Black History Month Book Recommendations
For Black History Month, I thought I’d give some book recommendations of some of my favorite books by black women authors. Many of these are classics, and heart-breaking, but I love them.
- How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
- Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall
- Passing by Nella Larsen
- Corregidora by Gayle Jones
Short Summaries of Each Book Rec
How It Went Down
How It Went Down is a very quick read, but also heartbreaking. I read it for my book club. “When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white. In the aftermath of Tariq’s death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth.”
Corregidora
Amazon describes Corregidora as the tale of blues singer Ursa, consumed by the hatred of the slave master who fathered both her grandmother and her mother. And that sentence alone gives me chills. I read this in college and still remember it vividly.
Brown Girl, Brownstones
I discovered Paule Marshall and absolutely LOVED Brown Girl, Brownstones. Maybe because it was set in New York and because my mom firmly believes in buying a brownstone in NY. I remember waiting anxiously for Marshall’s new releases. I was so excited when Daughters came out.
Brown Girl, Brownstones is about a Barbadian immigrant family living in Brooklyn. The protagonist is a ten-year old girl who strives to define her own identity “as she struggles to surmount the racism and poverty that surround her.” Her father wants to return to Barbados and her mother is trying to save money to buy a brownstone in Brooklyn.
Passing
Passing was published in 1929. (I love books set in the Roaring ’20’s). Set primarily in Harlem, “the story centers on the reunion of two childhood friends—Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield—and their increasing fascination with each other’s lives. The book examines each woman’s approach to passing for white. Irene, who is insecure, seems to envy Clare’s confidence and also resent it.” She fears that Clare has made a dangerous mistake by pretending to be white to her racist husband. (from the Wikipedia summary).
#TBR Pile for YA Black History Month Book Recommendations
I have both these books in my #tbr pile as well as The Hate You Give. My daughter recommended One Crazy Summer and the rest of the series.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is “the heartbreaking, funny tale of three girls who travel to Oakland, California in 196 in search of the mother who abandoned them.”
The Young Landlords by Walter Dean Myers: “They were out to save the world–and were lucky to save their skins.” A bunch of young kids buy a building.
#TBR for Romance Books
And on my #TBR for more fun reading: The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory and In Rhythm by JN Welsh.
The Proposal: “When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn’t the hard part—they’ve only been dating for five months, and he can’t even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans… At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik’s rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. . . “
I bought In Rhythm because the protagonist is a female DJ. And she actually falls for a Dutch guy. (I’m half-Dutch). “With a shared passion for music and an intense mutual attraction, the pair should be totally in sync. Instead, Zazzle’s reputation has Velvet hitting Pause.” I just started reading it and I love the way JN Welsh writes. Her dialogue is so realistic. But it does have a content warning that it deals with addiction.
Let’s Talk
Do you have any book recommendations?