I have loved Kalynn Bayron’s work since she published Cinderella is Dead. Recently she moved to middle grade fiction with the Vanquishers series about a new breed of vampire hunters. Now Bayron has turned the page again and we have Olive Oakes, detective extraordinaire. Olive is looking for mysteries in every part of her life, …
Language as Liberation: Reflections on the American Canon by Toni Morrison is a masterclass lecture collection from her tenure as a professor at Princeton University. She interrogates America’s most famous works and authors, and the way their black characters shaped the nation’s collective unconscious, and helped manufacturer American racial identity. A timely read for Black History …
Palaver centers on the relationship between a queer Black man living in Japan and his mother, who unexpectedly visits from the US. The book explores the hurt we accumulate and carry with us as adults. It looks at the difficulties of tending to that hurt while living our day-to-day lives and the hard work of …
From Secret Garden Books in Seattle, WA: Describe your book [The Tiny Things Are Heavier] in 3 words. Seeking. Hoping. Loving. What element of this book (character/scene/setting) came to you first? Sommy, the novel’s protagonist, came first. What inspired you to write about class in Nigeria? I come from a lineage of postcolonial writers—Achebe, Emecheta, …
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty follows Feyi’s journey to find love years after a traumatizing accident upends her life. Decadent food descriptions and a lavish background make this book […] so hard to put down. –Alex, Browsers Books, Olympia, WA Treat yourself to books you can’t put down from Browsers Books …
Laniah and Issac have been best friends since childhood, and it seems like everyone knows they’re meant for each other– except themselves. Issac, now a famous model, needs to pump up his reputation, and Laniah needs a boost in sales for her family-run hair care business. As one does, the two decide to forge a …
A Middle Grade gem. There are 96 reasons why 13-year-old Genesis dislikes herself and she really can’t do anything about any of them. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t willing to try. You’ll find yourself worrying over her choices and then cheering her on as she discovers new strengths and talents. — Karen, Annie Bloom’s …
This is one of those rare novels whose Young Adult designation belies its appeal across generations. Starr Carter moves in two worlds – her home in a poor Black neighborhood, and the privileged suburban school she attends. She loves both, but feels weary of living with two versions of herself. Then her unarmed childhood friend, …
I think March should be required reading in all American high schools. It’s a historical graphic novel about the civil rights movement and the life of John Lewis. Nate Powell’s stark black and white illustrations and John Lewis’s words create an evocative and immersive experience that would be difficult (if not impossible) to achieve in …
Shout out to an author we’re thrilled about: Percival Everett! Not only is the adaptation of his novel Erasure (“American Fiction”) up for an Academy Award, but we are so excited for the release of his latest novel James [available March 19, 2024]! Told from the perspective of Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it …
