African American Fiction for Young Adults & Teens

Updated May 22, 2025
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There goes the neighborhood
Adia, Jade
Paper Book
Winner of the 2024 Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award A raised fist against the destructive forces of gentrification and a love letter to communities of color everywhere, Jade Adia's unforgettable debut tells the darkly hilarious story of three best friends willing to...
Something kindred
Burch, Ciera
Ebook
Magical realism meets Southern Gothic in this commanding young adult debut from Ciera Burch about true love, the meaning of home, and the choices that haunt us. Welcome to Coldwater. Come for the ghosts, stay for the drama. Jericka Walker had planned to...
Friday I'm in love
Garrett, Camryn
Paper Book
It's too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if Mahalia had a coming-out party? A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, Black joy, and queer pride. "A perfect ode to romantic comedies, wrapped in a dazzling rainbow dress." --Rachael Lippincott, #1 New...
Not about a boy
Hollis, Myah
Ebook
"This debut is a gritty teen drama full of mature themes that unfurl in compassionate ways and will resonate with many readers...Heartbreaking and powerful." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Euphoria meets Girl in Pieces in this coming-of-age story of a girl trying to put a grief-stricken...
Why me? : the Sammy Davis, Jr. story
Davis, Sammy, Jr.
Paper Book
You name it and it sounds as if Sammy Davis Jr. has done it. In this sprawling, revealing, lively second autobiography (following the bestseller Yes, I Can , also coauthored with the Boyars) stories of money, sex, violence, drugs, booze, fame, luxury and extravagance spill out relentlessly....
Blackout
Jackson, Tiffany D.
Paper Book
Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teens in love to this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming novel that shines a bright light through the dark. A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the...
Sun keep rising
Lee, Kristen R.
Paper Book
When rent increases put a teen mom at risk of losing her home, she resorts to a dangerous game to keep her family afloat. But all games have consequences, and this isn't one she can afford to lose. A gripping story about race, income instability, and the strength it takes to survive from a...
Pritty
Miller, Keith F., Jr.
Ebook
2024 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist 2025 Rainbow Book List Concrete Rose meets Things We Couldn't Say in Pritty, a debut novel by Keith F. Miller Jr.--the inspiration behind the forthcoming animated short film of Kickstarter fame--that follows two boys...
Briarcliff Prep
Peppins, Brianna
Paper Book
A 2024 TAYSHAS Reading List selection! Set at a luxe, aspirational boarding school inspired by the author's beloved alma mater Spelman College, this debut is a captivating celebration of the friends we choose, the family we protect, and the love we owe ourselves. It...
Their vicious games
Wellington, Joelle
Ebook
"A brutally honest and haunting cautionary tale...exposing the lie that is meritocracy and the unrelenting toll that being a final girl takes. A bloody tale spun masterfully...a dark delight." --Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, New York Times bestselling author of Ace of Spades
Remember us
Woodson, Jacqueline
Audiobook
National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson brings readers a powerful story that delves deeply into life's burning questions about time and memory and what we take with us into the future. It seems like Sage's whole world is on fire the summer before she starts seventh grade....
Punching the air
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
Paper Book
New York Times and USA Today bestseller * Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor * Walter Award Winner * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Time Magazine Best Book of the Year * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * Shelf Awareness Best Book of...

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