Books by Black Authors 📚 #BlackHistoryMonth

Hello fellow bookworms 📚 In honor of Black History Month (though it’s almost over, I only got around to writing this post now), I wanted to make a themed topic all about books by black authors that I enjoyed! I’m hoping to make more themed posts/recommendations throughout the year, as I enjoy highlighting different types of books 🥰 Today, I’m highlighting 6 black authors whose books I recommend and loved reading! I’m including the books I read by them (with my rating) and also mention what books by them I still have on my TBR. In the end, I’m also listing a few books by other black authors that are still on my TBR waiting to be read as soon as possible 💗

If you want more recommendations I highly recommend checking out the Black Literature Compendium, compiled for the Black Literature Challenge hosted by The Artisan Geek, as it’s a very extensive list full of books by black authors! The Host also a has a great video about 2020 releases by black authors, that I’m going to be inserting below, for even more recommendations 📚

Angie Thomas 🌺

• The Hate U Give ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• On the Come Up ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• Untitled #3 📚 TBR

Why I Like Them ➡ Angie is actually the first author I ever got to meet (the number of authors I’d like to meet that are coming to Germany is sadly very low 😞) and she was so lovely!! I’m very happy that I could hear her talk and get my copy of The Hate U Give signed and of course, have a few quick words with her – Angie is truly such a friendly person and made me feel right at ease. Like many people I adored The Hate U Give, as it’s such an important book about racism and police brutality and I’m happy that it received so much attention (I still have to watch the movie though) 💗 I also loved her second book On the Come Up and cannot wait for more books set in Garden Heights, as I love Angie’s writing styles and the characters she creates!

Neal Shusterman 🌺

• Scythe & Thunderhead ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Dry ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• Unwind ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Toll 📚 TBR

Why I Like Them ➡ Neal Shusterman is the Master of writing haunting sci-fi novels set in the future and his books never fail to grip me! Among my absolute favorites are of course Scythe and Thunderhead (I still have to read The Toll and I heard that it’s going to be intense 😱) because it’s such a fantastic, also scary and twisty story that definitely hooked me in. Similarly Unwind is downright creepy and has one of the most disturbing scenes I ever read … Shusterman is not messing around. I also recently loved Dry (co-written with his son Jarrod!), which is also making you think about the future impacts of climate change and how disaster changes humanity. All in all, Neal Shusterman often brings up such great discussions about how humanity operates under crisis and never fails to make my heart race with his books 💘

Claire Kann 🌺

• If It Makes You Happy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Let’s Talk About Love 📚 TBR
• The Scavenger Hunt 📚 TBR

Why I Like Them ➡ I discovered Claire Kann last year when I got to be on the Blog Tour for her newest release If It Makes You Happy and I really enjoyed reading that book. It had everything that made a contemporary stand out to me: a swoon-worthy slow-burn romance, a fierce heroine taking on stereotypes and a lot of friendship and messy family dynamics. I loved that the book explored queerplatonic relationships** and had so many great secondary characters 🥰 I cannot wait to now also read Kann’s debut novel Let’s Talk About Love, as I’ve heard fantastic things about it and got my own copy last year, that’s now currently sitting on my shelf and waiting to be read 📚

Tomi Adeyemi 🌺

• Children of Blood and Bone ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Children of Virtue and Vengeance 📚 TBR

Why I Like Them ➡ I was among the people incredibly excited for Children of  Blood and Bone because I’m always here for more Fantasy books inspired by non-western worlds! Luckily, I ended up loving the book and its rich Nigerian inspired history and worldbuilding, as well as the morally grey, complicated main characters that each had interesting, different Arcs. Though Children of Blood and Bone ended up becoming one of my favorites of 2018, I haven’t read the sequel yet, but I think that’s fair as its publication got pushed back and only came out at the end of 2019! I’m definitely excited to get to the sequel sometime this year maybe, as my fantasy-loving heart wants to read more magical books from this author! ✨

Nic Stone 🌺

• Dear Martin ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• Snow in Love (Story 4) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Dear Justyce 📚 TBR

Why I Like Them ➡ It’s been a while since I read Dear Martin, but it was another important book that dealt with police brutality and racism and really got me invested. It’s on the shorter side but definitely packs a punch and makes you feel with the main character who is questioning what kind of man he wants to be when the world is constantly trying to bring him down. Through Jus’ inner narrative we explore his struggles with making the ‘right’ decisions and trying find a place in a complicated world. I’m very excized that there’s going to be a follow up to Dear Martin, told from the perspective of a childhood friend of Jus I think – I cannot wait for that to release later this eafr! I also read Nic Stone’s short storty in the Snow in Love antholog that I loved, so I’m hoping to read more by her soon!

Elizabeth Acevedo 🌺

• The Poet X ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Clap When You Land 📚 TBR

Why I Like Them ➡ I just read The Poet X at the very end of 2019 because my library got a copy and I was intrigued, because the story is written in verse, a format that I rarely ever get to read and made me a bit nervous. However, the book turned out to be really engaging and well-written, making it easy to get into a different format as everything flowed so nicely. It became an addictive, different read that I greatly enjoyed and that made me more open to reading books written in verse. That’s why I’m looking forward to reading Clap When You Land, Acevedo’s upcoming YA book that’s also told in verse and deals with the grief of two half-sisters who uncover their father’s secrets. I’m definitely ready to dive into the verses again 😄

Books by Black Authors on my TBR 🌺

• Full Disclosure (Camryn Garrett)
• A River of Royal Blood (Amanda Joy)
• Felix Ever After (Kacen Callender)
• When You Were Everything (Ashley Woodfolk)
• The Fifth Season (N.K. Jeminsin)
• Akata Witch (Nnedi Okarafor)
• A Blade so Black (L.L. McKinney)
• Kingdom of Souls (Rena Barron)
• Tyler Johnson Was Here (Jay Coles)
• Truly Madly Royally (Debbie Rigaud)

What are your favorite books written by black authors? Feel free to recommend me some books down below! 📚

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