If you’re looking for how the narrative of future social change is being written, browse the young adult literature section in your local bookstore.

There you will find novels about LGBT issues (Becky Albertalli’s “Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda”), the refugee crisis (Randa Abdel-Fattah’s “The Lines We Cross”), climate change (Marissa Slaven’s “Code Blue”), racism (Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give”), and poverty (Jesse Andrews’ “Munmun”).

And that’s just a start.

Nic Stone is among the leading voices in the effort to raise the civic literacy of young people. Her recent novel, “Dear Martin,” is about a black teen who questions his assumptions about race, identity and justice when he experiences excessive police force first-hand. To explore these issues, the main character writes letters addressed (in spirit) to Dr. Martin Luther King, drawing a line from the Civil Rights era to the current racial struggles in America.

Stone, who has volunteered as a teen mentor in the past, spoke with Giving Compass about her work and the rise of youth-led activism. (You can follow her on Twitter @getnicced.)

GC: What was your experience like mentoring teens and how did it inform your writing?

NC: What’s funny is that I started mentoring teens while I was still a teen myself. At 19, I had a group of seven high school senior girls, and honestly, it was the best possible thing because they listened to me as someone who was “older,” but also trusted me and were open because I wasn’t that much older. What I’ve learned over the years is that all teens really need from adults is affirmation that their feelings and opinions are valid. I try to bring this to bear in my work by letting the teen characters talk and act and make mistakes and fall and get back up like actual teens do. And like I did. Surprise surprise: I was a teen once too.

GC: How can we use storytelling to bring about social change?

The beauty of story is that it lets you examine tough issues through someone else’s eyes, so initially, there’s no direct confrontation, if that makes sense. It also allows us to put actual people in mind. What’s often lost in a newsreel highlight is the humanity of people affected by various tragedies. Stories remind us that we all think and feel and have a personal history — that we’re all human.

GC: Which current organizations led by the energy of young people, such as Black Lives Matters and The March For Our Lives, do you see standing the test of time?

I think movement-based organizations like those are birthed out of necessity. For as long as these movements/organizations are necessary, they will be forces to be reckoned with.

GC: How can we all do better when it comes to living up to the teachings of Dr. King?

In my (mostly) humble estimation, the one thing that truly keeps us from living/being like Dr. King is unexamined fear. Fear of the “other,” fear of what we don’t understand, fear of the unknown, fear of death … In order to live a life of nonviolence, Dr. King had to really and truly get a handle on his fears — our biological response to fear involves either fighting or “flighting,” but Dr. King did neither in the face of everything from death threats to having his house fire-bombed multiple times. This, to me, is evidence of fear mastery. And while I don’t have all the answers re: how we get to that point individually, I can say that what gives me hope is knowing it’s possible.