Black History month meets Valentine’s Day, and they make a sweet couple!
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender follows seventeen-year-old Felix, who feels he is one marginalization more than people can handle: Black, queer, trans. When someone posts his deadname and pre-transition pictures, Felix seeks revenge, but his search for his tormentor reveals some surprises about that person and his own feelings.
In The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert, teens Marva and Duke meet on election day at the voting booth, but Duke is turned away for being registered elsewhere. Committed to the political life, Marva drives him all over town to make sure he can cast a vote. Road trip with side discussions of her white boyfriend’s political views and Duke’s family’s grief over his late activist brother makes for a powerful bond.
Now That I’ve Found You by Kristina Forest follows Evie, an aspiring actor whose drunken imitation of her director has gotten her blacklisted. To make a comeback, she plans to enlist her reclusive grandmother, a famous actress in her time, but when her grandmother disappears, Evie must rely on the last person to see her: Milo, a cute musician who does not inspire Evie’s confidence.
Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles follows Del, whose crush on Kiera is so complete that he jumps at a chance to be close to her at church, even if it means he has just joined a Purity Pledge. Although Kiera continues to refuse his advances, Del’s reputation as a player at school allows him to ask all the awkward questions in sex ed.
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus weaves between Audre, sent to live in America after her deeply religious mother finds her with another girl, and Mabel, her childhood friend in Minneapolis who is torn between her own feelings for a boy and a girl. Can the two find love before tragedy tears them apart?
Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe follows Henri, a charming dog walker who is blackmailed into helping socially awkward classmate and neighbor Corinne learn social skills in exchange for her silence that his corporation is really just him walking dogs.
Check out these suggestions – and more – in our catalog: Black Teens in Love.
~ posted by Wally B.
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