Borrow one or more of these exciting YA (teen/young adult) titles by Black authors, selected by NOPL’s Youth Services Coordinator:

FICTION 

It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass: Dass takes you on a whirlwind supernatural thriller! It asks the question how far would you go to get what you want? Two years ago, Selina DaSilva’s parents were involved in a horrendous attack that left her father dead and her mother in a coma. Suddenly, there is a string of murders eerily similar to her parents’ attack. What is this evil lurking and will Selina be able to stop it before it’s too late? Set in the fictional Caribbean Island St. Virgil, Dass creates memorable characters and cleverly weaves in Caribbean mythology. Highly recommend! 

 

 

 

Dread Nation and Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland: This duology is set around the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, when the dead, called shamblers, begin to rise. Yup, this is a zombie book! Our heroine is Kentucky-born Jane McKeene. Laws like the Negro and Native reeducation Act require certain children to attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. There are other opportunities though. Jane is training to become an attendant to protect a rich white family. But this is not the life Jane wants. She longs to reunite with her mother. But when families begin to go missing, Jane realizes that the shamblers might be the least of her problems. Ireland creates terrifying human and zombie characters but also amazing heroines! I could not put her books down! 

 

 

Storm Dawn of a Goddess by Tiffany D. Jackson: As a child I was a big X-Men fan. I especially loved Storm. So, when I saw there was a YA fiction book about her, I just had to read it! Storm (or Ororo Munroe) was orphaned at a young age. She is taken in by a group of thieves and feels loved and taken care of. But then she starts to develop her powers. She is forced to flee her home when the evil Shadow King comes for her. She sets out for her mother’s hometown to find answers about her mysterious powers. Along the way she runs into T’Challa from Wakanda. He tries to help her control her growing powers as the Shadow King gets closer. . Jackson is an amazing author. Jackson captures the character of Storm perfectly. This is a must read for X-men fans!