To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

How I Found:  After yet another attempt to ban To Kill a Mockingbird because it makes people uncomfortable, I reread this classic with an attempt to find where that discomfort lies. Maybe it's the point where Scout is teased for her father defending Tom Robinson, or maybe it is the word that is used to do so, but I hope it's the point where Atticus loses the case after proving Tom's innocence, and Jem clearly sees the cruelty of the world in which they live. Because, as Atticus explain, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."
Why You Might Read:  Everyone ought to read as a reminder of where we've been as a nation, how far we've come and how that compares with where we are right now.  This book reveals that the innocence of childhood can become the ignorance of adulthood without the careful guidance of those who know better, and we can't know better if we ignore the discomfort right in front of us.