Scare makes society’s prejudice against Chinese Americans more prevalent than ever. As the daughter of a Chinese-American immigrant, Lily worries for her father, the threat of deportation constantly looming over […]

This young-adult book focuses on child abuse, parental neglect, social stratification, and friendship and is structured as diary entries of the two girls Treasure and India.Young Treasure lives with her mother and her abusive stepfather Terry who one day hits her with his belt and scars her forehead. Upon this incident, Treasure’s grandmother takes her […]

This children’s book is about special educational needs and understanding and raising awareness of different types of intelligence.Chester is the new kid at school and has to sit next to the sloppy, chaotic, and seemingly dumb Joe. Joe is incredibly messy, cannot write properly, and does not understand the ways in which things are explained. […]

This is a small children’s book with three short stories concerning daily situations worth thinking about more deeply. The first is about William who is teased by his classmates with the nickname ‘darling’ his father likes to call him. When he has to move on to the next school, he is worried his father will […]

Robots is an animated science fiction comedy about material values, consumerism, and perseverance. Young robot Rodney Copperbotton follows his dream to become an inventor and leaves his home for the big city to meet his idol Bigweld whose company hires inventors and provides robots with spare parts. Upon arriving, however, Rodney learns that Bigweld has […]

When Ari and Dante meet at the local pool, they appear to have virtually nothing in common. Dante is a mystery to Ari with his love for poetry and eloquent expressions. As the pair spends the summer together, they grow closer and closer. But sometimes, defining an emotional bond is more difficult than it would […]

This Black Mirror episode is about (digital) memory records, privacy rights, surveillance, holding grudges, and the importance to let the past go. A world in which an implant allows people to replay their memories for themselves but also on screens for others. During the episode, Liam becomes more and more obsessed with his wife’s relationship […]

This Black Mirror episode is dealing with helicopter parents, surveillance, the issues with surveillance technology, and the importance of stressful experiences. When little Sara gets lost for a while because she was following a cat, her mother Marie takes her to get an “Arkangel”-implant letting Marie not only access Sarah’s location but also see and […]

This Black Mirror episode deals with the ethics of talent shows, consumerism, surveillance, and sensationalism.It features a system making people ride stationary bikes in order to earn “Merits”, a digital currency. Living in a room plastered with monitors they are forced to watch commercials or pay Merits if they want to skip them. When main […]

Based on the novel by John Grisham, this legal drama film deals with racism, rape, and the American legal jury system. A ten-year-old Afro-American girl is raped and beaten up by two white men who are arrested but will probably walk free. Upon hearing that, Carl Lee, the girl’s father in a mood of rage […]

The siblings Wendy, John and Michael live with their parents in London’s West End. One night Peter Pan flies through their window and invites them to come with him to Neverland. In this magical realm, they live with a gang of Lost Boys, encounter mermaids and fight against the pirate Captain Hook.

A crime story dealing with powerlessness, alienation, and insanity. A young woman returns to her hometown to look for her father, who has disappeared. She, her lover, and her best friend go to her father’s island, where she follows some clues and concludes that her father has gone mad but must still be alive. Over […]

Stacey and Laney are twins, but couldn’t be any more different. While Stacey hates breaking rules, Laney regularly skips schools to hang out with her boyfriend. So noone is immediately concerned when Laney goes missing,except for her twin. Stacey is convinced something is seriously wrong and is plagued by terrifying dreams of Laney. Can she […]

When everyone in London goes to sleep, the animals come out to play. And although London’s animals do not usually get along, they gather for a celebration of peace and harmony once a year. But when a discussion begins about what the most beautiful place in London is, things get a little tense… This bilingual […]

This novella tells the tragic story of a 14-year-old’s death and the impact gang violence has not only on those directly affected, but their loved ones as well. When Jerome is found stabbed and left bleeding on the street, his mother needs answers. But can the hard truth give her the closure she’s looking for? […]

This short story with its dystopian notion deals with blatant racism and the resulting splitting of society. The society described from the view of Emmanuel, a young black man, is a highly racist one leading to constant monitoring of behaviour. Emmanuel talks about how he changes according to how black he wants to seem depicting […]