A high school student whose promising basketball career is in jeopardy discovers the triumphs and hardships of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's life as a social justice advocate in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel.

Monk Travers is the star basketball player on his high school team. Confident about his future as an NBA player, he doesn’t see the point in caring much about school, let alone his community. But his world is about to change—big time!

After getting caught graffitiing his team's rival school, Monk comes to the awful realization that his actions have put his place on the team—and his future—in jeopardy. Fearing the worst, he’s taken by surprise when his coach offers him an unorthodox way to atone: completing a report on the life of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Monk is ecstatic. He knows all Kareem’s records and stats. He smugly announces that the project will be a snap, but his excitement is short-lived when coach tells him that the project is not about Kareem’s basketball career—it’s about his life as an advocate for change.

As Monk grudgingly begins his research, he discovers a history of struggles, conflicts, frustrations, and violence that he’d never been aware of, awakening a passion for social justice that rivals Kareem’s own.

Two dead princesses must find true love's kiss to bring them back to life in this heart-stopping romantic fantasy debut. For fans of Cinderella Is Dead and Girl, Serpent, Thorn.

Amala has spent her whole life trying to be the perfect princess: delicate, quiet, obedient. But when she’s murdered on the night of her wedding, her story is cut short before it begins.

Kha’dasia has been told her whole life that she is too rough, too loud, too much. She’s no ordinary princess but a ruthless warrior on a quest to fulfill her late brother’s dying wish. Except she dies before reaching her destination.

When both girls wake up in a cursed forest, the gods offer them a second chance at life—if they can find true love’s kiss. But there’s a catch, the gods warn. While the right kiss will save you, the wrong kiss will kill you.

On their journey, the princesses must overcome challenges that force them to face the truth of their lives…and their deaths. And as Amala and Kha’dasia grow closer, they can’t help but wonder if true love has been standing right in front of them all along.

SENIOR YEAR BUCKET LIST? SWITCH BODIES WITH YOUR CRUSH.

Chi-Chi Ekeh has one huge problem: She keeps having crushes on rich white boys who have no idea she exists. Enter Flip Henderson, the most popular boy at school, who receives Chi-Chi’s private video proposal to go to senior prom.

But when Flip rejects Chi-Chi in front of their entire class, what happens next is completely unexpected: Chi-Chi―shy nerd and scholarship student―switches bodies with Flip. Suddenly Chi-Chi is 6’1” and cool, while Flip gets a crash course on Chi-Chi’s life―that is, k-pop, hair-braiding, and being a poor kid of color at a rich white private school.

With graduation looming and their body swaps lasting longer and longer, Chi-Chi and Flip must form the most unlikely friendship their school has ever seen. But will they survive senior year? And, most importantly, can they find a way back to themselves?

From bestselling author of Check, Please! comes Flip, a thrilling and fantastical tale about self-acceptance, black girlhood, and how walking a mile in someone else’s shoes can teach you how to finally see yourself.

From New York Times-bestselling author George M. Johnson and USA Today-bestselling author Leah Johnson comes a revolutionary new holiday romcom for fans of Lynn Painter, Alice Oseman, and Nicola Yoon.

Andy was supposed to shed her too-serious student journalist persona and reinvent herself on New Year's Eve. Instead, she puked on her crush, dropped her phone in a fish tank, and managed to get her car stolen. Now, she only has the first day of the year to stop the gentrification that’s threatening her family’s business, right her wrongs from the night before, and figure out why she feels so drawn to the electric new-girl-next-door. How can Andy find her voice when everything’s being turned upside down?

Dominique is an influencer on the verge of securing a major brand deal that will ensure his future and family legacy. But when he runs into his former best friend, unresolved feelings emerge -- and in a small town, there's nowhere to hide. Not from his cousin, Andy, who has always seen him for his true self, not from his busybody manager, Kim, whose favorite color is money green, and certainly not from himself. When all the world’s a stage, can Dominique rise to superstardom without leaving the ones he loves behind?

There’s Always Next Year is a dual POV, double love story about what it means to nearly blow your life up, and race to put it back together before your time runs out. And if they fail? Well, there’s always next year.

Evan Wilde is a poor working-class girl. She writes contracts on behalf of wealthier folks who want to exchange a bit of their life for minor deals with devils. It’s not until she is bleeding out, the unwilling victim of an outlawed contract sacrifice, that Evan draws a contract for herself: A devil can take the last of her life―all she wants is revenge.

With the help of a devil named Jack, Evan infiltrates the upper class by posing as one of their own to bring them down from the inside.

For the first time, Evan finds friends and maybe even love. And with time she realizes that for all their corruption, the upper class’s magic is what keeps the devils at bay. Can she condemn the world to ruin to satisfy her need for vengeance?

But a contract cannot be broken, except at a devil’s mercy. And Jack has none.

Perfect for fans of One Piece, this is an epic Black queer pirate fantasy that you won't be able to put down!

A long time ago, a witch burst into flames. A pirate and a mermaid fell in love. A map was marked with a glowing X. And a republic was born.

Levi and Vega are the children of the fearsome pirate captain of The Sea Dragon. They have been raised on tales of daring feats and seafaring adventures, but there are stories they haven't been told--stories about witches and mermaids and magical maps. When tragedy strikes, the siblings land on the Pirate Republic, a self-governed island of freedom and adventure. Levi uncovers the secrets of his past as he works with his sister, a sea nymph, the pirates, and witches to protect the island from the conquering Empire. But he must learn to accept himself before he can even begin to help his friends.

In the present day, two girls are given a history assignment: to try and piece together the rise and fall of the famous and corrupt Pirate Republic, which once formed their island home. As Reggie and Maeve's tentative friendship deepens into something more, they realize that a magical world could be on their very doorstep--if only they can find the map.

Published in partnership with GLAAD, this novel is an intoxicatingly rich fantasy that blends high seas, swashbuckling adventure and lyrical poetry.

A story about self-discovery, grief, and destiny that begs the question: How do you keep going when your world has stopped spinning?

When Sydney Michaels stops for breakfast in order to put off scholastic ruin a little longer, she never expected to―quite literally―bump into cute-boy stranger, Marcus Burke.

When Marcus invites her to have breakfast with him instead of going to class, she can’t ignore the urge to get to know him better―or the fact that this charming new acquaintance seems just as interested in her.

After a magical day together in their hometown of New York City, Sydney is finally willing to believe that maybe―just maybe―after years of loss and heartache, she’s finally reached the good part.

But when it comes time to say goodbye, as they linger in a crosswalk, something happens. An accident? Sydney isn’t sure―all she knows is that, after screeching tires, blinding headlights, and a moment of searing pain, she opens her eyes and is back in her bed. On September 24–the morning of her big exam―again.

A girl determined to clear her brother's name. A boy determined to keep his out of the line of fire. A secret smoldering between them. This edge-of-your-seat mystery from the author of Promise Boys is perfect for fans of Karen McManus and The Hate U Give.

Unmask a murderer or take the fall.

After Cooper King is pressured by big brother figure Jason to go on a looting spree during a local march, the unthinkable happens: gunshots ring in the air and someone ends up dead. After Cooper flees, the news shows four teens in ski masks near the scene of the murder―Cooper and his friends. Cooper fears the cops will come knocking at his door, and the pressure only mounts when a suspect is taken into custody: Jason.

Monique, Jason's sister and Cooper's longtime crush, is willing to go any length to clear her brother's name. Even if she needs to go into the belly of the beast and confront the killer herself. When she teams up with Cooper, they fall down the investigation rabbit hole and start to fall for each other. But little does Monique know that within this web of deception, Cooper is shrouding the truth that he was there when the shots went off. If the pair fail to uncover the real murderer, Jason will get locked up for a crime he didn't commit―and drag down Cooper with him.

Pick this up if you love:
● high stakes, dual POV thrillers
● page-turning mysteries
● will-they-won't-they romance
● twists and turns you never see coming

She Gets the Girl meets Bottoms in this fun and flirty young adult sapphic rom-com about two teens who want revenge on the flaky popular girl they’re both crushing on.

Cynical but sensitive Beau Carl is on a mission. She needs to know if ultra-popular Maia Moon—the girl she’s been secretly hooking up with for months—really has feelings for her. But when she shows up at the last big party of the year before prom, she sees Maia about to kiss someone else.

Sweet, inexperienced Charm Montgomery is the “someone else.” And she’s ecstatic that she’s been reading Maia’s flirty behavior in their tutoring sessions correctly. But when the kiss is interrupted and Maia accepts an elaborate promposal from her douchey, popular boyfriend just a few days later, both Charm and Beau end up heartbroken.

There’s only one thing for them to do—get her back. And the only way to do that is for Beau to tutor Charm on how she can get their former crush to fall for her so hard that Maia will dump her ex…and then get dumped for once.

As their plan starts working, Beau and Charm grow closer too, in a way neither expected. But are either of them ready to let go of their scheme to take a chance on something a little sweeter—and scarier—than revenge?

From the author of The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, two best bros fake an engagement–but will their friendship survive?

It’s about time roommates Alejandro and Kenny get married. Or at least, that’s what all their close friends and family think when they announce their engagement. The kicker? The two are faking their whole relationship so Alejandro can get a green card. But if Han was going to marry anyone, it would be his ride or die since second grade.

Han has never been able to put down roots, and the only one who truly breaks through his walls is Kenny. Sweet, sensitive Kenny is newly single, and what better distraction from his soul-sucking relationship than proposing marriage to Han? Kenny can’t think of anything more fun than spending his life with his best friend, even if it’s just for a piece of paper. But as Kenny keeps up the charade, he’s soon struggling to resist their sizzling chemistry.

The line between fact and fiction begins to blur the closer they get to their wedding date. With all eyes on Han and Kenny—including a meddling ex and immigration officers—will these two bros make it down the altar for real?

Black college student Sydney Ciara navigates academics, love, and the online realm, in this coming-of-age romance told through her blog posts, messages, social media, and more!

Sydney Ciara Warren is excited as she starts her first year of college, but also nervous. With her best friend Malcolm attending a different university, she'll have to make new friends. And despite her interests in writing and fashion, she has no idea what path will ultimately be right for her.

As Sydney Ciara tries to figure out her place on campus and in the world, she finds solace in blogging about her life, putting together outfits with meaning, and spending time online. It’s within the digital space that she connects with someone who goes by YoungPrinceX. She may not know “X” in real life, but that doesn’t stop her from developing a crush on him. Except things get complicated, as she also navigates her first romantic relationship with a sweet boy on campus named Xavier (who maybe could be X?).

Can Sydney Ciara not only make it through her first semester, but thrive in real life, as much as she seems to be thriving online?

Here is a swoony love letter to Twitter, to Black girls who think they won’t get chosen, and to those who take too long finding the perfect words!

With Love, Miss Americanah―the Young Adult contemporary romance debut from Jane Igharo―sees a teenager move from Nigeria to America and navigate her senior year with the help of classic teen movies and a new crush, all while working through grief and the rigid expectations of her mother.

17-year-old Enore Adesuwa doesn’t dive into things, she walks in carefully. So when she, her mother, and her sister move from Nigeria to America shortly after her father’s death, she wants to be extremely prepared before attending an American high school. Her cousin, Adrian, doesn’t have time to explain the ins and outs to her but, luckily, he recommends the perfect research tool: teen movies.

Still dealing with grief but armed with a set of rules of survival gathered from these movies (including the crucial rule of keeping a low profile), Enore is ready for her senior year. But when she meets Davi Santiago, it may be much harder than she thought to keep to her rules. Because not only is he super thoughtful (and okay, very good looking), he constantly encourages her to share her incredible singing talent. Enore prefers the background but it just might be time for her to take center stage, even in spite of her mother’s strict expectations.

Maybe it would be easier to follow all the rules, the ones Enore set for herself and the ones her mom imposes, but as every teen movie has taught her, a coming-of-age is nothing without a little rebellion. And with help from her crush, her sister, and some new friends who don’t quite fit the roles she expects them to play, Enore’s senior year might indeed be cinematic.

Ninth House meets Legendborn in this thrilling first book in a dark academia fantasy series about a teen who’s willing to do anything to find her brother—even infiltrate a secret society full of monsters.

When August’s brother disappears before his sophomore semester, everyone thinks the stress of college got to him. But August knows her brother would never have left her voluntarily, especially not after their mother so recently went missing.

The only clue he left behind was a note telling her to stay safe and protect their remaining family. And after August is attacked by a ten-foot-tall creature with fur and claws, she realizes that her brother might be in more danger than she could have imagined.

Unfortunately for her, the only person with a connection to the mysterious creature is the bookish Virgil Hawthorne…and he knows about them because he is one. If he doesn’t find a partner to help control his true nature, he’ll lose his humanity and become a mindless beast—exactly what the secret society he’s grown up in would love to put down.

Virgil makes a proposition: August will join his society and partner with him, and in return, he’ll help her find her brother. And so August is plunged into a deadly competition to win one of the few coveted candidate spots, all while trying to accept a frightening reality: that monsters are real, and she has to learn to master them if she’s to have any hope of saving her brother.

The highly anticipated sequel to NUBIA: REAL ONE highlights the importance of self-acceptance and the enduring power of true friendship!

After a turbulent school year, Nubia is both thrilled and anxious as she embarks on a transformative summer training with the Amazons on Themyscira! Amid the mounting pressure of expectations, she grapples with feeling like an outsider, letting the weight of her self-doubt strain her most important relationships.

Just when she thought her life couldn’t get more complicated, her biggest fear threatens the safety of everyone on Paradise Island. Will Nubia rise above the chaos and embrace her true self as the hero she was destined to be?

From critically acclaimed author L.L McKinney and brought to life with delightful, vivid art by Robyn Smith, NUBIA: TOO REAL follows Nubia as she explores her Amazonian identity, navigates her friendships, and learns how to love herself.

Perfect for fans of Mason Deaver and Becky Albertalli, this tender, raucous novel follows a rule-following, perfectionist teen who starts an underground GSA club at her conservative Catholic high school, from the acclaimed author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens.

Cassie Perera is a star student in St. Luke's junior class. But the new school year brings an unwelcome surprise—the return to St. Luke's of Cassie's former friend, Ben, who left a few years ago after a homophobic bullying incident Cassie knows she didn't do enough to prevent.

Still harboring guilt from her inaction, Cassie decides, in her usual, overzealous way, to team up with the neighboring public school to found an underground Gender and Sexuality Alliance—as a complicated strategy for making things up to Ben. Secretly, Cassie is also tempted by the possibility of opening up about her own sexuality for the first time.

As Cassie’s new friends urge her out of her comfort zone, she unlocks a kind of joy and freedom she’s never felt before—even as she struggles to balance these experiences with her typical tightrope of being the perfect daughter, student, and Catholic.

Cassie’s perfectly curated life unravels into turmoil, but can she embrace the mess enough to piece together something new?

The bookclub meeting will take place on March 26, 2024 at 7 PM in the Kindred Stories' Reading Garden. Be sure to show up with the book read (or partially read). You are always welcome to just come and take up space. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Forced to spend her summer in her aunt's strange small town, a teen girl discovers dark secrets hidden in the woods. From the author of Bad Witch Burning comes another pulse-pounding novel perfect for fans of Supernatural and Lovecraft Country.

Don't go outside past dark. Come straight home after church. And above all—never, ever, go into Red Wood.

These are the rules Latavia's aunt gives her when Latavia arrives in Sanctum, Alabama for the summer. Though, weird as they are, living in Sanctum does have its pros. Mainly, the cute girl who works at the local ice cream shop. 

But Sanctum is turning out to be as strange as the rules—and the longer Latavia’s in town, the more suspicious she is that the people there are hiding something. And the more clear it is that she’s an outsider. Everyone’s nice enough, but they seem determined to prove everything is normal.

But it's not. Because there’s something in Red Wood that the towns’ people are hiding. And if Latavia doesn't follow her aunt’s rules, she might not be able to leave Sanctum. Ever...

*Ships in 7-10 Business Days*

It's 1976 and Jamaica is on fire. The country is on the eve of important elections and the warring political parties have made the divisions between the poor and the wealthy even wider. And Irie and Jilly come from very different backgrounds: Irie is from the heart of Kingston, where fighting in the streets is common. Jilly is from the hills, where mansions nestled within lush gardens remain safe behind gates. But the two bond through a shared love of Reggae music, spending time together at Irie's father's record store, listening to so-called rebel music that opens Jilly's mind to a sound and a way of thinking she's never heard before.

As tensions build in the streets, so do tensions between the two girls. A budding romance between them complicates things further as the push and pull between their two lives becomes impossible to bear. For Irie, fighting—with her words and her voice—is her only option. Blood is shed on the streets in front of her every day. She has no choice. But Jilly can always choose to escape.

Can their bond survive this impossible divide?

Asha Bromfield has written a compelling, emotional and heart-rending story of a friendship during wartime and what it means to fight for your words, your life, and the love of your life.

*ships in 7-10 business days*

A queer, witchy Fast and the Furious - starting 6 BIPOC witches - that shines light on history not often told

It’s 1930s Mississippi. Magic is permitted only in certain circumstances, and by certain people. Unsanctioned broom racing is banned. But for those who need the money, or the thrills...it's there to be found.

Meet Billie Mae, captain of the Night Storms racing team, and Loretta, her best friend and second-in-command. They’re determined to make enough money to move out west to a state that allows Black folks to legally use magic and take part in national races.

Cheng-Kwan – doing her best to handle the delicate and dangerous double act of being the perfect “son” to her parents, and being true to herself while racing.

Mattie and Emma -- Choctaw and Black -- the youngest of the group and trying to dodge government officials who want to send them and their newly-surfaced powers away to boarding school.

And Luella, in love with Billie Mae. Her powers were sealed away years ago after she fought back against the government. She’ll do anything to prevent the same fate for her cousins.  

Brooms is a queer, witchy Fast and the Furious that shines light on history not often told – it’s everything you’d ever want to read in a graphic novel. 

Channeling their own experiences, sixteen exceptional authors subvert mental health stereotypes in a powerful and uplifting collection of fiction.

A teen activist wrestles with protest-related anxiety and PTSD. A socially anxious vampire learns he has to save his town by (gulp) working with people. As part of her teshuvah, a girl writes letters to the ex-boyfriend she still loves, revealing that her struggle with angry outbursts is related to PMDD. A boy sheds uncontrollable tears but finds that in doing so he’s helping to enable another’s healing. In this inspiring, unflinching, and hope-filled mixed-genre collection, sixteen diverse and notable authors draw on their own lived experiences with mental health conditions to create stunning works of fiction that will uplift and empower you, break your heart and stitch it back together stronger than before. Through powerful prose, verse, and graphics, the characters in this anthology defy stereotypes as they remind readers that living with a mental health condition doesn’t mean that you’re defined by it. Each story is followed by a note from its author to the reader, and comprehensive back matter includes bios for the contributors as well as a collection of relevant resources.

With contributions by:
Mercedes Acosta * Karen Jialu Bao * James Bird * Rocky Callen * Nora Shalaway Carpenter * Alechia Dow * Patrick Downes * Anna Drury * Nikki Grimes * Val Howlett * Jonathan Lenore Kastin * Sonia Patel * Marcella Pixley * Isabel Quintero * Ebony Stewart * Francisco X. Stork

The Blackwoods. Everyone knows their name. Blossom Blackwood burst onto the silver screen in 1962, and in the decades that followed, she would become one of the most celebrated actors of her time—and the matriarch of Hollywood’s most famous Black family. To her great-granddaughters, Hollis and Ardith, she has always just been Bebe. And when she passes away, it changes everything.

Hollis Blackwood was never interested in fame. Still, she’s surrounded by it, at home with her family and at the prestigious Dupree Academy alongside Los Angeles’s elite. When private photos of Hollis are leaked in the wake of Blossom’s death, she is thrust into the spotlight she’s long avoided—and finds that trust may be a luxury even she can’t afford.

Ardith Blackwood has always lived in the public eye. A television star since childhood, she was perhaps closer with Blossom than anyone—especially after her mother died from a drug overdose. Ever since, she has worked to be everything her family, her church, and the media want her to be. But as a family secret comes to light and the pressures from all sides begin to mount, she wonders what is left beneath the face she shows the world.

Weaving together the narratives of Hollis, Ardith, and Blossom, award-winning author Brandy Colbert tells a boldly original story set in an America where everything is personal, and nothing is private.  

*ships in 7-10 business days

From the acclaimed author of SLAY and The Cost of Knowing comes an action-driven, high-octane novel about a group of working-class teens in Seattle who join a dangerous scavenger hunt with a prize that can save their families and community.

Influence is power. Power creates change. And change is exactly what Team Jericho needs.

Jax, Yas, Spider, and Han are the four cornerstones of Team Jericho, the best scavenger hunting team in all of Seattle. Each has their own specialty: Jax, the puzzler; Yas, the parkourist; Spider, the hacker; and Han, the cartographer. But now with an oil refinery being built right in their backyard, each also has their own problems. Their families are at risk of losing their jobs, their communities, and their homes.

So when The Order, a mysterious vigilante organization, hijacks the scavenger hunting forum and concocts a puzzle of its own, promising a reward of influence, Team Jericho sees it as the chance of a lifetime. If they win this game, they could change their families’ fates and save the city they love so much. But with an opposing team hot on their heels, it’s going to take more than street smarts to outwit their rivals.

*ships in 7-10 business days* 

From the acclaimed author of How It Went Down and Light It Up comes a moving contemporary YA novel about a group of teens whose lives have been upended by tragedy, and the bond they share to lift them out of their grief.

Fifteen-year-old Kermit Sanders knows grief and its all-encompassing shadows. After losing his beloved older sister in a tragic car accident, nothing quite punctures through the feelings of loss. Everywhere Kermit goes, he is reminded of her.

But then Kermit finds a mysterious invitation in his locker, signed anonymously with "-1." He has no idea what he's in for, but he shows up to find out. Dubbed the "Minus-One Club," a group of his schoolmates has banded together as a form of moral support. The members have just one thing in common—they have all suffered the tragic loss of someone they loved.

The usual dividing lines between high school classes and cliques don’t apply inside the Minus-One Club, and Kermit’s secret crush, the handsome and happy-go-lucky Matt (and only out gay student at school), is also a part of the group. Slowly, Matt's positive headstrong approach to life helps relieve Kermit of his constant despair.

But as Kermit grows closer to Matt, the light of his new life begins to show the cracks beneath the surface. When Matt puts himself in danger by avoiding his feelings, Kermit must find the strength to not only lift himself back up but to help the rest of the group from falling apart.

*ships in 7-10 business days* 

Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes that they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.

They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.

The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for eleven years.

*ships in 7-10 business days* 

This dazzling debut middle grade novel in verse is a riveting journey toward self-acceptance for fans of Genesis Begins Again. Thirteen-year-old Rain must overcome sadness after her all-star brother is badly beaten up at a white frat party. Eventually, Rain finds hope again and helps her family heal. 

I feel like Rain.

Rain rising through the unexpected.

Gentle and a force like Mom says.

I feel like me.

Rain is keeping a big secret from everyone around her: She's sad. All the time.

Xander, her older brother, is an all-star student athlete and a superhero to Rain since their dad is not around. But even he can’t help Rain with her dark thoughts. Rain hates the way she looks, and she feels inferior to her best friend, Nara, who’s skinny and got more money, lighter skin, and hair that curls.

When Xander is the victim of a hate crime, things take a turn for the worse. Xander stops speaking to everyone, including Rain, whose dark thoughts turn into action.

Rain’s secret battle puts her life on the line. But when her favorite teacher invites her to an after-school circle group, Rain finds friends and the courage to help herself and her family heal. Like the rain, she is both gentle and a force, and though she faces many storms in her life, she finds the strength to rise again. 

*ships in 7-10 business days*

In this young readers edition of her New York Times bestseller Professional Troublemaker, Luvvie Ajayi Jones uses her honesty and humor to inspire teens to be their bravest, boldest, truest selves, in order to create a world they would be proud to live in.

The world can feel like a dumpster fire, with endless things to be afraid of. It can make you feel powerless to ask for what you need, use your voice, and show up truly as your whole self. Add the fact that often, people might make you feel like your way of showing up is TOO MUCH.
 
BE TOO MUCH, and use it for good. That is what it means to be a troublemaker. In this book, Luvvie Ajayi Jones - bestseller of books, sorceress of side-eyes and critic of culture - gives you the permission you might need to be the troublemaker you are, or wish to be. This is the book she needed when she was the kid who got in trouble for her mouth when she spoke up about what she felt was not fair. This is the book she needed when kids made fun of her Nigerian accent. This is the book that she needed when it was time to call herself a writer, but she was too scared.
 
As a Rising Troublemaker, you need to know that the beautiful, audacious life you want is on the other side of doing the things that will scare you. This book will help you face and fight your fear and start living that life ASAP.        

*ships/available for pickup in 7-10 business days

“M.J. Fievre is the best friend, the confidante everyone yearns for.”—Mike, the Poet, author of Dear Woman and The Boyfriend Book

From the bestselling author of Badass Black Girl comes a much-needed space for Black teens and kids to say “I am enough.” In this self-acceptance guidebook for teen boys, be empowered by 52 weeks of Black self-love and anti-racism lessons, affirmations for positive thinking, and prompts for Black Boy Joy.

A Black male handbook for self-care. Black & Resilient includes prompts for teens to reflect and divulge what they're feeling on a deeper level. It comes with mind-strengthening affirmations for teens, stories of truth and power, and practices to teach Black teen boys how to stay empowered despite what life throws at them. This Black confidence book is a catalyst for change and healing to enter the heart and spirit of Black teens everywhere.

Part of the Bold & Black series for Black self-love and antiracism. The Bold & Black series is specifically designed to help Black teens create a safe space to be themselves. The world often forgets that Black boys also need affirmations and words of empowerment to get through the day. Black & Resilient seeks to give Black teens the space to heal, find Black Boy Joy, and become empowered to walk boldly in their everyday lives.

Inside, you’ll find: 

• Instruction for gaining perspective, freedom, and power in the face of macro- and microaggressions
• A safe place to acknowledge how racism affects you and create coping strategies to combat it
• Encouragement for living your best life as a BIPOC person with self-acceptance and confidence

If you liked Black confidence and anti-racism books for boys like This Book is Anti-Racist Journal, Cry Like a Man, or 39 Lessons for Black Boys & Girls, you’ll be empowered by Black & Resilient.

*ships in 7 - 10 days*

Now adapted for readers ages 12 and up, the award-winning biography that examines Parks’s life and 60 years of radical activism and brings the civil rights movement in the North and South to life

Rosa Parks is one of the most well-known Americans today, but much of what is known and taught about her is incomplete, distorted, and just plain wrong. Adapted for young people from the NAACP Image Award—winning The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert shatter the myths that Parks was meek, accidental, tired, or middle class. They reveal a lifelong freedom fighter whose activism began two decades before her historic stand that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and continued for 40 years after. Readers will understand what it was like to be Parks, from standing up to white supremacist bullies as a young person to meeting her husband, Raymond, who showed her the possibility of collective activism, to her years of frustrated struggle before the boycott, to the decade of suffering that followed for her family after her bus arrest. The book follows Parks to Detroit, after her family was forced to leave Montgomery, Alabama, where she spent the second half of her life and reveals her activism alongside a growing Black Power movement and beyond.

In this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Ravenous Fate duology, Elise Saint and Layla Quinn must discover the truths behind an alluring poison and the monstrous new presence ravaging New York City

In 1927, shocking upheavals have rocked Harlem's most powerful factions and left Elise Saint estranged from the reaper she loves, Layla Quinn. The Saint family empire is in decline, gangster-run blood houses peddle debauchery, and a dangerous reaper-venom drug has become all the rage with wealthy thrill-seekers. Elise is desperate to find her beloved little sister, Josi, who has gone missing in the chaos. Meanwhile, Layla contends with shifting alliances in the New York underworld, including Karine, an ancient reaper, and the gangster Nicoletta―both with scores to settle.

And then a terrifying new threat emerges: a beast making swift, murderous rampages through the city, keeping to darkness while hunting reapers and humans alike. Layla and Elise are joined in purpose when they suspect the monster's origins are related to a far deeper mystery that involves Josi, Karine, and a disquieting new future for reapers. Soon, they will risk everything to unearth these secrets, where the shadowy boundaries between the dead and the living are even more treacherous than they imagined.

From the critically acclaimed author of All the Fighting Parts comes an empowering and defiant novel in verse in which a teen poet grapples with an unplanned pregnancy and determines what happens to her body in a world that wants to take the choice away from her.

Seventeen-year-old Truth Bangura wants nothing more than to know a life beyond her hometown. Writing and performing is her only solace in a life overwhelmed by a drifting relationship with her best friend, an emotionally turbulent home environment, and the reality that her below average grades make her true dream—escaping her mother’s grasp after graduation—uncertain.

When Truth learns she’s pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, she makes one decision she’s finally sure about: an abortion.

Determined to move forward, Truth turns to the pages in her notebook with the support of her slam poetry team—including the poet with a voice smooth as summer jazz, who’s been catching her eye during practice.

At an open mic night, Truth finally gains the courage to perform a piece that dives into her rocky relationship with her mother–and reveals the choice she never told her. But when a video of Truth’s performance is posted online and starts going viral, her decision quickly becomes everyone’s business–including her mother’s.

Told through searing free-verse, journal entries, and interspersed fill-in-the-blank poetry prompts, Hannah V. Sawyerr’s Truth Is reminds us there is always a choice. There is always hope. And there is always a way forward.

A Sweet Valley High for a new generation, a dishy, dazzling YA drama set against the backdrop of an elite charter school where stars are made―or fade.

When Chyna gets a scholarship to the newest, most prestigious sports school in the city, it’s the best opportunity to do the gymnastics she loves. But between caring for her ailing mother and dealing with the elitist girls on her gymnastics team, she’s not sure she belongs.

Meanwhile, Jamaal is reeling from the death of his brother―who was also secretly Chyna’s boyfriend. Becoming star of the Power Panthers basketball team is his way to honor his brother’s memory and nothings going to stand in his way. Not even his health.

Filled with gossip, high-stakes sports drama, and tons of heart, BALANCING ACT is the first in a riveting new series about teens fighting for their dreams in a city where picking a side is no game.

If you knew the world was ending, who would you save? And would they let you?

Sixteen-year-old Winnie Bray is a liar. As the resident psychic at an oddities shop, Winnie truly can see the future. But her customers only want reassurance, and Winnie only wants their money. Favorable fortunes are a fast track to funding her way out of Buffalo, New York for good, after all.

But all of that changes when a vision sends her stalking in the remains of her family home that burned down in a fire 10 years ago. Among the ash and rubble, Winnie finds a box made of bone, untouched by flames and…whispering. At the touch of her finger, the box shows her a vision of death, chaos, and apocalypse, with her and rich kids Apollo and Cyrus Rathbun at the center.

Apollo knows their cousin is up to no good, and with the Rathbun family scattered to the wind, they know Cyrus is aiming to present himself as the new patriarch. Despite an initial attraction, Apollo is reluctant to believe Winnie. But soon it becomes clear that their family histories are intertwined, with the whispering, hungry box at the very center, and more than their lives are on the line. Together, they must discover the origins of the box and stop unforeseen forces from fulfilling the apocalyptic prophecy, or die trying.

From the author of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me comes a speculative thriller about the ties that bind us to places and people, perfect for fans of Andrew Joseph White and Tochi Onyebuchi.