North
by night: a story of the Underground Railroad
Ayres, Katherine
Presents the journal of a sixteen-year-old girl whose family operates a
stop on the Underground Railroad.
McKendree
Belton, Sandra
In 1948, while spending the summer with her aunt in West Virginia to find
her family roots, Tilara begins visiting the "colored" old folks'
home called McKendree, makes new friends, and learns to love herself.
Stealing
Freedom
Carbone, Elisa Lynn
A novel based on the events in the life of a young slave girl from Maryland
who endures all kinds of mistreatment and cruelty, including being separated
from her family, but who eventually escapes to freedom in Canada.
Kendra
Booth, Coe.
High schooler Kendra longs to live with her mother who, unprepared for motherhood at age fourteen, left Kendra in the care of her grandmother.
Tyrell
Booth, Coe
Fifteen-year-old Tyrell, who is living in a Bronx homeless shelter with his spaced-out mother and his younger brother, tries to avoid temptation so he does not end up in jail like his father.
The Marvelous Effect
Cle, Troy.
Strange things are happening on Earth, and twelve-year-old Louis Proof discovers that he is one of the few people able to see--and combat--the responsible beings, who came from Midlandia, the planet at the center of the universe, to continue a battle that rages there
Born
in Sin
Coleman, Evelyn
Despite serious obstacles and setbacks, fourteen-year-old Keisha pursues
her dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer and medical doctor.
Bucking
the Sarge
Curtis, Christopher Paul
Deeply involved in his cold and manipulative mother's shady business dealings
in Flint, Michigan, fourteen-year-old Luther keeps a sense of humor while running
the Happy Neighbor Group Home For Men, all the while dreaming of going to college
and becoming a philosopher.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
Curtis, Christopher Paul.
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
Jason & Kyra (2004)
Davidson, Dana
Handsome and popular Jason tries to come to terms with his irascible, often absent
father and his growing attraction to the quiet, studious Kyra.
Mare's War
Davis, Tanita S.
Teens Octavia and Tali learn about strength, independence, and courage when they are forced to take a car trip with their grandmother, who tells about growing up Black in 1940s Alabama and serving in Europe during World War II as a member of the Women's Army Corps.
Battle
of Jericho (2003)
Draper, Sharon M.
A high school junior and his cousin suffer the ramifications of joining what
seems to be a "reputable" school club.
Copper
Sun
Draper, Sharon.
Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape
their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida,
a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.
Double
Dutch
Draper, Sharon M.
Three eighth-grade friends, preparing for the International Double Dutch Championship
jump rope competition in their home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, cope with Randy's
missing father, Delia's inability to read, and Yo Yo's encounter with the class
bullies.
Just Another Hero
Draper, Sharon M.
As Kofi, Arielle, Dana, November, and Jericho face personal challenges during their last year of high school, a misunderstood student brings a gun to class and demands to be taken seriously.
The
Skin I'm In
Flake, Sharon
Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark,
meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face and makes some discoveries about
how to love who she is and what she looks like.
Who am I without Him: Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in Their Lives
Flake, Sharon.
Standing Against the Wind
Jones, Traci L.
As she tries to escape her poor Chicago neighborhood by winning a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, shy and studious eighth-grader Patrice discovers that she has more options in life than she previously realized.
Jazmin's
Notebook
Grimes, Nikki.
Jazmin,
an Afro-American teenager who lives with her older sister in a small
Harlem apartment in the 1960s, finds strength in writing poetry and keeping
a record of the events in her sometimes difficult life.
First
Part Last
Johnson, Angela
Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father
and must care for his adored baby daughter.
Heaven:
A Novel
Johnson, Angela.
Fourteen-year-old Marley's seemingly perfect life in the small town of Heaven
is disrupted when she discovers that her father and mother are not her real
parents.
Looking
for Red
Johnson, Angela.
A thirteen-year-old girl struggles to cope with the loss of her beloved
older brother, who disappeared four months earlier off the coast of
Cape Cod.
Guardian
Lester, Julius.
In a rural southern town in 1946, a white man and his son witness the lynching of an innocent black man. Includes historical note on lynching.
Day
of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue
Julius Lester.
Emma has taken care of the Butler children since Sarah and Frances's mother,
Fanny, left. Emma wants to raise the girls to have good hearts, as a rift
over slavery has ripped the Butler household apart. Now, to pay off debts,
Pierce Butler wants to cash in his slave "assets", possibly including
Emma.
Unsigned Hype: A Novel
Mattison, Booker T.
Fifteen-year-old Tory Tyson dreams of producing hip hop records, and as he rapidly begins to experience success doing just that, he finds that he must make choices between the way he has been raised by his single, God-fearing mother and the folks he meets in the music world.
Harlem Hustle
McDonald, Janet.
Eric "Hustle" Samson, a smart and street-wise seventeen-year-old dropout from Harlem, aspires to rap stardom, a dream he naively believes is about to come true.
Twists
and Turns
McDonald, Janet
With the help of a couple of successful friends, eighteen- and nineteen-year-old
Teesha and Keeba try to capitalize on their talents by opening a hair salon in
the run-down Brooklyn housing project where they live.
Shooting Star
Mckissack, Jr., Fredrick.
Jomo Rogers, a naturally talented athlete, starts taking performance enhancing drugs in order to be an even better high school football player, but finds his life spinning out of control as his game improves.
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Hotlanta
Millner, Denene & Mitzi Miller.
Living a privileged life in Atlanta, wealthy and beautiful African American twin sisters, Sydney and Lauren, must deal with family secrets and scandal when their father is released from prison.
Legend
of Buddy Bush (2004)
Moses, Shiela P.
In 1947, twelve-year-old Pattie Mae is sustained by her dreams of escaping
Rich Square, North Carolina, and moving to Harlem when her Uncle Buddy
is arrest for attempted rape of a white woman and her grandfather is
diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.
Autobiography
of My Dead Brother
Myers, Walter Dean.
Jesse pours his heart and soul into his sketchbook to make sense of life
in his troubled Harlem neighborhood and the loss of a close friend.
Dope Sick
Myers, Walter Dean.
Seeing no way out of his difficult life in Harlem, seventeen-year-old Jeremy "Lil J" Dance flees into a house after a drug deal goes awry and meets a weird man who shows different turning points in Lil J's life when he could have made better choices.
The
Glory Field
Myers,
Walter Dean
Follows a family's two hundred forty-one year history, from the capture
of an African boy in the 1750s through the lives of his descendants, as
their dreams and circumstances lead them away from and back to the small
plot of land in South Carolina that they call the Glory Field.
Monster
Myers, Walter Dean.
While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon
records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form
of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life
has taken.
Riot
Myers, Walter Dean.
In 1863, fifteen-year-old Claire, the daughter of an Irish mother and a black father, faces ugly truths and great danger when Irish immigrants, enraged by the Civil War and a federal draft, lash out against blacks and wealthy "swells" of New York City.
What
They Found: Love on 145th Street
Myers, Walter Dean.
Fifteen interrelated stories explore different aspects of love, such
as a dying father's determination to help start a family business--a
beauty salon--and the relationship of two teens who plan to remain
celibate until they marry.
Nightjohn
Paulsen, Gary
Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous
when a newly arrived slave offers to teach her how to read.
Caucasia
Senna, Danzy
A sensitive coming-of-age bestseller about two sisters divided by politics
and race at the beginning of the 1970s.
The Hoopster
Sitomer. Alan Lawrence.
Andre Anderson is a black teenager who loves to play basketball, When he is viciously attacked, it calls his whole world into question--even his deadly jumpshot. Followed by Hip-Hop High School 494788 and Homeboyz 494789
Flygirl
Smith, Sherri L.
During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
Another
Way to Dance
Southgate, Martha.
While spending the summer at the School of American Ballet in New York City,
fourteen-year-old Vicki Harris must come to terms with the reality of her parents'
divorce, her crush on Mikhail Baryshnikov, and the impact of being an African
American on her future as a dancer.
The
Land
Taylor, Mildred D.
After the Civil War Paul, the son of a white father and a black mother,
finds himself caught between the two worlds of colored folks and white
folks as he pursues his dream of owning land of his own. . Prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Roll
of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Taylor, Mildred D.
A black family living in the South during the 1930's are faced with prejudice
and discrimination which their children don't understand. Winner
of the Newbery Medal
Hollywood & Maine
Whittenberg, Allison.
In 1976 Pennsylvania, middle-schooler Charmaine Upshaw contemplates a career as a model or actress while coping with boyfriend problems and the return of her uncle, a fugitive who cost her family $1,000 in bail money a year earlier.
Broken China
Williams, Lori Aurelia.
China Cup Cameron, a fourteen-year-old single mother with only her paralyzed Uncle Simon for support, takes on tremendous personal debt in hopes of a beautiful funeral after her daughter dies.
Like
Sisters on the Homefront
Williams-Garcia, Rita
Troubled 14-yr. old Gail is sent down South to live with her uncle & aunt,
where her life begins to change as she experiences the healing power of
family.
No
Laughter Here
Williams-Garcia, Rita.
In Queens, New York, ten-year-old Akilah is determined to find out why her closest
friend, Victoria, is silent and withdrawn after returning from a trip to her
homeland, Nigeria.
Acting
Winston, Sherri
Longing to escape from her small Michigan town, sixteen-year-old Eve, an aspiring
actress, is forced to confront both her family's and her own expectations when
her twin sister announces her pregnancy.
Emako
Blue
Woods, Brenda
Monterey, Savannah, Jamal, and Eddie have never had much to do with each
other until Emako Blue shows up at chorus practice, but just as the lives
of the five Los Angeles high school students become intertwined, tragedy
tears them apart.
After Tupac & D Foster
Woodson, Jacqueline.
In the New York City borough of Queens in 1996, three girls bond over their shared love of Tupac Shakur's music, as together they try to make sense of the unpredictable world in which they live.
Hush
Woodson, Jacqueline
Twelve-year-old Toswiah finds her life changed when her family enters
the witness protection program.
I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This
Woodson, Jacqueline.
Marie, the only black girl in the eighth grade willing to befriend her white classmate Lena, discovers that Lena's father is doing horrible things to her in private.
Lena
Woodson, Jacqueline.
Thirteen-year-old Lena and her younger sister Dion mourn the death of their mother
as they hitchhike from Ohio to Kentucky while running away from their abusive
father.
Miracle’s
Boys
Woodson, Jacqueline
Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie
changes after Charlie is released from a detention home and blames Lafayette
for the death of their mother.
When the Black Girl Sings
Wright, Bil.
Adopted by white parents and sent to an exclusive Connecticut girls' school where she is the only black student, fourteen-year-old Lahni Schuler feels like an outcast, particularly when her parents separate, but after attending a local church where she hears gospel music for the first time, she finds her voice. |
