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Black Voices, Black Lives

Find these books and more online at https://catalog.coolcat.org

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?
Black Girls Left Standing by  Juliana Goodman
Sixteen-year-old Beau Willet has dreams of being an artist and one day leaving the Chicago projects she's grown up in. But after her older sister, Katia, is killed by an off-duty police officer, Beau knows she has to clear her sister's name by finding the only witness to the murder--Katia's no-good boyfriend, Jordan, who has gone missing. With the help of her friend Sonnet, Beau starts looking for answers. But the more that Beau finds out about her sister's death, the more danger she finds herself in.
Blackout by  Nicola Yoon Dhonielle Clayton
Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teen love to this interlinked novel of charming, hilarious, and heartwarming stories that shine a bright light through the dark.
Bloodmarked by  Tracy Deonn
When the leaders of the Order reveal that they will do everything in their power to keep the approaching demon war a secret, Bree and her friends go on the run so she can learn how to control her devastating new powers.
Concrete Rose by  Angie Thomas
Maverick feels strongly about family ties, making choices necessary to help support his mom while his King father serves time, and leaves him holding his son in a doctor's waiting room after he gets paternity test results back and his baby's momma ghosts. Now the child he's raising is impacting the lives of his family and his girlfriend, and the gang life he led to support them all financially could leave them all bearing his responsibilities since it endangers his life. He may have been offered a chance to go straight, but leaving the King Lords won't be easy, and a real job has a high demand for low return.
Cool. Awkward. Black. by  edited by Karen Strong
Many plotlines compose the eclectic stories found within the pages of this dynamic, exciting, and expansive collection featuring exclusively Black characters. From contemporary to historical, fantasy to sci-fi, magical to realistic, and with contributions from a powerhouse list of self-proclaimed geeks and best-selling, award-winning authors, this life-affirming anthology celebrates and redefines the many facets of Blackness and geekiness--both in the real world and those imagined.
Escaping Mr. Rochester by  L. L. McKinney
In this empowering Black queer romance reimagining of Charlotte Brontë's classic novel, Jane Eyre, the new governess at Thornfield Hall discovers her cruel employer has locked away his wife as revenge for withholding her inheritance and, as his dark plan unfolds, must find a way to save this woman she's come to love.
Ghost Roast by  Shawnelle Gibbs & Shawneé Gibbs
Fifteen-year-old Chelsea, daughter of a paranormal specialist, risks her hard-won popularity and more when she is drawn into a paranormal romance after discovering her own ability to communicate with ghosts.
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by  Talia Hibbert
Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He's a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine. Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption--yet, she's still not cool enough for the popular kids' table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that's how Celine sees it.) These days, there's nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she's surprised to find Brad right beside her. Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?
Just Happy To Be Here by  Naomi Kanakia
Tara just wants to be treated like any other girl at Ainsley Academy. That is, judged on her merits--not on her transness. But there's no road map for being the first trans girl at an all-girls school. And when she tries to join the Sibyls, an old-fashioned Ainsley sisterhood complete with code names and special privileges, she's thrust into the center of a larger argument about what girlhood means and whether the club should exist at all.
Love Radio by  Ebony LaDelle
At seventeen Prince Jones has his own segment on Detroit's popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, dishing out advice to the brokenhearted. He dreams of becoming a DJ and falling in love, but being the main caretaker for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and his little brother means his dreams will stay just that. Dani Ford is focused on her plan: ace senior year, score a scholarship, and move to New York City to become a famous author. Prince is smitten, but Dani him just three dates to convince her that he is worth falling for.
Rust in the Root by  Justina Ireland
It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided - between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology - otherwise known as Mechomancy - not the traditional mystical arts. Laura disagrees. A talented young mage from Pennsylvania, Laura hopped a portal to New York City on her seventeenth birthday with hopes of earning her mage's license and becoming something more than a rootworker. But six months later, she's got little to show for it other than an empty pocket and broken dreams. With nowhere else to turn, Laura applies for a job with the Bureau of the Arcane's Conservation Corps, a branch of the US government dedicated to repairing the Dynamism so that Mechomancy can thrive. There she meets the Skylark, a powerful mage with a mysterious past, who reluctantly takes Laura on as an apprentice. As they're sent off on their first mission together into the heart of the country's oldest and most mysterious Blight, they discover the work of mages not encountered since the darkest period in America's past, when Black mages were killed for their power--work that could threaten Laura's and the Skylark's lives, and everything they've worked for.
Skin of the Sea by  Natasha Bowen
Transformed by the goddess Yemoja into a Mami Wati, an African mermaid charged with collecting the souls of those who die at sea, Simi goes against the gods to save a living boy, Kola, from drowning.
So Let Them Burn by  Kamilah Cole
After her sister Elara forms an unbreakable bond with an enemy dragon, seventeen-year-old Faron, who once wielded the magic of the gods to save her island from those same dragon-riding colonizers, must find a way to save her sister and the fate of their world in the face of impossible odds.
The Passing Playbook by  Isaac Fitzsimons
Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He's also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio. At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy's soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans--he's passing. A discriminatory law forces Spencer's coach to bench him after discovering the F on Spencer's birth certificate. Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even though it would mean coming out to everyone-- including the guy he's falling for.
The Right Side of Reckless by  Whitney D Grandison
Working at the local community center, Guillermo Lozano meets the one girl who is off limits, and as friendship--and something more--blossoms between them, he decides to break the rules and be a little bit reckless.
The Upper World by  Femi Fadugba
Today; During arguably the worst week of Esso's life, an accident knocks him into an incredible world--a place beyond space or time, where he can see glimpses of the past and future. But if what he sees there is true, he might not have much longer to live, unless he can use his new gift to change the course of history. Tomorrow; Rhia's past is filled with questions, none of which she expects a new physics tutor to answer. But Dr. Esso's not here to help Rhia. He's here because he needs her help--to unravel a tragedy that happened fifteen years ago. One that holds the key not only to Rhia's past, but to a future worth fighting for.
This Wicked Fate by  Kalynn Bayron
Briseis races to save her family even as she discovers more about their ties to ancient goddesses and deadly curses.
Twice As Perfect by  Louisa Onome
Seventeen-year-old Nigerian Canadian Adanna Nkwachi must deal with an estranged older brother, uncertainty about her future, and helping her cousin plan a big Nigerian wedding.
Updated 01/30/2024