From the author of Oprah's Book Club pick and New York Times bestseller Nightcrawling, here is an astonishing new novel about the joys and entanglements of a fierce group of teenage mothers in a small town on the Florida panhandle.

Adela Woods is sixteen years old and pregnant. Her parents banish her from her comfortable upbringing in Indiana to her grandmother’s home in the small town of Padua Beach, Florida. When she arrives, Adela meets Emory, who brings her newborn to high school, determined to graduate despite the odds; Simone, mother of four-year-old twins, who weighs her options when she finds herself pregnant again; and the rest of the Girls, a group of outcast young moms who raise their growing brood in the back of Simone’s red truck.

The town thinks the Girls have lost their way, but really they are finding it: looking for love, making and breaking friendships, and navigating the miracle of motherhood and the paradox of girlhood.

Full of heart and life and hope, set against the shifting sands of these friends’ secrets and betrayals, The Girls Who Grew Big confirms Leila Mottley’s promise and offers an explosive new perspective on what it means to be a young woman.

Winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award!

Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award-winning slam poet, about an Afro-Latina heroine who tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth. 

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

“Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice.” —Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation

“An incredibly potent debut.” —Jason Reynolds, author of the National Book Award Finalist Ghost

“Acevedo has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.” —Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street

This young adult novel, a selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List, is an excellent choice for accelerated tween readers in grades 6 to 8.

Plus don't miss Elizabeth Acevedo's With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land!

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors—and each other.

Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.
 
Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)

These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

An insightful exploration that unveils the lesser-known dimensions of this legendary writer and her legacy, revealing the cultural icon’s profound impact as a visionary editor who helped define an important period in American publishing and literature.

A multifaceted genius, Toni Morrison transcended her role as an author, helping to shape an important period in American publishing and literature as an editor at one of the nation’s most prestigious publishing houses. While Toni Morrison's literary achievements are widely celebrated, her editorial work is little known. Drawing on extensive research and firsthand accounts, this comprehensive study discusses Morrison's remarkable journey from her early days at Random House to her emergence as one of its most important editors. During her tenure in editorial, Morrison refashioned the literary landscape, working with important authors, including Toni Cade Bambara, Leon Forrest, and Lucille Clifton, and empowering cultural icons such as Angela Davis and Muhammad Ali to tell their stories on their own terms.

Toni Morrison herself had great enthusiasm about Dana Williams's work on this story, generously sharing memories and thoughts with the author over the years, even giving her the book's title. From the manuscripts she molded, the authors she nurtured, and the readers she inspired, Toni at Random demonstrates how Toni Morrison has influenced American culture beyond the individual titles or authors she published. Morrison’s contribution as an editor transformed the broader literary landscape and deepened the cultural conversation. With unparalleled insight and sensitivity, Toni at Random charts this editorial odyssey.

What is feminism? In this short, accessible primer, bell hooks explores the nature of feminism and its positive promise to eliminate sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. With her characteristic clarity and directness, hooks encourages readers to see how feminism can touch and change their lives―to see that feminism is for everybody.

Emmy-winning comedian Katt Williams delivers a raw, unfiltered memoir that takes readers on a wild ride from homelessness to Hollywood, revealing the resilience, faith, and unapologetic humor that define his iconic career. With a forward by Shaquille O’Neal.

At thirteen, Micah Williams told his devout Jehovah’s Witness parents he was done. Knocking on doors wasn’t his calling, but knocking out audiences would be. He hitchhiked to Florida, hustled odd jobs, and years later would transform into Katt Williams, Emmy-winner, five-foot-five giant of comedy. The only man in Hollywood who can rock both a press and curl and sold-out arenas.

Katt details the grit and unwavering self-belief that fueled his ascent from an impromptu set at a small Florida comedy club to commanding audiences worldwide. He funded his own tours, kept his ownership, and he learned early that if you’re going to be underestimated, you might as well profit from it.

Katt also reveals the quieter side of the man behind the mic: thoughtful, spiritually grounded, and deeply committed to fatherhood. He addresses the headlines head-on, sets the record straight on his legal battles, while sharing what it really means to survive Hollywood without losing ownership of your money, your voice, or your peace.

From the soul of a man who refuses to fail, this memoir is part comedy masterclass and part middle finger to convention. It’s not just for fans; it’s for anyone who’s ever been told their dreams were too loud. Katt delivers a blueprint for betting on yourself…and winning.

The story that captivated readers―now complete for the first time.

Passion for the Heist introduced readers to the love story of Passion Adams and Percy “Pain” Wells―a tale of survival, betrayal, and love. Now, experience The Wild Hearts Duology in one volume, including Passion for the Heist and the never-before-published sequel, Murder of Crows.

A crime brought them together. Grief bound them. Love made them infamous.

Percy “Pain” Wells returned from prison with two things: a ruined reputation and his grandmother’s medical bills. Debts don’t care if he’s trying to go straight, and the streets he once ruled now whisper his name like a warning.

Passion Adams has nothing left but the locket holding her parents’ ashes, a monster for an uncle, and habits that numb the pain. When the locket is stolen in a robbery, she thinks it’s gone forever. Then it turns up in the hands of a stranger with hardened eyes and a calm that screams danger.

Pain should walk away, but something about Passion―her fire, her pain―won’t let him go. Their lives collide, and what starts as a mission to make things right becomes a fight to stay alive. Their explosive love turns two broken souls into the most wanted names in the city, hunted by cops and the underworld alike.

For Passion and Pain, there are only two ways out: disappear into the shadows or become the story everyone tells.

A sparkling debut mystery set on the south side of Chicago, featuring the quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, proprietor of a soul food café.

When Savvy Summers first opened Essie's soul food café, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie's reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.

Even as the police deem Grandy’s death an accident, Savvy quickly finds herself―and her beloved café―in the middle of an entire city’s worth of bad press. Desperate to clear her name and keep her business afloat, Savvy and her snooping assistant manager, Penny Lopés, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.

But with a slimy investor harassing her to sell her name and business, customers avoiding her sweet potato pie like the plague, and her police sergeant ex-husband suddenly back in the picture, will Savvy be able to clear the café’s name and solve Grandy’s murder before it all falls apart?

After all, while Savvy always said her sweet potato pie was to die for, she never meant literally.

*Paperback Release Date - 3/2/2027*

In this YA fantasy novel perfect for fans of Heartless Hunter, a girl who has always served others decides to take power for herself.

Her magic feeds on lies.
His magic could destroy her.

Mira Kyler runs the court of Virdei from the shadows. Ever since she helped her half-brother Luc cheat his way into the role of Virdei's leader, she's used her lie-powered magic to collect secrets from members of court, then used them as blackmail to keep her brother in power.

But when newcomer Kaidren Vale shows up and challenges Luc's leadership, he threatens the stability Mira has worked so hard for. Kaidren also has magic-magic that can detect the precise nature of someone else's power with a single touch. If Kaidren so much as brushes against her, everyone will discover that Mira is the one who's been manipulating the court for years.

As Kaidren and Luc compete in three deadly challenges called The Trials, Mira realizes that no matter who wins, she'll be stuck serving a mediocre man who doesn't deserve to be in charge. She's done hiding in the shadows. She wants power of her own.

To get it, she'll have to betray both her own brother and Kaidren-but the fiercer the competition gets, the more Mira realizes that the one boy who could destroy everything is the one boy she might not be able to resist.

A chilling Lovecraftian horror story from the author of Midnight Rooms, in which a recently freed slave from America making a new life for herself in 1700 Venice finds the mysterious plague that killed her former master may have followed her to Italy . . . and now stalks the canals.

Venice, Italy, 1700. The only survivor on a ship, Mercy disembarks in Italy, carrying two precious possessions: the first-ever camera that makes daguerreotype plates and a letter regarding an appointment meant for the dead slave holder.

The letter takes her to Umberto, an Anatomist. In his basement workspace, she learns he hired the man who formally owned her to capture images of dissected corpses. But that man is dead. With no other recourse for her or Umberto, Mercy assumes the position. In return for the sample plate she took, Umberto takes her to the home of the Contessa, a British woman who married into her title. Charmed by Marcy, she invites the young woman to stay for the season to take pictures.

Formally enslaved, Marcy finds this new life of freedom heady, as she takes on the mantle of a photographer and guest in a decadent house of pleasure under the hospitality of an aristocrat. Under the Contessa’s roof, she meets a diverse cast of friendly and strange individuals with whom she forms new bonds and friendships.

But all is not well in her new life. Something dark and hungry stalks the canals that snake through the city, biting at her heels. The same death that rode the waves with her now surrounds her in this strange place. What is this malevolence that haunts her? As she tries to understand this macabre force, she must grapple with a greater fear: that the horror that endangers her friends is herself.

The Sunken, The Adored is dark, eerie, and wholly original—at once unsettling and irresistibly addictive.

Any girl would kill to be a Gamma.

“Barber and Shaienne’s juicy, sexy, vicious collab is like America’s Next Top Model stitched with The Art of War. You’ll be equally riveted by the reality TV-level drama and the raw authenticity of the characters in this sure-to-go-viral sorority rush thriller.” ― Layne Fargo, bestselling author of The Favorites and They Never Learn

Being a Gamma at Southern State University means belonging to the most desirable, exclusive sisterhood there is. For Ava, it means even more―it’s the last connection she has to her beloved late mother, and she’ll do anything to wear the Gamma letters.

But the Gammas didn’t become the best house on campus by letting just anyone in, and every prospective pledge is expected to earn her spot. As president, Madison is the ultimate gatekeeper, and she has a special test for Ava.

Rival sorority Theta is nipping at the Gammas’ heels for the top spot on campus, and president Shay is proud they’ve gotten there by rising above the hyper-competitive gamesmanship that consumes other houses. She knows she’s made some enemies in her quest to change the Greek system from the inside, but she can’t imagine the depth of Madison’s resentment for her … or how far Ava will go to become a Gamma.

The sisterhood, the parties, the elite status―and the connection to her mother―are what Ava has always wanted, but she never guessed the cost of membership would be so high. Three women, two houses, one dead body: rush has never been this messy.

“[In Pimp], Iceberg Slim breaks down some of the coldest, capitalist concepts I’ve ever heard in my life.” —Dave Chappelle, from his Netflix special The Bird Revelation

An immersive experience unlike anything before it, Pimp is the classic hustler’s tale that never seems to go out of style.

Iceberg Slim’s autobiographical novel sent shockwaves throughout the literary world when it published in 1969. Groundbreaking for its authentic and oft-brutal account of the sex trade, the book offers readers an unforgettable look at the mores of Chicago’s street life during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. In the preface, Slim says it best, “In this book, I will take you, the reader, with me into the secret inner world of the pimp.” With millions of copies sold, Pimp has become vital reading across generations of writers, entertainers and filmmakers alike, making it a timeless piece of American literature.