This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed: 

Noor Khan’s life takes a reset when her Dad suddenly leaves the family.  She’s forced to go to another school in another part of Chicago.  At the new school, she takes opposition to the banning of books (or ‘book boundaries’) in the library.  A high school protest led by her goes statewide and also puts her life in danger.  

It’s a YA book with a serious message: this is happening now in America.  Unfortunately, this message is muddied with the tropes of teen literature: families, dates and study.  Ahmed’s focus seems to be on that, rather than the contemporary issues.  See also, the change in tone in the final third when the polemical style of the book becomes epistolary.  

Ultimately, this is a book about banned books (all the titles Noor reads are all ‘under review’ in some states).  It won’t stop the insanity of censorship disguising itself as safeguarding, but teenage audiences will love its passion.  It’s published by Little Brown on May 2nd and I thank them for a preview copy.