New and Recommended Young Adult Books to celebrate Black History MonthUnpublished

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Chronicling the story of the last Africans brought illegally to America in 1860, African Town is a powerful and stunning novel-in-verse. In 1860, long after the United States outlawed the importation of enslaved laborers, 110 men, women and children from Benin and Nigeria...

The saga of the Logan family--made famous in the Newbery Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry--concludes in a long-awaited and deeply fulfilling story. In her tenth book, Mildred Taylor completes her sweeping saga about the Logan family of Mississippi, which is also...

From the acclaimed author of Flygirl andthe bestselling author of Code Name Verity comes the thrilling and inspiring true story of the desegregation of the skies. "This beautiful and brilliant history of not only what it means to be Black and dream of flying but...

*"A powerful, necessary book." SLJ, starred review A powerful, impactful, eye-opening journey that explores through the Civil Rights Movement in 1950s-1960s America in spare and evocative verse, with historical photos interspersed throughout. In stunning verse...

Attucks! is true story of the all-black high school basketball team that broke the color barrier in segregated 1950s Indiana, masterfully told by National Book Award winner Phil Hoose. By winning the state high school basketball championship in 1955, ten teens from an...

Adapted from the adult memoir by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Water Dancer and Between the World and Me, this father-son story explores how boys become men, and quite specifically, how Ta-Nehisi Coates became Ta-Nehisi Coates. As a child,...

A searing new work of nonfiction from award-winning author Brandy Colbert about the history and legacy of one of the most deadly and destructive acts of racial violence in American history: the Tulsa Race Massacre. Winner, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. In the early morning of June 1, 1921,...

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today--Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it's like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the ...

A William C. Morris Award Finalist "Brown has written a guidebook of survival and wonder."--The New York Times "Just brilliant."--Kirkus Reviews Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited...

Nova Albright was going to be the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High--but now she's dead. Murdered on coronation night. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Other Black Girl will love this unputdownable thriller. Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming...

A searing debut YA poetry and essay collection about a Black cancer patient who faces medical racism after being diagnosed with leukemia in their early twenties, for fans of Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals and Laurie Halse Anderson's Shout. When Walela is...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A COSMOPOLITAN BEST YA BOOK OF THE YEAR A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical. Enroll in...

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller! "Deonn expertly weaves together a universe that both shines a light on the pervasive nature of racism and also harnesses the complexity of Black identity within this space. Deonn writes so much more than simple fantasies or Arthurian...

Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter is a broad and powerful exploration of the history of Black Lives Matter told through photographs, quotes, and informative text by New York Times bestselling authors Veronica Chambers and Jennifer Harlan. In this essential history, New...

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER * INSTANT INDIE BESTSELLER "A phenomenon." ―Entertainment Weekly Featuring gorgeous designed edges, dazzling metallic foil designs on the jacket and case, and...

In 1955, a Black family passes for white and moves to a "Whites Only" town in the suburbs. Caught between two worlds, a teen boy puts his family at risk as he uncovers racist secrets about his suburb. A new social justice thriller from the acclaimed author of This Is My America!

Discovering Black America offers readers an unprecedented account of more than 400 years of African American history set against a background of American and global events. The book begins with a black sailor aboard the Niña with Christopher Columbus and continues through the...

A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR . " A high-stakes story packed with slow-burn pining and plentiful tension."-Publishers Weekly, starred review A cunning teen memory merchant falls for the handsome rookie officer on her tail in...

From the New York Times-bestselling author of All Boys Aren't Blue comes an empowering set of essays about Black and Queer icons from the Harlem Renaissance. In Flamboyants, George M. Johnson celebrates writers, performers, and activists from 1920s...

Booklist Editors' Choice WINNER of the Russell Freedman Award for Non-Fiction for a Better World Knowledge is power. The secret is this. Knowledge, applied at the right time and place, is more than power. It's magic. ...

Ghost Roast delivers a paranormal adventure full of first crushes, lost histories, and the impossible task of fitting in when your dad is a professional ghosthunter. A stand-alone YA graphic novel from authors Shawneé and Shawnelle Gibbs and artist Emily Cannon! For as long...

Hidden Human Computers discusses how in the 1950s, black women made critical contributions to NASA by performing calculations that made it possible for the nation's astronauts to fly into space and return safely to Earth. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential...

The #1 New York Times bestseller that sparked international dialogue is now a book for young adults! Based on the adult bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, and co-authored by bestselling author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way forward...

The killing of Emmett Till is widely remembered today as one of the most famous examples of lynchings in America. African American children in 1955 personally felt the terror of his murder. These children, however, would rise up against the culture that made Till's death possible. From the...

Did you know that many of America's Founding Fathers--who fought for liberty and justice for all--were slave owners? Through the powerful stories of five enslaved people who were "owned" by four of our greatest presidents, this book helps set the record straight about the role...

They tell me to "fix" my hair. And by fix, they mean straighten, they mean whiten; but how do you fix this shipwrecked history of hair? In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the...

WINNER OF THE 2024 PULITZER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY A finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award | Named one of the ten best books of 2023 by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Time A New York Times...

A graphic novel biography of the escaped slave, abolitionist, public speaker, and most photographed man of the nineteenth century, based on his autobiographical writings and speeches, spotlighting the key events and people that shaped the life of this great American. Recently...

This YA biography-in-verse of six important Black Americans from different eras, including Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, chronicles the diverse ways each fought racism and shows how much-and how little-has changed for Black...

In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This gothic YA remix of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde subverts the cishet white perspective of the original,...

"Permit me to lay at your feet the following genuine Narrative . . ." Olaudah Equiano was a writer and abolitionist whose autobiography, The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, captured the attention of British readers at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. The...

Can you be a hero...if society doesn't see you as a person? Nubia has always been a little bit...different. As a baby she showcased Amazonian-like strength by pushing over a tree to rescue her neighbor's cat. But despite her having similar abilities, the world has no problem...

"A rich, thoughtful anthology exploring centuries of Black poetry." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This deep and complex assemblage of Black poetry culminates in a joyful, painful, and emotionally rich experience." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "An eclectic mix of Black...

Renowned American astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi (born James Plummer) pens a gripping, gritty coming-of-age memoir, from young boy to graduate-school student, that will resonate with teenagers, especially those of color, who are facing many choices and obstacles as they navigate their young adult...

A National Book Award Finalist A Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor Book A Michael L. Printz Honor Book A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book With passion and precision, Kekla Magoon relays an essential account of the Black...

In the spring of 1992, after a jury returned not guilty verdicts in the trial of four police officers charged in the brutal beating of a Black man, Rodney King, Los Angeles was torn apart. Thousands of fires were set, causing more than a billion dollars in damage. In neighborhoods abandoned by...

"My twin, Lamar, is a phenomenal innovative storyteller... A true king!" -- Tiffany D. Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Grown and The Weight of Blood Sometimes a little fear is a good thing... Cade Webster lives between worlds. He's a...

From Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author of Yummy G. Neri comes an epic journey across the South Side of Chicago for Darius, his little sister Cissy, and his best friend Booger as they set out to find an armored truck that has lost a payload of cash. Fifteen-year-old...

Don't miss this "fresh and conversational" (TIME Magazine), "potent and provocative" (The San Francisco Chronicle), #1 New York Times bestselling exploration of racism--and antiracism--in America. ...

Meet five amazing Black ballerinas from The Dance Theater of Harlem, including some of the founding members. They broke barriers and made history in the world of classical dance, at a time when racism shut out Black dancers from major dance companies. A young adult adaptation of...

"Incredible and searing." --Nic Stone, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin The Hate U Give meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting first novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system....

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Winner "An engaging and accessible account" for young readers about the Freedom Riders who led the landmark 1961 protests against segregation on buses (School Library Journal)   On May 4, 1961, a group of...

A Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner A New York Times Bestseller Seven starred reviews! "Jason Reynolds has done it again!...Fresh from start to finish...This is what it could be, should be, if only we were all as lucky as Aria. Girls (and...

Inspired by stories about the real-world Great Dismal Swamp, this acclaimed fantasy explores alternate history, a family's supernatural connections to the swamp, and the strength that comes in knowing your roots. ★ "A fierce, loving, and exquisite humanity...

Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award  New York Times bestselling author Michael Eric Dyson and critically acclaimed author Marc Favreau show how racial inequality permeates every facet of American society, through the...

New memoir from George M. Johnson, the New York Times bestselling author of All Boys Aren't Blue--a "deeply impactful" (Nic Stone), "striking and joyful" (Laurie Halse Anderson), and "stunning read" (Publishers Weekly, starred) that celebrates Black boyhood and...

Performance poet Sophia Thakur offers a powerful new collection touching on intergenerational relationships, finding your voice, and what it means to be a woman. In her heartfelt second poetry collection, Sophia Thakur takes us on an emotionally charged journey through the lives...