The Shelves

Homelessness & Poverty Books

Evidence-led homelessness & poverty selections grounded in young adult fiction signal quality, reader intent fit, and cross-source metadata agreement.

28 picksLast refreshed 2026-03-03Copy link

1. And Then, Boom!
Lisa Fipps
Fits this list for its focus on poverty.
2. Where I Live
Brenda Rufener
Fits this list for its focus on homelessness.
3. Outrun the Moon
Stacey Lee
Fits this list for its focus on poverty.
4. An Invisible Thread
Laura Schroff, Alex Tresniowski
Included for strong book club alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
5. Find Layla
Meg Elison
Included for strong coming alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
6. Gather
Kenneth M. Cadow
Included for strong book club alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
7. Saving Red
Sonya Sones
Included for strong american alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
8. Split the Sky (coretta Scott King Author Honor Title)
Marie Arnold
Included for strong social alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
9. Where Wolves Don't Die
Anton Treuer
Included for strong first alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
10. Money Hungry (coretta Scott King Author Honor Title)
Sharon Flake, Sharon G. Flake
Fits this list for its focus on poverty.
11. The Corruption of Hollis Brown
K. Ancrum
Included for strong year alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
12. Born Behind Bars
Padma Venkatraman
Included for strong children alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
13. Caprice
Coe Booth
Included for strong middle alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
14. On the Come Up
Angie Thomas
Included for strong juneteenth alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
15. Sun Don't Shine
Crissa-Jean Chappell
Strong fit for this homelessness & poverty list in the runaways lane.
16. Last Chance Joey
Meredith Resce
Included for strong friendship alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
17. Kindness for Weakness
Shawn Goodman
Included for strong adventure alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
18. Everywhere You Don't Belong
Gabriel Bump
Included for strong book club alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
19. Runner
Carl Deuker
Fits this list for its focus on homelessness and poverty.
20. Where the Wildflowers Grow
Terah Shelton Harris
Included for strong book club alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
21. The Life I'm in
Sharon G. Flake
Included for strong stories alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
22. Invisible Child
Andrea Elliott
Fits this list for its focus on poverty.
23. Homecoming
Cynthia Voigt
Included for strong award alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.
24. Dime
E. R. Frank
Included for strong care alignment with this homelessness & poverty list.

Browse Related Genres

young adult fiction juvenile fiction