New Teen Reads for the New Year

Can you believe that 2019 is almost over?  I have already started planning my "to read" list for 2020 and I can tell you that the year is going to be a great one for black children's and teen literature.  I'm most excited about a few teen/young adult titles that will release right after the New Year.  Check them out below and don't forget to pick up a copy at your favorite local bookshop or library.  Happy Reading!

145th Street: Short Stories
Walter Dean Meyers
1/14/2020

"From the award-winning author of Monster, this [Anniversary Edition] collection of powerful and poignant stories about 145th Street-an unforgettable block in the heart of Harlem- celebrates African-American life in all of its glory."

Badass Black Girl
M.J. Fievre
1/14/2020

"Explore the many facets of your identity through hundreds of big and small questions.  M.J. Fievre tackles topics such as family and friends, school and careers, body image, and stereotypes in this journal designed for teenage girls."

Black Girl Unlimited
Echo Brown
1/14/2020

"Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism---all through a coming of age story..."

Not So Pure and Simple
Lamar Giles
1/21/2020

"High school junior Del Rainey unwittingly joins a Purity Pledge class at church, hoping to get closer to his long-term crush Kiera...but as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want?"

Saving Savannah
Tonya Bolden
1/14/2020

"From acclaimed author, Tonya Bolden, comes the story of a teen girl becoming a woman on her own terms against a backdrop of widespread social change in the early 1900's"

Say Her Name
Zetta Elliot
1/14/2020

"Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as activists insisting that Black Lives Matter"