Join us in celebrating Women’s History Month! Today, we want to feature ten recent or forthcoming books authored by award-winning black women authors that really must go on your 2018 reading lists! This list of novels, memoirs, and other works are characterized by their honest narratives and fearlessness in the face of controversy. We hope you’ll be able to pick up one or more of these books, not just this month, but throughout this year, so you can see why these books have been lauded by many prestigious national awards.

 

Nonfiction Picks:

 

This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins

Recognition: A New York Times Best Seller, February 2018 Indie Next List, and listed as a “Most Anticipated Book of 2018” by Esquire, Vogue, Elle, Nylon, and many others.

I decided to start this list with Morgan Jerkins’s This Will Be My Undoing because of how raw her narrative is. Jerkins is not scared of not only dissecting the treatment of blackness in our society, but also dissecting how this treatment affected her as a girl. Jerkins walks the reader through her life, from when she brutally admits why she once attempted to conceal her blackness during cheerleading tryouts, to when she began to accept her blackness and take on the weight of what that means for her after she found out she was rejected from the team and called a racial slur for even attempting to try out.

Publisher description: “Morgan Jerkins is only in her late twenties but that has not stopped her from tackling controversial topics such as: what does it mean to live, be, and exist as a black woman today? Jerkins welcomes a conversation for not only black women, but also for all Americans. Doubly disenfranchised by race and gender, often deprived of a place within the mostly white mainstream feminist movement, black women are objectified, silenced, and marginalized with devastating consequences, in ways both obvious and subtle, that are rarely acknowledged in our country’s larger discussion about inequality.”

 

 

We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union

Recognition: A New York Times Best Seller, two 2017 NAACP Outstanding Literary Work nominations, November 2017 Indie Next List, and praise by Mindy Kaling.

If you’ve binge watched 10 Things I Hate About You or Bring It On (like I have), you may recognize Gabrielle Union from her roles in those movies. In We’re Going to Need More Wine, Union discusses how she has had to navigate her life in the public eye as a black woman. Most importantly though, Union also opens herself up when talking about her own experience as a sexual violence victim and survivor. According to the New York Times, Union did not hold back when discussing her experiences during her book tour talks. As a result, many men and women felt comfortable to open up to her about their own personal experiences during Union’s tour.

Publisher description: “One month before the release of the highly anticipated film The Birth of a Nation, actress Gabrielle Union shook the world with a vulnerable and impassioned editorial in which she urged our society to have compassion for victims of sexual violence. In the wake of rape allegations made against director and actor Nate Parker, Union…instantly became the insightful, outspoken actress that Hollywood has been desperately awaiting….Union uses that same fearlessness to tell astonishingly personal and true stories about power, color, gender, feminism, and fame. Union tackles a range of experiences, including bullying, beauty standards, and competition between women in Hollywood, growing up in white California suburbia and then spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska, coping with crushes, puberty, and the divorce of her parents.”

 

 

 

Fiction Picks:

 

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Recognition: Winner of the National Book Award for fiction , New York Times Top 2017 Books, Time Magazine’s Novel of 2017, Publisher’s Weekly Top 10 of 2017, and many others.

Jesmyn Ward is the first woman to have won two National Book Awards in the fiction category: first for Salvage the Bones in 2011, and then in 2017 for her newest, Sing, Unburied, Sing. The National Book Award, in my opinion, is one of the most prestigious awards (if not the most) in the U.S. This being said, I believe that one of the many reasons this novel has done so well is because of its unique magical realist narrative.

Publisher description: “This singular American writer brings the archetypal road novel into rural twenty-first-century America. An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, Sing, Unburied, Sing journeys through Mississippi’s past and present, examining the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power–and limitations–of family bonds.

 

 

What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons

Recognition: National Book Foundation Honoree (2017), NBCC John Leonard First Book Prize Finalist (2017), and named Best Book of the Year 2017 by Vogue, NPR, Elle, Esquire, Buzzfeed, and so many more.

Zinzi Clemmons, a 2017 Texas Book Festival author, presents a stunning novel about a young African American woman’s coming of age. Clemmons gives her novel such a distinct voice that makes it feel almost like a memoir. I think most importantly though, Clemmons creates a space where one can explore the concepts of being multi-racial and/or multi-cultural. Whether one identifies as such or not, Clemmons walks the reader through her protagonist’s struggle with finding that perfect balance between her identities–something many first generation and second generation immigrants in America can understand.

Publisher description: “Raised in Pennsylvania, Thandi is an outsider wherever she goes, caught between being black and white, American and not. She tries to connect these dislocated pieces of her life, and as her mother succumbs to cancer, Thandi searches for an anchor–someone, or something, to love. The reader watches Thandi’s life unfold, from losing her mother and learning to live without the person who has most profoundly shaped her existence, to her own encounters with romance and unexpected motherhood. Through exquisite and emotional vignettes, Clemmons creates a stunning portrayal of what it means to choose to live, after loss.”

 

 

 

Young Adult Picks:

 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Recognition: William C. Morris 2018 Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Book Award, National Book Award Longlist, #1 New York Times Bestseller, just to name a few.

I am really excited to talk about this novel. I first heard of it a couple weeks ago when my professor, Dr. Domino Perez, lauded the impact of the novel and its relevancy to current events. I have Dr. Perez for a Young Adult Fiction and Film class, and the reason this novel came up was because of our discussion on the importance of diversity in literature–specifically in YA. This diversity goes beyond one’s racial identity but also the experiences that come with that racial identity. In Starr Carter’s case, and many others, this is police brutality. In addition to all its accolades, this novel has been adapted into a film by Fox 2000 and stars Amandla Stenberg, and is set to be released in late 2018.

Publisher description: “Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban high school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does–or does not–say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.”

 

 

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Recognition: Spring 2018 Kids’ Indie Next List 

Although this novel will not be released until March 6th, 2018, I am already excited to read this just based off the summary. Especially if you enjoyed Marvel Studios’s Black Panther with its colorful cultural elements and storytelling, this will definitely be a treat post-movie watching. Like any good YA, Children of Blood and Bone teases the readers with a romance but also hinging on the result of a political outcome. The novel also incorporates magic, a monarchy, and fantasy while grounding itself in West African culture and folklore.

Publisher description: “Zelie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orisha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zelie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zelie has a chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zelie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orisha, yet the greatest danger may be Zelie herself as she struggles to control her powers–and her growing feelings for an enemy.”

 

 

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

Recognition: Coretta Scott King Author Award, NPR’s Best Books of 2017, and a 2018 Newbery Honor

As soon as I had read the summary of this novel, the first thing I though of was Sherman Alexie’s the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Renée Watson was also a featured author at the 2017 Texas Teen Book Festival! Piecing Me Together speaks volumes on how the education system treats children differently according to their zip code and their racial identity, and most importantly, what one has to sacrifice and leave behind in order to be successful.

Publisher description: “Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn’t really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for “at-risk” girls. Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn’t mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She’s tired of being singled out as someone who needs help. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.”

 

 

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

 

 

 

Middle Grade Book Pick:

 

Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia

Recognition: National Book Award Finalist, Kirkus Best Books of 2017, Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2017, Chicago Public Library Best Books, and many others.

I think that one of the most important themes in this novel is how music links generations, as a New York Times Review called it. Newbery Honor Winner Rita Williams-Garcia provides a powerful narrative to show how music is cultural and generational for many peoples, and also how it affects the coming of age of a young boy as he deals with family, love, and the loss of a family member.

Publisher description: “Clayton feels most alive when he’s with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band of Bluesmen–he can’t wait to join them, just as soon as he has a blues song of his own. But then Cool Papa Byrd dies, and Clayton’s mother forbids Clayton from playing the blues. And Clayton knows that’s no way to live. Armed with his grandfather’s brown porkpie hat and his harmonica, he runs away from home in search of the Bluesmen, hoping he can join them on the road. But on the journey that takes him through the New York City subways and to Washington Square Park, Clayton learns some things that surprise him.”

 

 

I Am Enough by Grace Byers

Although this book will also not be released until March 6th, 2018, many have already given their positive feedback on how well it will do, especially as a Children’s Book. Watch the book trailer below for more information!

Publisher Description: “This is a gorgeous, lyrical ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another—from Empire actor and activist Grace Byers and talented newcomer artist Keturah A. Bobo.”

 

 

As we continue adding to our 2018 TBR lists (and wondering feverishly when we’ll ever sleep again), friends and fellow readers keep giving us more forthcoming titles to add. This fantastic list of recommended titles being published in 2018 comes from Peggy Terry, an Austinite, long-time avid reader, and one of the Texas Book Festival’s Community Ambassadors.

In addition to her work in human resources, Terry is an integral part of many community organizations: she’s been a Texas Book Festival volunteer since 2014 and has been active with the Austin African American Book Festival since its start in 2007. She is also a founding member of Folktales’ Black Women’s Literary Society in 1993 and has been the co-chair “for over a decade (or two).”

Happy reading, y’all!

Above: Peggy Terry (center, wearing grey) with the Folktales Black Women’s Literary Society in November, 2017

 

Returning authors:

Down the River Unto the Sea – Walter Mosley 2/20/18.

Mosley introduces a new character – Joe King Oliver.  Oliver has been forced off the New York police force.  Now he works as a private detective.  He receives a card in the mail with information about the case that framed him.

American Histories: Stories – John Edgar Wideman 3/20/18

In this singular collection, John Edgar Wideman, the acclaimed author of Writing to Save a Life, blends the personal, historical, and political to invent complex, charged stories about love, death, struggle, and what we owe each other. With characters ranging from everyday Americans to Jean-Michel Basquiat to Nat Turner, American Histories is a journey through time, experience, and the soul of our country.

 

Barracoon: The Story of the Last Slave – Zora Neale Hurston  5/8/18

Hurston’s previously unpublished work.  Compiled in 1931, Ms. Hurston records Cudjo’s story providing a first hand account of memories from his childhood in Africa, the horrors of being captured and held in a barracoon for selection by American slavers, the harrowing experience of the Middle Passage packed with more than 100 other souls aboard the Clotilda, and the years he spent in slavery until the end of the Civil War.

 

A View of the Empire at Sunset – Caryl Phillips 5/22/18.

A biographical novel of the life of Jean Rhys, the author of Wide Sargasso Sea.

Raisins in Milk – David Covin 6/1/18

This is a coming of age novel of a Black girl, Ruth-Ann Weathering, born in Mandarin Florida in 1900. It traces events from 1913 – 1920.

On the Come Up – Angie Thomas 6/5/18

Follow up novel to The Hate U Give.   Ms. Thomas returns to the world of Garden Heights for a story about an aspiring teen rapper and what happens when you get everything you thought you wanted.

Praise Song for the Butterflies – Bernice McFadden 7/3/18

A contemporary story that offers an educational, eye-opening account of the practice of ritual servitude in West Africa.

 

Chariot on the Mountain – Jack Ford 7/31/18

Story based on little-known true events.  Slaves set free but are dragged back a gang of slave catchers. Kitty, the emancipated slave, goes to court charging her cousin (the slave owner’s nephew and leader of the slave catchers) with kidnapping and assault.

 

 

Survival Math: Notes of an All American Family – Mitchell Jackson 8/14/18

Combination of an autobiographical tale mixed with an examination of cultural forces.  Jackson presents a microcosm of struggle and survival in contemporary urban America.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf – Marlon James, Fall, 2018

This will be the first of three fantasy novels and James calls it an African GAME OF THRONES.

 

Re-releases:

These re-releases of previously published books give us a great opportunity to re-read works of a bygone time.

Not Without Laughter – Langston Hughes (originally published 1930)  1/16/18

Our greatest African American poet’s award-winning first novel, about a black boy’s coming-of-age in a largely white Kansas town

Black No More – George Schuyler (originally published 1931)  1/16/18

The landmark comic satire that asks, “What would happen if all black people in America turned white?”

 

 

The Blacker the Berry – Wallace Thurman (originally published 1929)  1/16/18

The Blacker the Berry was the first novel to openly address color prejudice among black Americans when released in 1929.

 

 

Dessa Rose – Sherley Williams (originally published 1986)  1/16/18

In 1829, in Kentucky, a pregnant black woman helped lead an uprising of a group of slaves headed to the market for sale. She was sentenced to death, but her hanging was delayed until after the birth of her baby. In North Carolina in1830, a white woman living on an isolated farm was reported to have given sanctuary to runaway slaves. In Dessa Rose, Sherley A. Williams asks the question: “What if these two women met?”

The Darkest Child – Delores Philips (originally published 2004)  1/30/18

Tangy Mae is the 6th of 10 fatherless children.  She is the darkest–and in her mother’s eye, the ugliest.  Her mother pulls each one from school to earn money to support her.  But Tangy is smart and has been chosen to help integrate the local high school.

Iola Leroy, or, Shadows Uplifted – Frances Harper (originally published 1892)  2/28/18.

Iola lived a life of comfort until the death of her father when she learns that she is of mixed race and is sold into slavery.  With the end of the Civil War, Ms. Leroy devotes her life to the uplift of the Black race.

 

Wild Card – other books I am most looking forward to:

May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem – Imani Perry 2/19/18

Imani Perry tells the story of the Black National Anthem as it traveled from South to North, from civil rights to black power, and from countless family reunions to Carnegie Hall and the Oval Office.

 

A Perilous Path: Talking Race, Inequality, and the Law — Sherrilyn Ifill,‎ Loretta Lynch,‎ Bryan Stevenson,‎ Anthony C. Thompson

Ifill is the head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.  Lynch was President Barack Obama’s Attorney General.  Stevenson is a best selling author (Just Mercy), MacArthur Fellow and death penalty lawyer. This book is short, but it should be a fun read.

 

 

The President is Missing – Bill Clinton & James Patterson 6/4/18

The White House is the home of the President of the United States, the most guarded, monitored, closely watched person in the world. So how could a U.S. President vanish without a trace? And why would he choose to do so?

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower – Brittney Cooper 2/20/18.

This book argues that ultimately feminism, friendship, and faith in one’s own superpowers are all we really need to turn things right side up again.

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen – Sarah Bird 9/4/18

Previously a slave, Cathy Williams rejected the life of servitude she would have had as a woman at the end of the Civil War, disguised herself as a man, and enlisted with the legendary Buffalo Soldiers.

Monday’s Not Coming – Tiffany D. Jackson 6/5/18

The mystery of one teenage girl’s disappearance and the traumatic effects of the truth.

 

Martin Luther King Jr. Related:

 

Martin Rising: A Requiem for a King – Andrea Davis Pinkney, Author, Brian Pinkney, Illustrator.  1/2/18

Pinkney covers the final months of Martin Luther King’s life—and of his assassination—through metaphor, spirituality, and multilayered meaning.

 

A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History – Jeanne Theoharis 1/30/18

Explodes the fables that have been created about the civil rights movement.

The Heavens Might Crack: The Death of Martin Luther King Jr. – Jason Sokol 3/20/18

A vivid portrait of how Americans grappled with King’s death and legacy in the days, weeks, and months after his assassination

Redemption: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Last 31 Hours – Joseph Rosenblum  3/27/18

An “immersive, humanizing, and demystifying” (Charles Blow, New York Times) look at the final hours of Dr. King’s life as he seeks to revive the non-violent civil rights movement and push to end poverty in America.

 

The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age – Patrick Parr 4/1/18

This work is the first definitive, full-length account of King’s years as a divinity student at Crozer Theological Seminary.

 

 

To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Fight for Economic Justice – Michael Honey 4/3/18

This work challenges us to think about what it would mean to truly fulfill King’s legacy and move toward his vision of “the Promised Land” in our own time

Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Social Gospel – Gary Dorrien 1/9/18

Dorrien’s work centers around King and the mid-twentieth-century Black church leaders who embraced the progressive, justice-oriented, internationalist social gospel from the beginning of their careers and fulfilled it, inspiring and leading America’s greatest liberation movement.

 

 

Teen/Children:

 

Black Panther: The Young Prince – Ronald K. Smith  1/2/18

T’Challa has been sent from Wakanda by his father to the South Side Middle School in Chicago.  When strange things begin happening around the school, T’Challa starts down the path to becoming the Black Panther.

 

 

Marley Dias Gets It Done (and So Can You!) – Marley Dias 1/30/18

Marley Dias explores activism, social justice, volunteerism, equity and inclusion, and using social media for good.

Strange Fruit, Volume II: More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History – Joel Christian Gill 2/1/18

A collection of stories from early African American history that represent the oddity of success in the face of great adversity.

Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi Adeyemi 3/6/18

Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut novel.

Tyler Johnson Was Here – Jay Coles 3/20/18

This debut novel tells the story of twin brothers who go to a party that ends with one of them dead at the hands of a police officer.  The surviving twin must cope with the death, help his mother, and learn what justice really means.

 

 

The Parker Inheritance – Varian Johnson 3/27/18

A mystery is explored when the granddaughter finds a letter to her grandmother who left town in shame.  A boy from across the street helps in deciphering the story.

 

 

Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood – James Baldwin 8/24/18

This re-released picture book is James Baldwin’s only children’s book, depicting the environment and daily life of two boys coming of age in Harlem.

After the Shot Drops – Randy Ribay 3/6/18.

A powerful novel about friendship, basketball, and one teen’s mission to create a better life for his family

The Beauty That Remains – Ashley Woodfolk 3/6/18

Told from three diverse points of view, this debut novel tells a story of life and love after loss.

 

 

 

Happy 2018! I never make official New Year’s resolutions, but every January I tell myself, “Okay, this is definitely the year I’m going to read at least 150 books and keep track of every book I read in this handy reading tracker app/ spreadsheet/ Goodreads/ fancy journal,” and then somehow every December I find myself racking my brain, trying to remember all the amazing books I read and re-read that year. I read a lot, I’m just not very organized about it.

But for real! 2018 is my year, and it is already off to an amazing start for literature as a whole, but especially in young adult and middle grade books. 2018 is so promising, in fact, that I’m splitting my “2018 books I’m excited about” lists into two parts, for YA and middle grade.

This first part, a collection of YA books I’ve read and love or am greatly looking forward to, is a subjective puddle of unbridled and disorganized enthusiasm, with titles listed in order of publication date.

Obviously, this list is based both on my own taste and on the limited publishing catalogs available for 2018 (you’ll see it’s very front-loaded). There are certain things I’m predisposed to like in a book: if there’s a murder at a boarding school, preferable a boarding school that has the potential to be blanketed in a suffocating layer of beautiful, deadly snow, I’m there in a heartbeat. Is the story an inventive take on existing legends, folklore, or religion, such as the Robin Hood tale or West African folklore? I need it.  If the premise just sounds banana-pants crazy and amazingly hilarious—say, a high schooler leading a gang of resurrected teenage girls, or a teen journalist getting kidnapped by reclusive Siberian hermits—I want to have read it yesterday. My biggest soft spot is for real world/slice of life stories of complicated families, positive/realistic portrayals of queer life and love, and books that tackle all-too-real issues in today’s turbulent social climate (which are even better with a side of triumph and indefatigable humor).

Also, if you’re looking for some stellar “adult” fiction and nonfiction recommendations, our Literary Director Julie Wernersbach has a great list of 2018 books to check out.

Happy reading, y’all!

 

Read It, Loved It, Super-Duper Recommend:

 

Truly Devious  Maureen Johnson; January 16

From the moment I opened this book, I knew it was for me. The dedication reads: “For everyone who has ever dreamed of finding a body in the library.” How does she know, I whispered, and turned the page.

Johnson’s new book is a clever mystery about an 80-year-old unsolved murder at a progressive self-guided boarding school in remote Vermont, but it’s also a coming-of-age story starring Stevie, an observant true-crime aficionado dealing with imposter syndrome, great ambition, an anxiety disorder, and a modern-day copycat murderer. With the current resurgence in true crime media and interest in criminology, Stevie’s struggle to solve these mysteries—while learning where the line between investigation and invasion is—will resonate with a lot of readers.

 

The Prince and The Dressmaker  Jen Wang; February 13

Confession: I’ve read this perfect gem of a graphic novel twice and I will re-read it so many more times in the future. This friendship-turned-love-story between an ambitious, brilliant dressmaker and a delightful, sensitive prince who plays with gender expression is sweet, unique, and perfect for Valentine’s day. Wang’s art is fluid and lively and gorgeous, and her deft storytelling enchants as well as avoids the expected. I’m buying another copy the moment this book is published so I can loan it to everyone I know. Happy Valentine’s day, y’all.

 

Children of Blood and Bone: The Orisha Legacy  Tomi Adeyemi; March 6

Let’s be real: it’s impossible not to judge this book by its gorgeous cover. I’ve had this book on my GIVE IT TO ME list ever since the cover reveal, but even with my expectations set that high, I was not once disappointed. This smartly paced, brilliant fantasy built on West African culture and folklore features immersive world-building and my favorite sort of slow-burn, conflicted romance. Children of Blood and Bone has been collecting rave reviews and deserves every word.

 

Inkmistress  Audrey Coulthurst; March 6

I adored Coulthurst’s debut last year, Of Fire and Stars, and was so happy to get my hands on her second book, whose story follows Asra, a troubled demi-god and healer fighting to save Ina, the girl she loves, after a risky spell goes horribly awry and Ina sets out to seek revenge against the king. Coulthurst’s second novel is a darker, deadly return to the fantasy world we first saw in her debut and offers the same intricate plotting, fantastic world-building, and original, genuine queer relationships I loved in her first book.

 

The Astonishing Color of After  Emily X. R. Pan; March 20

This was another book I’d been watching for advance copies of ever since I heard of it, and I’m so glad I read it this early in the year, since I’m definitely going to read it again. Emily X. R. Pan’s lyrical debut is a heartfelt portrait of grief and the haunting magical realism that grows out of loss. Leigh’s story of discovering herself through art, family, and navigating different cultures will stay with you for a long time.

 

Emergency Contact  Mary H.K. Choi; March 27

This delightfully snarky and unexpectedly soft-hearted modern-day romance has some local excitement for us Texans. Penny is a freshman starting at University of Texas and dealing with all those freshman woes—finding her groove, missing (and not missing) her mom, getting used to her new roommate, and getting involved with her new roommate’s super-cool friend (who the new roommate has made her promise to not date). Choi’s writing is thoughtful and witty, and you can’t help but fall in love with Penny and Sam as the two slowly, carefully unwrap their own hearts over text and try not to wonder what might—or can’t—come next.

 

Dread Nation  Justina Ireland; April 3

Buckle up, y’all, this is one wild ride from start to finish, and I cannot think of two characters I’d rather accompany on a zombie-infested trek through post-Civil War America than Jane and Katherine, two outstanding students at the prestigious Ms. Preston’s School of Combat for ladies. This fantastical take on the years following the Civil War was partially inspired by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but takes a fun premise and turns it into powerful allegory for the black American experience through history and the way black lives have been (and still are) valued in American society.

 

 

Currently Reading:

People Like Us  Dana Mele; February 27

We’re not yet a month into 2018 and I’m already reading my second Boarding School Murder Mystery novel (and I’m not even sorry). So far, this story has a promising cast of characters, including a bi/pansexual main character, a cyber-puzzle with deadly consequences, the usual backstabbing and toxic gossip, and of course, murder most foul. 2018 is looking like a promising year if we’re already blessed with two stellar, unique examples of this quite specific flavor of book.

 

The “I’ve never hit pre-order so fast” list (e.g., authors I already adore whose forthcoming books I am desperate to get my hands on):

 

The Belles  Dhonielle Clayton; February 6

Co-founder of Cake Literary, co-author of the Tiny Pretty Things series, COO of We Need Diverse Books, take no nonsense writer, lauded sensitivity reader, and all around rockstar-with-great-shoes Dhonielle Clayton brings us the opulent WOC-led fantasy of our dreams.

 

 

Leah On the Offbeat  Becky Albertalli; April 24

This third installment comes from the author of Simon VS. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and The Upside of Unrequited, and gives us more of the cool, cynical, rockstar we loved in Simon. I can’t waaaaait.

 

 

 

On the Come Up  Angie Thomas; May 1 (no cover art yet)

I read The Hate U Give twice last year, and gave a copy of it to all of my friends. Getting to see Angie Thomas at Austin’s African American Book Festival was one of the highlights of my year, and I can’t wait to read what she’s recently called “the book of my heart”.

 

 

Ship It  Britta Lundin; May 1

I’ve followed Britta Lundin on Twitter for a while now so I’m already familiar with how hilarious and nerdy she is, and have been loving her work on this little show called Riverdale (maybe you know it?) Now she’s written a coming of age novel about fandom and the queer teens learning about themselves through fanfiction and fanart and, of course, shipping fan pairings. I wish I could go back in time and hand this book to my teen self, but I’m happy to read it as a grown-up too.

 

Puddin’  Julie Murphy; May 8

Julie Murphy is back with another wickedly funny and super sweet story featuring hilarious, stereotype defying characters you spend the whole book cheering for. We were so lucky to have  her at the Texas Book Festival and now we’re even luckier she has another book coming out already! If you liked you Dumplin’ and Ramona Blue (and who didn’t!), hit that pre-order button now.

 

 

From Twinkle, With Love  Sandhya Menon; May 22

Did you love When Dimple Met Rishi as much as I did? Did you fangirl over Sandya Menon at the Texas Teen Book Festival as hard as I did? Are you as ready for Twinkle and her equally-instagrammable cover as I am? *fans self in anticipation*

 

 

 

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings   Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman (editors); June 26

This anthology of 15 stories re-imagining folklore and mythology from East and South Asia features some of my favorite authors and is edited by two brilliant people whose taste and authority I trust implicitly. I don’t read enough short stories, and I’m so looking forward to diving into this collection.

 

 

Finding Yvonne  Brandy Colbert; August 7

We were so lucky to get to host the inimitable Brandy Colbert at the 2017 Texas Book Festival for her dazzling book Little & Lion, and I can’t wait to dive into what promises to be another heartfelt story of beauty and hurt and the sort of honest, complicated truths we learn from real life. Colbert doesn’t give her readers any easy answers and I’m here for it.

 

 

 

Uhhh, That Sounds Awesome (or, books by authors I haven’t read yet but the premise has me hooked):

Love, Hate, and Other Filters  Samira Ahmed; January 16

Let’s Talk About Love  Claire Kann; January 23

The Dangerous Art of Blending In  Angelo Surmelis; January 30

The Hazel Wood  Melissa Albert; Jan 30

This Is Not A Love Letter  Kim Purcell; Jan 30

Winterfolk  Janel Kolby; February 6

After the Shot Drops  Randy Ribay; March 6

Tyler Johnson Was Here  Jay Coles; March 20

Picture Us in the Light  Kelly Loy Gilbert; April 10

The Way You Make Me Feel  Madeline Goo; May 8

Undead Girl Gang  Lily Anderson; May 8

Love and Other Carnivorous Plants  Florence Gonsalves; May 15

Anger Is a Gift  Mark Oshiro May 22

 

Mariam Sharma Hits the Road  Sheba Karim; June 5

The Bird and the Blade  Megan Bannen; June 5

Dear Rachel Maddow  Adrienne Kisner; June 5

Monday’s Not Coming  Tiffany D. Jackson; June 5

Sometime After Midnight  L. Phillips; June 12

Not The Girls You’re Looking For  Amina Mae Safi; June 19

Notes from My Captivity  Kathy Parks; July 10

I’m Not Missing  Carrie Fountain; July 10

Wrong in All The Right Ways  Tiffany Brownlee; July 17

Heretics Anonymous  Katie Henry; August 7

The Forest Queen  Betsy Cornwell; August 7

Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish  Pablo Cartaya; August 21

In Another Time  Caroline Leech; August 28