One of the best parts about summer (besides ice cream, no school and cookouts, of course) is that there are more hours of daylight that you can spend binging on your favorite books. If you’re looking for the hottest new releases, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the books by Black authors we can’t wait to read this July.
Happy is on Hiatus is the latest novel from The After Party’s AC Arthur. After learning of her husband’s affair, Rita McCall leans on her cousins to help her navigate her way to a new normal. But with everyone at life-changing crossroads, the cousins will have to depend on the wisdom of the elders in their family to remind them of what matters most. From Booklist, “With snappy dialogue and an emotionally charged plot, not to mention a few sexy scenes, Arthur keeps raising the stakes until a final showdown tests the bonds of the women’s friendship. A great choice for readers of Kimberla Lawson Roby and Terry McMillan.”
The debut novel from Bolu Babalola, Honey & Spice is the story of an expert in relationship-evasion and the host of the popular student radio show who finds herself falling for a player that she’s tried to warn her classmates about. And as her feelings evolve, she has to decide if she wants to call it quits or open herself up to something more. Named a best summer romance by Entertainment Weekly, they write, “Vibrant… Babalola is incisively funny, capturing the kick and sweetness of her title with her words.”
If you’re looking for a great summer read for your 10 - 12-year-old, Booked by Kwame Alexander is a great option. The follow-up to his Newbery-award winner, The Crossover, this book tells the story of a 12-year-old boy who is dealing with a school bully, problems at home, and trying to impress his secret crush. From Dawud Anyabwile’s illustrations to the fact that the book is written in verse, there is so much to love about this graphic novel.
Big Girl centers around a young girl, Malaya, who struggles to deal with the pressures of her mostly-white Manhattan prep school while trying to please her mother, who drags her to Weight Watcher’s meetings against her will. Growing up in the 90s, Malaya uses the music of the Notorious B.I.G. and Aaliyah to escape. But when a family tragedy occurs, she is forced to face the real issues around weight and body image.
In Race and Reckoning, journalist and cultural commentator Ellis Cose highlights the way the path white Americans have taken to protect their rights and liberties often comes at the expense of people of color. Cose eloquently breaks down how things like voter suppression and the electoral college undo the idea that every vote counts and is a direct contradiction to the idea that we are all created equal.
Rachel Howzell Hall, the author of These Toxic Things, And Now She’s Gone, and They All Fall Down, is back with a summer thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat. In We Lie Here, Yara takes a trip back to her hometown for her parent’s anniversary party. But everything changes when she starts receiving disturbing text messages from her mother’s estranged childhood friend. After that friend’s body is discovered, Yara begins searching for answers and learns that uncovering the truth will either change her life or end it.
Vanessa Riley is back with a follow up to last year’s Island Queen, a GMA Buzz Pick and one of NPR’s Best Books of 2021. Lovers of historical fiction will be all about Sister Mother Warrior, a story that brings the Haitian Revolution to life and is based on the true-life stories of two dope sister mother warriors: the first Empress of Haiti, Marie-Claire Bonheur, and Gran Toya, a West African-born warrior who helped lead the rebellion that drove out the French and freed the enslaved people of Haiti.
For decades, Harlem has been a special place for brilliant Black writers, musicians and artists. From the Apollo Theater to Zora Neale Hurston, H is for Harlem is a beautifully illustrated picture book that gives young readers a colorful overview of the neighborhood that is rich with African American history and culture.
Lovers of YA fantasy will be all about Beasts of Ruin, the follow-up to New York Times bestselling Beasts of Prey. After Koffi saves the city and the boy she loves, she is forced to choose whether to use her newfound power to serve an evil god of death or risk everything to do things differently.