Recent Reads by Black Authors
February is Black History Month! Looking for book recommendations? We’ve got you covered! Below is a list of Jill’s recent reads by Black authors. Three were selections from our B88k It! Book Club complete with links to author interviews, discussions questions, and more!
Revival Season by Monica West
The daughter of one of the South’s most famous Baptist preachers discovers a shocking secret about her father that puts her at odds with both her faith and her family in this debut novel and 2021 B**k It Book Club Pick.
Book Club Questions from Book It’s social media
Jill & Michael’s discussion of Revival Season
Interview episode with Monica West
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Meet Cute Diary By Emery Lee (YA)
Felix Ever After meets Becky Albertalli in this swoon-worthy, heartfelt rom-com about how a transgender teen’s first love challenges his ideas about perfect relationships.
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Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
The luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing.
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The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
A novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence.
Book Club Questions from Book It’s social media
Jill & Michael discuss The Prophets
Interview episode with Robert Jones Jr.
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Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom
In eight highly praised treatises on beauty, media, money, and more, Tressie McMillan Cottom―award-winning professor and acclaimed author of Lower Ed―is unapologetically "thick": deemed "thick where I should have been thin, more where I should have been less," McMillan Cottom refuses to shy away from blending the personal with the political, from bringing her full self and voice to the fore of her analytical work.
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The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson
The Kindest Lie is a deep dive into how we define family, what it means to be a mother, and what it means to grow up Black...beautifully crafted.
Book Club questions from our Book Club
Jill & Michael discuss The Kindest Lie
Interview episode with Nancy Johnson
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The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
From The New York Times-bestselling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white.
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Love is a Revolution (YA) by Renee Watson
In Love Is a Revolution, plus size girls are beautiful and get the attention of the hot guys, the popular girl clique is not shallow but has strong convictions and substance, and the ultimate love story is not only about romance but about how to show radical love to the people in your life, including to yourself.
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Young Gifted, and Black by Jamia Wilson (board book)
Introduce your baby to Black excellence with this lyrical board-book edition of Young, Gifted and Black. Includes a mirror at the back so young dreamers can see themselves next to their heroes.
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The Old Boat by Jarrett Pumphrey (picture book)
Brothers and collaborators Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey’s newest picture book is a masterfully crafted celebration of the natural world and tribute to the families we make and the homes that we nurture.
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