In Off to See the Sea, a boy is cajoled into bath time, and with his mother’s help and an active imagination, bath time becomes a more whimsical and enjoyable experience.
65 Black Young Adult Novels to Add to Your TBR
A (not by any means exhaustive) list of 65 superb young adult novels by black authors featuring black protagonists. Get stacking!
Review | Happily Ever Afters
In Happily Ever Afters, Tessa Johnson and her family have moved into a new neighborhood, hoping for a fresh start. Tessa will be attending a high school for the arts where she can have dedicated writing classes and be surrounded by other creative kids. Her brother Miles, has disabilities due to a form of cerebral palsy and Tessa looks after him a lot of the time. Tessa also enjoys creating love stories, which her best friend Caroline (and only Caroline so far) reads and enjoys.
As she starts at the new school, She reluctantly cultivates a relationship with Sam, the culinary arts kid who lives next door. But when Tessa attends her first creative writing workshop, she develops a crush on Nic, a guy in her class, as well as a major case of writer’s block mostly due to her severe anxiety around sharing her work with others.
Review | Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
I was a bit scared to read Jackson’s Grown, because I’ve read both of her books and they were absorbing, but difficult to read. I was worried about getting my head into a potentially triggering plot, but I survived. At a singing audition, 17-year-old Enchanted Jones catches the eye of superstar musician Korey Fields, who is 28. Korey promises her a future in music and the starstruck teen is quickly swept into an illicit relationship with drugs and abuse. That is until Korey Fields is found dead with Enchanted on the scene and all fingers pointing at her.
58 Black Middle-Grade Books
Black middle-grade books are a rarity. Trust me, in sourcing the books for this book list, it was hard to find recommendations. Many recommendations were also historical fiction, which is good and well, but not always my jam.
Sometimes Black people and Africans need books about mundane issues. So whether it’s books about female friendships or even about food — sign me up. In this list of Black middle-grade books, you’ll find only books by Black authors featuring Black protagonists.
REVIEW | DOUGH BOYS
Paula Chase’s Dough Boys is an emotion-charged middle-grade novel about two boys navigating their changing friendship while caught up with a local drug ring.
