I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - Books that address diversity

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a book that would only be suitable for older, more advanced students due to some questionable content. However, this is a true life memoir of Maya Angelou that describes in great and beautiful detail the hazards of growing up black and female in society a few decades ago. This is a book that takes my breath away every time I read it. Maya Angelou was bounced around the country as she was growing up, from the rural south to the heart of urban Chicago, and was raped by her mother's boyfriend along the way. Her tale of her trials and triumphs is a must read for upper level students, and was reserved for middle school when I read it due to the controversial content. I loved this book when I read it in school, and I bought it while it was in college, along with Maya Angelou's other memoirs. Angelou writes beautifully through all of them, and her prose is moving and poignant. I don't know what I learned from this book. It was a fascinating study of trauma in a young girl's life, and while I couldn't relate to all of it, there's no little girl out there who can't relate to most of the feelings Angelou writes about.