Read Woke Challenge: Home

What is Read Woke?

Read Woke is a reading challenge started by School Librarian Cicely Lewis with the intent of encouraging her students to experience the voices of authors and characters from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. According to Lewis, a read woke book must:

• Challenge a social norm
• Give voice to the voiceless
• Provide information about a group that has been disenfranchised
• Seek to challenge the status quo
• Have a protagonist from an underrepresented or oppressed group.

The challenge has expanded from the school library into a nation-wide effort. The Saratoga Springs Public Library is encouraging our community members to participate in the challenge by reading some of the suggested titles we've compiled here.