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Books for Teens Featuring African American Characters and Culture
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Nightmare Island
by Shakirah Bourne
Twelve-year-old Serenity has a recurring nightmare, but things get real when her parents take her brother, Peace, to Duppy Island for "treatment" and Serenity is confronted by the creepy Dr. Whisper and the faceless douen children who are trapped between the living and the dead.
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Curlfriends: New in Town
by Sharee Miller
Starting a new middle school, Charlie learns that being her true self is the best way to make lasting friendships when she meets the Curlfriends, a group of Black girls who couldn't be more different from each other.
Please note: This title can be found in the Teen Graphic Novel section of the library.
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The Door of No Return
by Kwame Alexander
From New York Times best-selling author comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of 11-year-old Kofi Offin, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family.
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Operation Sisterhood
by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Moving in with her Mums boyfriend in Harlem, Bo isn't sure there is room for her in their crowded, yet happy, home, in this heartwarming novel about the difficulties of change, the loyalty of sisters and the love of family.
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Let the Monster Out
by Chad Lucas
When things in their town keep getting stranger and stranger, Bones Malone and Kyle Specks team up to solve this mystery, which forces them to face their worst nightmares as they search for the truth.
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King and the Dragonflies
by Kacen Callender
A 12-year-old boy spends days in the mystical Louisiana bayou to come to terms with a sibling’s sudden death, his grief-stricken family and the disappearance of his former best friend amid whispers about the latter’s sexual orientation.
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The Summoner
by Victoria Bond
A finale to the acclaimed trilogy finds Zora navigating her showboating father’s mayoral campaign before a lynch mob crosses the border into once-idyllic Eatonville to pursue a fugitive at the same time a grave robber exposes disturbing historical secrets.
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Clean Getaway
by
Nic Stone
An 11-year-old boy confronts the realities of race relations, past and present, and his unconventional grandmother’s mysterious agenda during an unplanned Spring Break road trip through the once-segregated American South.
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The Only Black Girls in Town
by
Brandy Colbert
Ecstatic to hear that another African American family has moved into town, surfer Alberta attempts to make friends with homesick newcomer Edie, who helps her uncover painful local secrets in a box of old journals.
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Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams A 13-year-old girl, who is so oppressed by low self-esteem that she keeps a list of the things she hates about herself, must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to learn to love herself.
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My life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
by
Ibi Zoboi
In the summer of 1984, twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace of Huntsville, Alabama, visits her father in Harlem, where her fascination with outer space and science fiction interfere with her finding acceptance.
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Thieves' Gambit
by Kayvion Lewis
To save her mother's life, 17-year-old Ross Quest enters the Thieves' Gambit, a series of dangerous, international heists where the grand prize is a wish for anything in the world, forcing her to decide who to con and who to trust before time runs out.
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As You Walk On By
by Julian Winters
When his promposal goes epically wrong, 17-year-old Theo Wright, who has his life all figured all—or so he thinks—seeks refuge in an empty bedroom where he is joined by others escaping who they're supposed to be outside the bedroom door.
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The Blackwoods
by Brandy Colbert
Told from multiple points of view, Ardith and Hollis Blackwood's lives are upended when their great-grandmother, legendary actress Blossom Blackwood, passes away, and family secrets emerge.
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Good as Gold
by Candace Buford
Suddenly an outcast from her popular squad after her father loses his job, Casey and a new group of friends search for her town's rumored sunken treasure to save her family and her future, unwittingly bringing a dangerous truth to the surface.
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Rhythm & Muse
by India Hill Brown
Crushing on transfer student Delia, Darren, the host of the Dillie D in the Place to Be podcast, must make a decision when his anonymous submission for her theme song contest becomes the frontrunner.
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Cool. Awkward. Black
by Karen Strong
Featuring exclusively Black characters, this multi-genre story collection—drawing from contemporary, historical, fantasy, sci-fi, magical and realistic—celebrates and redefines the many facets of Blackness and geekiness, both in the real world and those imagined.
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The Davenports
by Krystal Marquis
Inspired by the real-life story of C.R. Patterson and his family, this sweeping novel is centered around the Davenports, one of the few Black families of immense wealth, and follows four determined and passionate young Black women who discover the courage to take charge of their lives -- and love.
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Bitter
by Akwaeke Emezi
"After a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille. Bitter's instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus but her friends aren't willing to settle for a world that's so far away from what they deserve. Pulled between old friendships, her artistic passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn't sure where she belongs--in the studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost?"
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The Chosen One : A First-Generation Ivy League Odyssey
by Echo BrownA YA coming-of-age novel about a first-year, first-generation Black student at Dartmouth College."-- Provided by publisher. There are many watchers and they are always white. That is the first thing Echo notices as she settles into Dartmouth College. Despite graduating high school in Cleveland as valedictorian, she is struggling to keep up in demanding classes. The campus is not the promised rainbow-colored utopia where education lifts every voice. Nor is it a paradise of ideas, an incubator of inclusivity, or even an exciting dating scene. But it might be a portal to different dimensions of time and space-- only accessible if Echo accepts her calling as a Chosen One and takes charge of her future by healing her past. -- adapted from jacket.
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Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir Adapted for Young Adults
by Kwame Onwuachi
Adapted for younger readers, an uplifting memoir by the James Beard Award-winning executive chef at Kith/Kin in Washington, D.C. includes coverage of his Bronx childhood, his training in acclaimed restaurants and the racial barriers that challenged his career.
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Who Put This Song On?
by
Morgan Parker
17-year-old Morgan is a black teen triumphantly figuring out her identity when her conservative town deems depression as a lack of faith, and blackness as something to be politely ignored.
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Long Way Down
by
Jason Reynolds
Driven by the secrets and vengeance that mark his street culture, 15-year-old Will contemplates over the course of 60 psychologically suspenseful seconds whether or not he is going to murder the person who killed his brother.
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Swing
by Kwame Alexander
Noah and his best friend Walt want to become cool, make the baseball team, and win over Sam, the girl Noah has loved for years. When Noah finds old love letters, Walt hatches a plan to woo Sam. But as Noah's love life and Walt's baseball career begin, the letters alter everything.
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All American Boys
by Jason Reynolds
When sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend.
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The Hate U Give by Angie ThomasCaught between her poor neighborhood and her fancy prep school, sixteen-year-old Starr Carter becomes the focus of intimidation and more after witnessing the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a police officer.
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The Final Four by Paul VolponiCompeting on the four remaining teams during the NCAA basketball championship, four young athletes desperately strive to realize respective dreams while looking back on the events that have led to the most important games of their lives.
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