There are so many amazing books written by Black authors, and to celebrate Black History Month I thought it would be fun to share 5 Young Adult books that I highly recommend reading!
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
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The Hate U Give became one of the biggest books in the YA genre immediately upon its release on February 28th, 2017. The story follows 16-year-old Starr Carter, whose life is split between two worlds. She lives in Garden Heights, a poor neighborhood struck with gangs, but attends a prep school with predominantly White people. One day, she witnesses her friend Khalil get fatally shot in front of her by a police officer, and the balance between these worlds shatters. His death goes viral and protests erupt, demanding justice, while others try to label him a “thug” and justify his death. Starr is the only one who knows the truth of what happened that night, and she has to decide if she can come forward with it and put herself in the public eye. It’s a powerful story and reflects a very real struggle that Black people face. Following in the wake of the #BlackLivesMatter movement last year, it highlights police brutality and injustice against Black people, which is an extremely relevant issue. Angie Thomas also recently released a prequel novel, Concrete Rose, which follows Starr’s father, Maverick, giving even more insight into the world of Garden Heights and Starr’s family.
- You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
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You Should See Me In A Crown follows Liz Lightly, who feels too Black, poor, and awkward to fit into her small, rich, midwestern hometown of Campbell, Indiana. She plans to finally get out by attending Pennington College, with plans to become a doctor, until her financial aid falls through. In order to still attend Pennington, she decides to try and win the scholarship money that her town offers to the prom king and queen. She fears the spotlight, the social media trolls, and the public events, but is willing to do anything. Along the way, she meets a new girl, Mack, who is just as much of an outsider as Liz. Mack, however, is also running for prom queen, and Liz is starting to fall for her. If you like cute contemporary romcom stories, you should definitely read You Should See Me in a Crown.
- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
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Clap When You Land is a story told entirely in verse that follows two sisters who don’t know of each other’s existence. Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic, where her father visits her every summer. On the day he is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to find it full of crowds of crying people. Yaharia Rios, who is living in New York City, soon gets called into the principal’s office where her mom is waiting to tell her that her father has died. The girls now have to deal with the loss of their father, and the discovery of each other. Personally, I’m not a big fan of poetry, but I thought the writing in this book was so unique and not difficult to read at all. So even if poetry isn’t your thing, I think it’s worth reading!
- Children of Blood and Bone-Tomi Adeyemi
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If you’re into fantasy, Children of Blood and Bone is the book for you. Influenced by Adeyemi’s West African heritage, it takes place in Orïsha, a world once full of magic, until it suddenly vanished one night. Now, the kingdom is under the rule of a king, who orders for all magic wielders to be killed, including Zélie’s mother. Zélie is presented with a plan to bring magic back and defeat the monarchy, but she must run away from the kingdom with her brother and a rogue princess in order to find the objects needed to perform a ritual. All the while, they must outrun the prince, who is determined to get rid of all magic.
- Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
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Felix Ever After follows Felix Love, a transgender teen who is grappling with his identity and his self-discovery, all while falling in love for the first time. Even though he’s proud of who he is, he fears he’s one marginalization too many (being Black, queer, and transgender) to ever find true love. When an anonymous student begins sending transphobic messages and posting Felix’s deadname and photos from before his transition, Felix begins to plan revenge. What he didn’t expect was for this situation to bring him into a love triangle. As he navigates his feelings, he starts a journey of self-discovery that leads him to question and redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.
So, those are my top 5 book recommendations for Black History Month- I hope at least one has caught your interest. Happy reading!