This dynamic young adult booklist features Black authors who illuminate the full spectrum of the Black experience—from confronting oppression and systemic injustice to celebrating resilience, culture, and Black joy. These stories honor the complexity, strength, and vibrancy of Black lives, offering readers narratives filled with truth, hope, and empowerment. Perfect for those looking to explore a wide range of voices that challenge, uplift, and inspire. #MPLteen #MPLBV @MenloLibrary
Black Girl You Are Atlas is a powerful collection of poetry and art that explores the experiences of Black girlhood. Through poems and personal reflections, Renée Watson addresses themes such as identity, self-love, racism, family, friendship, and…
Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel is a visually striking adaptation of Jason Reynolds' bestselling novel in verse. It follows 15-year-old Will as he rides an elevator down from his apartment, planning to avenge his brother Shawn’s death. During the…
Revolution in Our Time is a nonfiction book that offers a powerful, in-depth look at the history and impact of the Black Panther Party. Kekla Magoon explores how the Black Panther Party was founded in response to systemic racism and police…
I Can't Even Think Straight is a contemporary young adult novel in verse that follows Kai, a queer biracial teen navigating the complexities of identity, friendship, and first love. As the new school year begins, Kai grapples with the decision to…
Big Jim and the White Boy is a graphic novel that reimagines Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by centering the story on Jim, an enslaved Black man, and his journey to reunite with his kidnapped family. In this retelling, Jim is portrayed…
There Goes the Neighborhood is a compelling young adult novel that delves into the challenges of gentrification in South Los Angeles through the eyes of 15-year-old Rhea. Alongside her best friends, Malachi and Zeke, Rhea witnesses the…
In this charming and heartfelt young adult novel, Liz Lighty is a Black, queer teen from a small, predominantly white town in Indiana. She's always felt like an outsider, but she's focused on her future, hoping to escape her hometown by earning a…
Legendborn is a contemporary fantasy novel that follows 16-year-old Bree Matthews as she begins an early college program at UNC–Chapel Hill. Still grieving the sudden loss of her mother, Bree stumbles upon a secret society of students who call…
Every Body Looking is a novel-in-verse that follows Ada, a first-generation Nigerian American girl, as she begins her freshman year at a historically Black college. Told through a blend of past and present, the story explores Ada’s journey to find…
The 2023 winner of the YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award, Victory. Stand! is a memoir in graphic novel format. In an iconic Olympics moment, gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos stood on the medalists' podium in…
How to Lose A Best Friend centers on best friends Zeke and Imogen, two people everyone is sure is destined to be together. The trouble is - Zeke agrees, and Imogen is the only one who doesn't. Imogen is about to turn 16 - old enough to start dating…
15-year-old Darius has been going through a lot - lost his mom to violence, his stepdad is out of work, and his little sister is always on his back - but his best friend Booger has a plan: to make it across and back through the roughest parts of…
In this coming-of-age novel in verse, Samira can't shake her reputation as a bad girl. A scandalous rumor has her spending her summer vacation hiding in her house instead of out at parties and exploring DC, but she finds some refuge in a poetry…
In this original novel inspired by the live action remake of Disney's Snow White, 18-year-old Snow White finds herself in an enchanted world after taking a bite of an apple. The Queen's poison sends her not just to an eternal sleep, but to the Land…
At Moorehead High, the Ballers Club - a group of the school's top athletes - are elite, arrogant, and, in Cree's opinion, overrated. After a heated debate in class, Cree crosses DeAndre Parker, the club's unofficial leader, a star in everyone else's…
When a spot opens up on the football team unexpectedly, Aiden - whose overstimulation meltdown kept him from the team in summer tryouts - finally gets a chance to play like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. But not everyone is happy about the…
March is a graphic novel trilogy that tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of Congressman John Lewis. Through the series, readers experience Congressman Lewis's life, making good trouble, through the movement and in the US…
Rochelle is fiercely determined to become valedictorian, get into Wharton, and take down her academic nemesis Amira, but her college applications are missing something - she needs a job. The opportunity to work at the town's historic Black-owned…
In this tenth book in the saga of the Logan family, introduced in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Cassie Logan journeys to find her place in the world - traveling to California, law school is Boston, and, in the 60s, back home to Mississippi to…
Written in two voices - that of 16-year-old Audre who is sent from Trinidad to live with her grandmother in Minneapolis after her religious mother catches her with her secret girlfriend, and that of 16-year-old Mabel, who is feeling mixed up about…
