All the Things We Never Knew by
When they meet for the first time at a high school basketball tournament, Carli and Rex have an immediate connection. While Rex is ESPN's high school basketball player of the year, Carli wants to quit basketball. As the two draw closer, family secrets, basketball, and disappointments complicate their budding romance.
Black Birds in the Sky by
Chronicles the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 1, 1921 when a white mob entered the predominantly black neighborhood of Greenwood and destroyed thirty-five blocks of houses and businesses with fire and explosives. Describes what led up to the event, the resurgence in white supremacy groups, the pervasive jealousy of black prosperity, and the devastating aftermath for the black community. Explains why so little is known about it, and how it fits into the larger struggle for civil rights and equality for black Americans.
Black Enough by
Collects seventeen stories that detail what it's like to be young and black in a diverse America. "In these stories, black kids are nerds and geeks, gay and lesbian, first-gen and immigrants, outdoorsy and artists, conflicted and confused, grieving and succeeding, thriving and surviving--in short, they're fully human."
Children of Blood and Bone by
They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise. Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.
Color Me In by
Growing up in an affluent suburb of New York City, sixteen-year-old Nevaeh Levitz never thought much about her biracial roots. When her Black mom and Jewish dad split up, she relocates to her mom's family home in Harlem and is forced to confront her identity for the first time. Nevaeh wants to get to know her extended family, but because she inadvertently passes as white, her cousin thinks she's too privileged, pampered, and selfish to relate to the injustices African Americans face on a daily basis. In the meantime, Nevaeh's dad decides that she should have a belated bat mitzvah instead of a sweet sixteen, which guarantees social humiliation at her posh private school. But rather than take a stand, Nevaeh does what she's always done when life gets complicated: she stays silent.Only when Nevaeh stumbles upon a secret from her mom's past, finds herself falling in love, and sees firsthand the prejudice her family faces that she begins to realize she has her own voice. And choices. Will she continue to let circumstances dictate her path? Or will she decide once for all who and where she is meant to be?
Concrete Rose by
Seventeen-year-old Maverick "Mav" Carter begins dealing drugs for the King Lords as a way to help support his family while his father is in jail. When he learns that his girlfriend is pregnant, his focus shifts and he tries to make a clean break from drug dealing. However, a loved one's murder makes it difficult to forget his old ties, and he must figure out for himself the meaning of loyalty, manhood, and responsibility.
Dread Nation by
When the dead begin to walk again, America's future changes in an instant. Jane McKeene is being trained to be an Attendant, a woman who protects the well-to-do from zombies, but that is not the future that Jane wants for herself. Soon Jane finds herself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy fighting for her life against some dangerous enemies.
Dreamland Burning by
In the present, seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase discovers a skeleton on her family's property that dates back to the 1921 Tulsa race riots. In the past, a single violent encounter propels seventeen-year-old Will Tillman into a firestorm of violence against blacks chaffing under the Jim Crow laws. What Will does next affects Rowan's present.
Every Body Looking by
Growing up with a Nigerian father and a drug-addicted mother leaves seventeen-year-old Ada with emotional scares she only begins to unpack when she leaves home for college in Washington D.C. Told in flashback scenes of her childhood, Ada comes to grip with the trauma inflicted by her absent mother, the pressures put on her by her strict father, and the sexual abuse suffered at the hands of male relatives. Through dance, Ada explores life outside of her family, learns who she is, and defines who she wants to be.
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by
An obsessive, list-making high school senior named Quinn loses her journal with deeply personal lists and is being blackmailed by an anonymous Instagram poster to complete a list of fears or the whole journal will be made public. Quinn's crush Carter offers to help her complete the tasks and find the journal, and helps her gain the courage to be honest and take risks.
The Fire This Time by
A collection of eighteen essays, memoir pieces, and poems addressing race in the United States and written in response to James Baldwin's 1962 "Letter to My Nephew" in which the author lamented that 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, it felt like African Americans were celebrating too soon.
Happily Ever Afters by
Aspiring romance novel writer Tessa Johnson is thrilled to be accepted into the creative writing program at well-known art school. As soon as the sixteen-year-old enters the program, however, she experiences writer's block. Her best friend suggests she get out of the conundrum by living out a real-life romance with brooding fellow artist, Nico. As she pursues the fairy tale relationship, she wonders if in the process she'll be losing real-life happiness.
Little and Lion by
Sixteen-year-old Suzette has returned to Los Angeles for the summer after being away at boarding school. Happy to be back with her racially blended family--Suzette and her mother are black, while her father and brother Lionel are white--Suzette is anxious to spend time with her old friends and help her brother who has been struggling with bipolar disorder. When Lionel confides that he's going off his medication, Suzette is afraid that telling anyone will destroy their relationship. To make matters worse, Suzette finds herself falling for the same girl Lionel has feelings for.
Love Is a Revolution by
Nala Robertson reluctantly agrees to go outside her comfort zone to an open mic night with her friend Imani for her birthday, but finds herself falling for the cute emcee Tye Brown. Unfortunately, Nala has almost nothing in common with Tye--where she loves watching movies and trying out fun new flavors of ice cream, Tye loves doing activist work over the summer.
Not So Pure and Simple by
Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church, Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge.
His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed.
With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once he gets the girl, it’ll all sort itself out. Right?
Pride by
In this reimagining of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," teenager Zuri Benitez is deeply proud of her Afro-Latino roots in their Brooklyn neighborhood, and is disappointed as she watches Bushwick gentrify. And when the wealthy Darcy family moves in, Zuri wants nothing to do with them, especially their two teenage sons, even though her older sister, Janae, falls for the charming Ainsley. The other brother, Darius, is especially obnoxious, but her dislike shifts into understanding and even affection.
A Phoenix First Must Burn by
A collection of sixteen stories of fantasy, science fiction, and magic featuring black and gender non-conforming characters.
The Silence of Our Friends by
A New York Times-bestselling graphic novel based on the true story of two families—one white and one black—who find common ground as the civil rights struggle heats up in Texas.
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Solo by
Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming Blade will become just like his father.
In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them. And songwriting is all Blade has left after Rutherford, while drunk, crashes his high school graduation speech and effectively rips Chapel away forever. But when a long-held family secret comes to light, the music disappears. In its place is a letter, one that could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift.
The Voting Booth by
Marva Sheridan is excited to vote in her first election; Duke Crenshaw just wants to get voting over so that he can get to his band's first paying gig. When Marva sees Duke turned away from their polling place, she's determined to see his vote counted. They cut school, rush from precinct to precinct, and wait in endless lines just to get Duke registered to vote. Over the course of one day, the two strangers find they have more in common than just a passion for democracy.
When You Look Like Us by
When you look like us—brown skin, brown eyes, black braids or fades—everyone else thinks you’re trouble. No one even blinks twice over a missing black girl from public housing because she must’ve brought whatever happened to her upon herself. I, Jay Murphy, can admit that, for a minute, I thought my sister Nicole just got caught up with her boyfriend—a drug dealer—and his friends. But she’s been gone too long. Nic, where are you?
