African American Voices for Teens - Contemporary Fiction

As she did in her debut novel "Tyrell," an "LA Times" Book-prize winner, Booth creates the vivid voice of a teen trying to find her place in the world, even though nothing (not family, not friendship, not sex, not love) is what she thought it would be. …More

Ordinary, inner-city teenager Louis Proof is about to become anything but ordinary, in the action-packed first novel in a new fantasy series starring a compelling African-American hero. …More

From the author of "Jason & Kyra" comes this story of a high school "player" who, on a dare from the popular crew, vows to seduce a plain-faced girl that everyone considers a nobody. However, she turns out to be more surprising than he ever could have imagined. …More

Ever had a bad day at school? Well, if you have, then you will love …More

The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school. …More

How far will 16-year-old Jericho go to fit in? When invited to pledge for the Warriors of Distinction, he vows to do anything to become a member of the gang. A Coretta Scott King Honor Book. …More

In rural Alabama during the Truman administration, 12-year-old Francie lives with her mother and younger brother while her father tries to get settled in Chicago. While working odd jobs for wealthy white folks on the other side of town, Francie helps a framed young black man to escape arrest, which puts the entire black community in danger. An ALA Notable Book and "School Library Journal" Best Book of the Year. …More

Taking readers through the minds of girls trying to define themselves while struggling to remain relevant to the boys in their lives, a Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author offers a complex, always on-point exposition of black youth resolving to find self-worth. Young Adult. …More

When Wesley Boone writes a poem for his high school English class and reads it aloud, poetry-slam-style, he kicks off a revolution. Soon his classmates are clamoring to have weekly poetry sessions. One by one, eighteen students take on the risky challenge of self-revelation. Award-winning author Nikki Grimes captures the voices of eighteen teenagers through the poetry they share and the stories they tell, and exposes what lies beneath the skin, behind the eyes, beyond the masquerade. …More

Alternating between biblical times and contemporary Brooklyn, Grimes masterfully tells the stories of two boys separated by time, geography, and culture in this novel about love and forgiveness, and the comfort brought by faith during difficult times. …More

Sixteen-year-old Stephanie lives for ballet. No parties, no goofing off, no junk food. Then three new people arrive and threaten Stephanie's position in the ballet school. Ballet lovers will find themselves spellbound by the psychologically taut, believable story of a young black ballerina and the dancing that feeds her soul. …More

This little thing with the perfect face and hands doing nothing but counting on me. And me wanting nothing else but to run crying into my own mom's room and have her do the whole thing.

It's not going to happen....

Bobby is your classic urban teenaged boy -- impulsive, eager, restless. On his sixteenth birthday he gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes his life forever. She's pregnant. Bobby's going to be a father. Suddenly things like school and house parties and hanging with friends no longer seem important as they're replaced by visits to Nia's obstetrician and a social worker who says that the only way for Nia and Bobby to lead a normal life is to put their baby up for adoption.

With powerful language and keen insight, Johnson looks at the male side of teen pregnancy as she delves into one young man's struggle to figure out what "the right thing" is and then to do it. No matter what the cost.

"You never know what's gonna come down -- in Heaven."

At fourteen, Marley knows she has Momma's hands and Pops's love for ice cream, that her brother doesn't get on her nerves too much, and that Uncle Jack is a big mystery. But Marley doesn't know all she thinks she does, because she doesn't know the truth. And when the truth comes down with the rain one stormy summer afternoon, it changes everything. It turns Momma and Pops into liars. It makes her brother a stranger and Uncle Jack an even bigger mystery.

All of a sudden, Marley doesn't know who she is anymore and can only turn to the family she no longer trusts to find out.

Truth often brings change. Sometimes that change is for the good. Sometimes it isn't. Coretta Scott King award-winning author Angela Johnson writes a poignant novel of deception and self-discovery -- about finding the truth and knowing what to do when truth is at hand.

Hilarious, surprising, and defiantly candid, "Off-Color" is a thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining new novel from McDonald, in which a biracial teen discovers life doesnt come only in black and white. …More

Payton Skky is dating the best-looking guy in school. While he pressures her to sleep with him, she is content to wait until marriage. When she starts to doubt her resolve, Payton questions everything. …More

Young, black, 16-year-old Steve Harmon, an amateur filmmaker, is on trial for the murder of a Harlem drugstore owner. Steve copes by writing a movie script based on his trial. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred until he can no longer tell who he is or what the truth is. Illustrations. …More

A story of star-crossed urban love by two-time National Book Award finalist Walter Dean Myers.

Have you ever loved someone from the wrong side of the tracks? Damien has everything going for him. His family wants him to date Roxanne. He falls for Junice, whose life is totally messed up. But Junice tells him that he's the one who needs the reality check.

Sometimes the greatest obstacle to finding true love is ourselves.

Harlem meets Shakespeare in this fresh, original free-verse novel by Michael L. Printz.

He lands a dream internship at a magazine, and just after he's given the chance to write a feature article, he's viciously attacked. Now everything he ever believed in is called into question. …More

So many unanswered questions weigh down thirteen-year-old C.J. as he struggles to understand why his father walked out. His father is back now, though C.J. is not as quick to forgive as the other members of his family. He still feels the weight of responsibility that fell on his shoulders when Daddy was gone, and he's not prepared to give that up. But C.J.'s anger is making him a stranger in his own home, and instead of life seeming better now that Daddy has returned, it feels worse. Through powerful poems, Hope Anita Smith chronicles the nuanced emotions of a family that is slowly learning to heal and put the pieces back together. …More

After her G'ma dies, Kendall sets off in search of an aunt she barely remembers in order to get her life in order, connect with what's left of her family, and avoid child services. …More

2006 Margaret Edwards Award Winner

Jacqueline Woodson - 2006 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner
Ever since Kristin, a pretty white lawyer, entered Mama's life, Melanin Sun fears that he and Mama are losing the special closeness they always shared. A 1996 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, winner of the Jane Addams Peace Award, 1996 Lambda Award, and ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Original. …More

Winner of the 2001 Coretta Scott King Award, in "Miracle's Boys, " three young outsiders struggle to make it through when their parents die and leave them to survive on their own. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults. …More