Reading is a form of escape and a pleasure that many of us enjoy, and when we’re done reading a really good book we tend to go online for recommendations. A huge fault I have picked up on in the lists I have come across is a lack of books written by BIPOC authors. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, many many lists have been made of books written by Black authors in order to help them gain more recognition. I know that some people reading this may be wondering why this article wasn’t written or published during Black History Month or during the height of the BLM movement. That’s part of the issue. Why do we only expect these things during times when Black lives and the Black existence is “trending.” Black lives and rights are not a trendy topic, they are so important and cannot be limited to one month of the entire year. And so, I hope you enjoy my brief list of recommendations that I have for you guys and that at least one of these novels spark your interest because Black creatives deserve to be celebrated and praised.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibert
Synopsis
This is a romance novel about Chloe Brown, a chronically ill computer geek who wants to make her life more exciting after having a near death experience. She decides to make a list to ‘get a life’ but finds she needs a little help. The superintendent of her building Redford Morgan enters an agreement with her to help her get a life in return for Chloe creating a website for him. This steamy romance is a perfect pick me up and deals with a lot of important issues that aren’t typically covered in romance novels.
Trigger Warnings for emotionally abusive relationships
https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/43884209-get-a-life-chloe-brown
Long Way Down by Jayson Reynolds
Synopsis
Told in verse, this is a novel that explores teenage violence that surrounds the main character Will as he struggles with the grief caused by the death of his older brother. In an attempt to get revenge on who he believes to be his brother’s killer, Will puts his brother’s gun in the waistband of his trousers and enters the elevator to confront the suspected killer. However, a series of strange events occur in the elevator that make Will question everything.
Trigger warnings for violence, murder, drugs.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/22552026-long-way-down
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Synopsis
This is the first book in a fantasy trilogy about the end of the world. Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land and goes through an ordeal of trials in order to save her daughter.
I’m unsure of any trigger warnings for this novel so please make sure you google them before reading
https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/19161852-the-fifth-season
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Synopsis
This global dystopian novel surrounds an intimate family story about love, fury and the Black American experience. There is an exploration of childhood defined by structural racism and brutality, imprisonment for being a young Black man in America and navigating this world.
I am unsure of specific trigger warnings for this novel so please make sure you google them before reading.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/43719523-riot-baby
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle
Synopsis
In this horror novel set in New York, Charles Thomas Tester delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress, he opens a door to magic and earns the attention of things best left sleeping
I am unsure of any trigger warnings so please google before reading
https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/26883558-the-ballad-of-black-tom