Nothing highlights the need for greater information literacy and civic awareness like a major election. But the proliferation of online misinformation and disinformation—combined with a hostile environment for teachers in many schools across the U.S.—poses real challenges to educating the next generation of voters. Two compelling books published in recent years remain all too relevant: One Person, No Vote (YA Edition): How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally by Carol Anderson with Tonya Bolden and Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy by Kenneth C. Davis. In addition, these 2024 releases will help teens (and many adults, too) develop a deeper and broader understanding of the democratic process, cultivating critical awareness of pivotal contemporary concerns and the history that shaped them.
The Facts About Election and Voter Fraud by Naomi Rockler (ReferencePoint Press, Jan. 1): This compact, reader-friendly guide to a hot-button topic corrects mistaken impressions about the degree to which fraud affects American elections. Rockler’s careful research shows that it’s far rarer than many people believe. At the same time, she highlights related topics, such as the marginalizing consequences of some anti-fraud measures.
Future Tense: How We Made Artificial Intelligence—and How It Will Change Everything by Martha Brockenbrough (Feiwel & Friends, March 19): This scrupulously thorough volume helps demystify artificial intelligence, which has already upended our lives in countless ways. The well-chosen real-life examples show readers the impact of AI on elections—propaganda shared by bots, the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and more—leaving young people much better able to critically evaluate online content.
Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States by J. Albert Mann (Harper/HarperCollins, June 4): An understanding of labor history is essential to being an informed voter: Different political parties’ approaches to many issues, from health care to taxes to environmental protection, are inextricably intertwined with the happiness and welfare of the working public. Mann’s far-ranging overview, written in a conversational tone, is a must-read.
Whose Right Is It? The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equality by Hana Bajramovic (Henry Holt, June 25): The author, a lawyer, skillfully and concisely describes the “long, nonlinear march toward progress,” highlighting landmark court cases and cultural shifts. Many topics will feel personally relevant to readers—such as affirmative action in college admissions, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive justice, and immigration policy—helping to contextualize many contentious political debates.
Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau (Little, Brown, Sept. 10): This hard-hitting work fills in major gaps in the typical history and social studies curriculum by spotlighting the history of and ongoing struggle for equal voting rights. While the material is sobering, the vigorous prose and celebration of progress make this an empowering read that will inspire engagement and activism.
Civic Minded: What Everyone Should Know About the US Government by Jeff Fleischer (Zest Books, Oct. 1): This clear, straightforward, and nonpartisan text covers an astonishingly broad range of subjects that responsible citizens should grasp. Many of these policies, concepts, and terms—including Social Security, inflation, minimum wage, national debt, and undocumented immigration—are widely misunderstood, however, allowing inaccurate and inflammatory rhetoric to spread.
Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.
