In celebration of Black History Month, I would like to share some new fiction titles written by Black contemporary authors that either highlight current social issues or show positive representation in their works. Providing books to a community that are written by people of color is important because books have the ability to educate the reader about the struggles and triumphs Black people have endured and still face in America.
“Black Buck” by Mateo Askaripour is the author’s debut novel and is already receiving a lot of buzz. “Black Buck” is a satirical novel about a young Black man named Darren Vender who is completely content working as a manager at Starbucks, living with his mother, and spending time with his girlfriend in New York City until one day he reverse-sells a cup of coffee to Rhett Daniels, a CEO of tech startup Sumwun. Rhett likes what he sees and hires him for a sales position at Sumwun. Pressured by his mother to find a better job, Darren reluctantly takes the position and discovers that he is the only Black man working there and he immediately encounters racism. Darren decides to completely flip the system by creating a job training program for people of color to help empower them in the workforce. Reminiscent of the cult classic “Fight Club,” this sharp book will hook you in at page one.
If one is looking for something on the lighter side to read, “Take a Hint, Dani Brown” by Talia Hibbert is the perfect book for you. “Take a Hint, Dani Brown” is a contemporary romance novel about casual acquaintances, PhD student Dankia Brown and Zafir Ansari, a retired rugby player and security guard at the university Dani attends. When a video of the two of them goes viral, in which he’s heroically rescuing her from a disaster drill, things between them start to heat up. When describing her work, Hibbert says that “she writes sexy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation.”
Aside from these two new titles which we have available for check-out, here are a few other new novels to read in celebration of Black History Month.
“His Only Wife” by Peace Adzo Medie
“Yellow Wife” by Sadeqa Johnson
“This Close to Okay” by Lessa Cross-Smith
“The Secret Lives of Church Ladies” by Deesha Philyaw
“The Kindest Lie” by Nancy Johnson
“The Rib King” by Ladee Hubbard
Call, email, or go online to reserve one of these titles today. Information on how to reserve an item can be found on our website, www.akspl.org.