I've been doing the same thing with the same results. I'm honestly surprised at how much difference it makes--my feeds aren't particularly toxic compared to other peoples' and yet it's really changed the trajectory of my days.

Part of 13yo me wishes I'd had this response memorized back then, but the other part knows it would've just earned me an invite to the principal's office.

I keep hearing this same thing over and over--can't wait to read it!

Great list, thanks for sharing!

Tossing in Tomorrow When the War Began (which fed my very 80’s, Red Dawn heart in the late 90’s and early 00’s) as well.

One Day in December (Josie Silver), You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince (Timothy Janovsky), or In a Holidaze (Christina Lauren).

Ooooh, haven't read The Betrayal or The Defender! Added to my TBR!

I'm happy we connected! Throw a suggestion my way any time. I love history, and especially history-we-*should*-have-learned-in-history class.

Isabel Wilkerson's Caste and her The Warmth of Other Suns are phenomenal as well, if you haven't read those.

On Civil Rights era, two of my favorites are My Soul is Rested (Howell Raines) and this one; Mr. Armstrong lives in the Chicagoland area and I've had the honor of meeting him and personally listening to his oral history of the his time in the movement.

Have you read All the Shah's Men (Stephen Kinzer) about Operation Ajax in Iran? There are things I can pick about in his writing of the coup but I still learned a fair amount from it and was a good starting point for me in learning more about the history of Iran.

Nothing to See Here! At first I thought the narrator was going to drive me nuts, but she was definitely the perfect choice.

Do you like a particular era of history? My two all-time favorites are The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (also fantastic as an audiobook) and Sons & Soldiers by Bruce Henderson.

I thought this one was fascinating! I couldn't believe we haven't heard more of the family when learning American history.