Black Voices & Culture: Books for Teens

Updated January 3, 2024
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Cool. Awkward. Black.
Karen Strong
Paper Book
Real or imaginary, geekdom is where it's at in this multi-genre YA anthology that celebrates "the geek," with stories by some of today's top bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors. Contributors include Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Terry J. Benton-Walker, Roseanne A. Brown,...
You're not supposed to die tonight
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
Instant New York Times bestseller! At Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night? This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street...
The talk
Bell, Darrin
Paper Book
Winner of the NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Graphic Novels Winner of an Alex Award from the American Library Association Winner of the Libby Award for Best Comic/Graphic Novel of the Year Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in Nonfiction ...
Blood debts. [online electronic book]
Benton-Walker, Terry J.
Ebook
GODS MEDDLE AND MAGIC WILL BETRAY YOU, BUT THIS TIME JUSTICE WILL REIGN. Terry J. Benton-Walker's contemporary fantasy debut, Blood Debts, is "an extravaganza from start to finish" (Chloe Gong) with powerful magical families, intergenerational curses, and deadly drama in...
Songs of Irie
Bromfield, Asha
Paper Book
"A devastating and nuanced look at two teens' battle for freedom, hope, independence, and love." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) Perfect for fans of The Black Kids, Songs of Irie is a sweeping coming-of-age novel from Asha Bromfield about a budding...
Promise boys
Brooks, Nick
Paper Book
Promise Boys is a blockbuster, dark academia mystery about three teens of color who must investigate their principal's murder to clear their own names. This page-turning thriller is perfect for fans of Karen McManus, Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Holly Jackson<...
Black girl unlimited : [online electronic book] the remarkable story of a teenag
Brown, Echo.
Ebook
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...
Blackout [sound recording] /
NULL
Audiobook
The Blackwoods
Colbert, Brandy
Paper Book
From Boston Globe/Horn Book Award-winning author Brandy Colbert comes the story of four generations of a Hollywood family--an unforgettable tale of ambition, fame, struggle, loss, and love in America. The Blackwoods. Everyone knows their name. Blossom Blackwood burst onto the silver...
Legendborn.
Deonn, Tracy.
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn's YA contemporary fantasy reinvents the King Arthur legend and "braids...
Zyla & Kai
Forest, Kristina
Paper Book
A fresh love story about the will they, won't they--and why can't they--of first love.  While on a school trip to the Poconos Mountains (in the middle of a storm) high school seniors, Zyla Matthews and Kai Johnson, run away together leaving their friends and...
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...
The getaway
Giles, Lamar
Paper Book
"Timely, thrilling, and gripping from start to finish. An absolute page-turner." --Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying Jay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world's most famous resorts. He's got his family,...
We Deserve Monuments
Hammonds, Jas
Paper Book
"An absolute must read." --Buzzfeed "A gripping portrayal of the South's inherent racism and a love story for queer Black girls." --Teen Vogue Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery...
Raybearer
Ifueko, Jordan
Paper Book
Fans of Sabaa Tahir and Tomi Adeyemi won't want to miss Raybearer, an instant New York Times bestselling fantasy from breakout YA sensation Jordan Ifueko!   Named one of the best books of the year by People magazine, Buzzfeed, New York...
Every body looking. [online electronic audiobook]
Iloh, Candice
Audiobook
A Finalist for the National Book Award When Ada leaves home for her freshman year at a Historically Black College, it's the first time she's ever been so far from her family--and the first time that she's been able to make her own choices and to seek her place in this new...
All boys aren't blue : a memoir-manifesto
Johnson, George M.
Paper Book
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue explores their childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. A New York Times Bestseller! Good Morning America,...
Invisible son
Johnson, Kim
Paper Book
From the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of This Is My Americacomes another thriller about a wrongly accused teen desperate to recclaim both his innocence and his first love. Life can change in an instant. When you're wrongfully accused of a crime.
You should see me in a crown
Johnson, Leah (Young adult author)
Paper Book
A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time A Stonewall Honor Book A Reese's Book Club YA Pick Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a...
African Town
Latham, Irene
Paper Book
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...
Revolution in our time : the Black Panther Party's promise to the people
Magoon, Kekla
Paper Book
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...
The Davenports
Marquis, Krystal
Paper Book
*Instant New York Times Bestseller* The Davenports delivers a totally escapist, swoon-worthy romance while offering a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked. "The perfect read for fans of escapist historical fiction." --NBC...
We are all so good at smiling
McBride, Amber
Paper Book
They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride. Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of...
A song below water
Morrow, Bethany C.
Paper Book
Bethany C. Morrow's A Song Below Water is the story for today's readers -- a captivating modern fantasy about Black sirens, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today's racism and sexism. In a society determined to keep her under lock and...
Ain't burned all the bright [sound recording (CD)] /
Reynolds, Jason
Audiobook
All American boys
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children's Literature. In this Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winning novel, two teens--one black, one white--grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that...
Long way down.
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A Newbery Honor Book A Coretta Scott King Honor Book A Printz Honor Book A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature Longlisted for the National...
Stamped : racism, antiracism, and you
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
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. ...
Dear Martin
Stone, Nic
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD FINALIST * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME   After a traffic stop turns violent at the hands of the police, a young Black teen grapples with racism--and what it means for his future....
Concrete rose
Thomas, Angie
Paper Book
International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood. A Printz Honor Book! If there's one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it's that a real man...
The hate u give. [kit]
Thomas, Angie
Paper Book
8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best  ·  William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller! "Absolutely riveting!" --Jason Reynolds "Stunning." -...
Burn down, rise up /
Tirado, Vincent
Paper Book
The 2023 Pura Belpré Award-winning young adult novel! Mysterious disappearances. An urban legend rumored to be responsible. And one group of friends determined to save their city at any cost. Stranger Things meets Jordan Peele in this acclaimed novel from an incredible new voice. ...
Their vicious games
Wellington, Joelle
Paper Book
"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
Caste : the origins of our discontents. /
Wilkerson, Isabel.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES READERS PICK: 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * "An instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far."--Dwight Garner, The New York Times
A sitting in St. James
Williams-Garcia, Rita
Paper Book
Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award! 7 starred reviews! "Monumental." --Booklist (starred review) * "A marathon masterpiece."--Kirkus (starred review) * "Necessary."--SLJ (starred review) * "Shocking and dramatic."--Shelf Awareness (starred review) * "Mesmerizing,...
Young, gifted and black : [online electronic book] meet 52 black heroes from pas
Wilson, Jamia, 1980-
Ebook
"...to be revisited again and again...The candy-colored pages and straightforward stories are hard to resist..." -The New York Times "...diverse collection of iconic figures...vibrantly illustrated...beautifully crafted volume..." -Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review<...
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...
Black Enough Stories of Being Young & Black in America
Zoboi, Ibi.
Ebook
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 ...

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