In this young adult adaptation of the Oprah Book Club selection and New York Times bestselling nonfiction work, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson explores the unspoken hierarchies that divide us across lines of race and class. Revealing and timely, this work will speak to young people who are engaged more than ever with the world around them, or to anyone who believes in a more just existence for all.
Readers will be fascinated by this young adult adaptation of the New York Times bestselling nonfiction work as they follow masterful narratives about real people that reveal an insidious phenomenon in the United States: a hidden caste system. Caste is not only about race or class; it is about power—which groups have it and which do not. Isabel Wilkerson explores historical social hierarchies, including those in India and Nazi Germany, and explains how perpetuating these rankings dehumanizes vast sections of society. Once we learn the reasons behind caste and see the often heartbreaking effects, Wilkerson says, we can bridge the divides and make way for an inclusive future where we are all equal.
Isabel Wilkerson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal, is the author of the bestseller The Warmth of Other Suns and of Caste. She has taught at Princeton, Emory, and Boston universities and has lectured at more than two hundred other colleges and universities across the United States and in Europe and Asia. Visit her online at IsabelWilkerson.com and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
★ "A thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis for readers ready to change the world.” —Booklist, starred review
"With easy-to-digest storytelling and elaborate metaphors embedded in extensive research, Wilkerson challenges readers to resist validating any semblance of hierarchy and to refer to history as a pathway for eradicating its stronghold. Compelling and accessible for a younger generation energized to build a better world." —Kirkus Reviews
"This in-depth exploration pulls ugly secrets out of the shadows and gives name and shape to the 'caste pyramid.' Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson's groundbreaking work is enlighteningly and accessibly adapted for young adult readers." —Shelf Awareness
