Hello and happy Friday !!! are you excited about the weekend as I am??? This week has been such a long one, with the current lockdown in my area, I haven’t been out of the house much (only for food & meds), and all my classes have been online so my social interactions were very little and my work load was very big but the weekend is finally here, YAYYY!!!!
As most you you may know, February is Black History Month where we celebrate but also acknowledge the Black community and everything they’ve been and still go through. February is a time to educate yourself on different things such as Black cultures, Black Lives Matter and Black issues as well as what you can do to help.
This post is about books written by Black authors that are on my TBR. At the end of the post I will be adding some links for fundraisers and petitions that need all the help they can get. Without further do, let’s get to the books.
N.K. Jemisin
The Broken Earth, a trilogy written by author N.K. Jemisin is said to be be a amsterpiece in terms of chaarcers developement, plot and writting. The series follows main character Essum as the world as we know it is ending
If I am being 100% honest, I am not sure specifically what these books are about. All I know is that most of my friends have read it and have absolutely adored it which made me buy it on impulse when i saw the entire trilogy for sale at 50% off.
Despite never having read any of Jemisin’s work , I have been following her on twitter for quite a while now and i live the way she uses her platform to empower black and queer readers all across the world. The Fifth Season is the next book on my TBR i’ll be reading and I cannot wait to see what the hype is all about.
Tiffany D. Jackson
Tiffany D. Jackson is the author of many contemporary YA novels that, again, may of my friends have been telling me to read. Although I tend to read more fantasy, I do enjoy reading contemporaries here and there, especially during spring time where I can sit outside and read for hours while enjoying a bit of fresh air.
First of all, let’s just point out the obvious, these covers are all absolutely beautiful! these vibrant colours and the focus on the characters and the titles is just o well done. The one I am most excited to pick up has to be “Monday is not Coming” because of all the good reviews i keep seeing everywhere. The first one I am most likely going to get to first is probably “Let me Hear a Rhyme” because t is the only one I currently own.
Roseanne A. Brown
Once again, these covers are just absolutely gorgeous. I am usually not a big fan of real people on books covers, i much rather see just illustrations of people or covers where there is no human beings depicted but for these 2 books it just works so well. “A Song Of Wraith and Ruins” is one I have been meaning to pick up ever since it came out. I had all the intentions to pick it up, bought it when it came out and everything but then life would always get in the way or i’d fall into a reading slump. 2021, nothing can stop me from picking this up.
I don’t much about this other than it takes place during a festival, has ancient magic, West African folklore and murders. Honestly that’s all I really need. With all the good things I keep hearing about this book I am almost 100% sure I am going to love it.
Rena Barron
Then we have “Kingdom of Souls” and “Reaper of Souls” by Rena Barron, the titles of these books alone got me interested in picking them up. Whenever a book talks about sould, kingdoms and reapers, I am sold Immidiately.
again, I don’t know much about the premise of this book (which is how i usually like to go into books) other than it has magic, witches, deal making, family heir lines, so i’m expecting discussions and themes surrounding families and cultures which is just right up my alley when it comes to YA fantasy.
Tracy Deonn
Unless you have been living under a rock, you definitely have heard about or seen the gorgeous cover of “Legendborn” by Tracy Deonn. The story follows teenage girl Bree Matthews as she deals with the grief of losing a loved one and wanting to leave her family home behind in hopes of leaving those feelings of sadness behind as well. One day, Bree witnesses magic in the form of a demon feeding on human energy and then goes on to discover a secret society whose mission is to fight these demons .
First of all, I want to give this book a go because the cover is absolutely beautiful and the premise of the book sounds like something I would definitely enjoy! Being on a book buying ban right (or a money spending ban in general hahah…) I can’t get my hands on a copy of it right away but as soon as I go off this book buying ban, I am definitely putting this one high up on my list of books to buy. (unless it goes on sale on kindle, then of course F*** that book buying ban)
Leah Johnson
These two books I can’t even explain hw excited I am to pick up. I’ve had my copy of “You Should See me in a Crown” sitting on my bookshelf for the past few weeks and the only reason I have not picked it up is because I am saving it has a summer read. Like I have said before, I tend to pick up contemporaries more during the summer/spring time although t it has been difficult because everything in me wants to pick it up RIGHT NOW.
What I love about Leah Johnson’s books is that they are not only uplifting Black voices, but they are also surrouding Queer Black characters.
I am lucky enough to have amazing friends who sometimes will buy books for me and that is how I acquire “You Should See me in a Crown”. A friend of mine who read it and loved it who also thought I would enjoy it sent me a copy around my birthday last year and It has been staring at me from my bookshelf ever since.
Junauda Petrus
Next we have “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them” by Junauda Petrus. I was also planning on reading this one in 2020 to a pick of the month for the Bibliophile bookclub but I ended up not getting my hands on a copy and not being able to read it.
I’ve heard that Petrus’ writing style is lyrical and poetical which is one of the biggest reason as to why I am interested in picking it up. That and the fact that i am pretty sure this book is sapphic. This is another book I am prioritizing as a book I want to acquire and read. If anyone sees a good deal for either the physical copy or the kindle version, please let me know.
Brittney Morris
This is another one I am also saving for a summer time read because it is more on the contemporary side although it does deal with heavy subject matters if am correct. Again, this is another book i’ve heard nothing but good reviews for and which excites me but also scares me.
Slay follows 16 year old Kiera who loves developing video games and everything surrounding technology such as. The book is said to talk about heavy subjects such as grief, racism, and finding yourself. This is pretty much all I know about the story but I am nonetheless looking forward to reading it.
So that is it for today’s post. Of course, I know there is ALOT more amazing books written by Black authors out there but these are just the ones that are currently on my TBR. If you have read any of these please let me know in the comments down below which ones you liked or if you also plan on reading some of these in the future.
As per usual, please stay safe out there, wear your mask, wash you hands and uplift Black voices whenever you can! Thank you so much for reading, likes, comments and shares are always greatly appreciated
Find most of these books and more on the masterlist of YA books written by Black authors created by Goodreads.
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seven late night thoughts with zoe 
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