Increasingly students are concerned with larger global issues and this is reflected in a spate of popular YA novels that are currently engaging with issues of race, gender and economic equality combined with an idea of social justice activism to a degree rarely glimpsed before. These books are connecting to the goals and philosophies of movements such as Black Lives Matter, the #MeToo movement and increasing concern regarding gun violence and environmental issues. This conversation explores how such texts are inspiring young activists in search of a blueprint for social change and what that mean for our future.