3 New Books for Black Teens to Read

If you were a teen in the 90's, you will remember that the only book that featured Black youth as major characters was The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah. 30 years later, there is a crop of new authors writing for and about young people. Yes, Black kids want to read about current events but they also get to see themselves having crushes, solving mysteries and falling in love. 

Nerd Crush by Alisha Emrich

First-time author, Alisha Emrich writes about award Black girls in search of their happily ever after.  What could be better? 

Ramona Lambert is a typical shy, artistic sixteen-year-old. She has a best friend whom she’s known since they were in diapers; parents who love her; a love for cosplay; and a crush on the cute boy in her class. Ramona turns to cosplay and her original character, Rel, who gives her the confidence and freedom that she lacks in real life. Embracing this confidence, she decides to strike up an email conversation with her crush, Caleb Wolfe, from her cosplay account in the hopes of getting to know him . . . and maybe win his heart. 

Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Eliza Bryant

Delilah goes with the flow—which is how she ends up singing in her friends’ punk band as a favor, even though she’d prefer to hide at the tee-shirt table. Reggie is a self-declared Blerd, spending his free time leading quests and writing essays, keeping it all under wraps from his disapproving family.

These two, who have practically nothing in common, meet for the first time on New Year’s Eve. And then again on Valentine’s Day. And then again on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s almost like the universe is pushing them together for a reason. As their holiday meetings continue, the two begin to fall for each other. But what happens once they realize they’ve each fallen for a version of the other that doesn’t really exist?

Play the Game by Charlene Adams

In the game of life, sometimes other people hold all the controls. Or so it seems to VZ. Four months have passed since his best friend Ed was killed by a white man in a Brooklyn parking lot.

VZ’s determined to complete the video game Ed never finished and figure out who actually killed Singer. With help from Diamond, the girl he’s crushing on at work, VZ falls into Ed’s quirky gameiverse. As the police close in on Jack, the game starts to uncover details that could lead to the truth about the murder.