It can be both exciting and scary to start something new, whether that’s starting living in a new place or the beginning of your college experience. Librarian Allyson Mower has compiled a few book recommendations about new beginnings.

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

I loved the writing in this fictionalized telling of Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, an American Indian who graduated from Harvard College. The story gets narrated by a young European girl named Bethia, who does not have the option of attending school. As their paths cross and remain intertwined, the books shows what it means to have the freedom to learn.

New Kid by Jerry Craft

A wonderful graphic novel detailing the experiences of being treated differently than those around you when, as a 7th grader, the protagonist Jordan Banks attends a new school where there are not many students who look like him.

African Founders by David Hackett Fischer

A substantial and compelling history of how enslaved and free Africans created a new and vibrant American culture.

At the Center of All Beauty by Fenton Johnson

This quick and inspiring read shows how solitude, performance, and creativity remain connected.

An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo

One of the nation’s poet laureate offers a powerful perspective on renewed beginnings while grappling with past harm and devastation.