Must-read spring books by Black authors
To celebrate Black History Month, we’ve compiled some of the best books by Black writers that are publishing this spring. From unforgettable memoirs to mysteries and thrillers, domestic dramas and serious nonfiction, these are the Amazon Book editors’ must reads:
Editor Seira Wilson raved about this debut novel when she read it and championed it for our Best Books of February 2021 list. In her review, Seira writes that The Kindest Lie is “(a)n exploration of inherent bias, the secrets we keep from the ones we love, and a bond that defies small town racism…The Kindest Lie is perfect for your next book club.” As a reader who gets doubly excited to discover a debut author, I’m moving this to the top of my to-read list. (February 2)—Sarah Gelman
Luvvie Ajayi Jones makes no bones about what she has to say. In I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual, she called out the bad behavior we all see (and do) on social media, in person, and behind each other’s backs. While I’m Judging You exposed what we’re doing wrong, Professional Troublemaker shows people how to do right by dealing with the fear that holds us back from speaking the truth, asking for help, and being ourselves. Jones’ vibrant, take-no-prisoners style makes this book a great match for those who found truths in Amanda Seales’ Small Doses, Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes, and Glennon Doyle’s Untamed. (March 2) —Adrian Liang
For all the fans of the million copy best seller The Coldest Winter Ever, the long wait for a sequel is finally going to end. In Life After Death, Sister Souljah picks up the story with Winter Santiaga walking out of prison after serving 15 years, with her hustle intact and her mind set on revenge. But Winter’s former friend and now arch enemy, Simone, is determined to get her first. Winter thinks she can take whatever anyone can dish out, but in a place called the Last Stop Before the Drop, she will have quite the journey to contend with…Buckle up for a wild, imaginative, and totally original ride of a novel. (March 2) —Seira Wilson
Naima Coster’s debut, Halsey Street, was a finalist for the 2018 Kirkus Prize for Fiction, and her sophomore effort is even better, in my opinion. What’s Mine and Yours is a multigenerational story that takes place mostly in Piedmont, North Carolina, and tackles racial tension and stereotypes head-on. It reminded me of Brit Bennett’s brilliant debut The Mothers (and the jacket design pays subtle homage in my opinion) meets Ann Patchett’s much-lauded Commonwealth. (March 2) —Sarah Gelman
Imbolo Mbue won a lot of fans and hearts with her debut Behold the Dreamers, in which an immigrant Cameroonian father becomes the driver of a wealthy white man who is working at Lehman Brothers before that company’s inauspicious end. That story was about the American dream. In Mbue’s second novel, America and Africa meet again, this time in the fictional African town of Kosawa. How Beautiful We Were is about the nightmare of colonialism and industrial profiteering, and it sets the people of Kosawa up against the vast power of a western oil company. Mbue’s novel is about people’s struggle for dignity and something to call a good life, and as before, she masterfully sets the stage and allows us to read between the lines. (March 9) —Chris Schluep
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein teaches physics and astronomy and women’s and gender studies. She is also one of the few American Black women to have received a PhD in physics. In her beautiful book, Prescod-Weinstein shows us how the cosmos calls to all of us; yet the world we live in only allows easy access to study it. This is a refreshing and fascinating book about physics and so much more. (March 9) —Chris Schluep
As the host of CNN Tonight says in the opening pages of his new book: “Yes, this time feels different, but it won’t be different unless we make it different…. We have to mean it. We have to live it.” Set against the backdrop of a United States eaten by the cancer of racism even as it is punched by a pandemic, Lemon’s words seamlessly stitch together moments from his own life with the lives of individuals he’s interviewed. This Is the Fire builds in intensity with every page, burning away the complacency that could still so easily smother the social justice movement. (March 16) —Adrian Liang
When you think of Super Bowl performers, Beyoncé comes to mind, Lada Gaga…Not so much a 22-year-old poet, but phenom Amanda Gorman is a game changer. The Hill We Climb, the inaugural poem that put her on the literary map, will be published on March 30, with a foreword by Oprah no less. There are things that happen in life where the rest of us plebeians say, well, there are no words…But that’s what poets are for, to help us wrap our heads and our hearts around the profound. And sure, Beyoncé and Lada Gaga do that, too. Cheers to art in all its forms, especially when we really, really need it. (March 30) —Erin Kodicek
Set in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson struggles to make peace with the idea that following her physician mother into medicine is the only way to maintain control of her own destiny. Inspired by the life of Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward (who was one of the first black female doctors in the United States), Libertie is a beautiful, thoughtful look at the promises and perils of freedom for a Black woman. Named as one of the most-anticipated books of 2021 by over a dozen outlets, add the Amazon Editors to the list of readers who can’t wait for this to be out in the world. (March 30) —Vannessa Cronin
From the best-selling author of Wandering in Strange Lands, one of the Amazon Books Editors’ favorite books of 2020, comes Morgan Jerkins provocative and page-turning fiction debut. Caul Baby finds a woman named Laila turning to a powerful family, the Melancons, in an ill-fated effort to conceive a child. The family possesses caul, a skin layer that imbues them with healing powers, powers they want desperately to maintain. So when Laila’s niece delivers a child with caul, a power struggle ensues that ensnares them all. (March 30) —Erin Kodicek
Caleb Azumah Nelson is a powerful and sensitive writer and his debut novel, Open Water, is already generating a lot of buzz. Nelson tells the story of a young artistic Black couple who fall in love over the course of a year—“The two of you, like headphone wires tangling, caught up in this something. A happy accident. A messy miracle.”—but in so doing must reckon with the cruel world that surrounds them. By turns poetic and hopeful, searching and harsh, Open Water is, by all measures, the introduction of a talented new voice in literature. (April 13) —Al Woodworth
This the astonishing journey of one woman’s path from starving in Zimbabwe to becoming an award-winning humanitarian walking the halls of the United Nations. In I Am a Girl from Africa, Elizabeth Nyamayaro reflects on being raised by her grandmother, and the moment that made her want to dedicate her life to helping others. I was lucky enough to attend an author lunch where Nyamayaro spoke and she shared that this memoir is a “proclamation of who I am.” (April 20) —Al Woodworth
In the third August Snow novel, gentrification in Detroit takes a deadly turn when a factory owner in Mexicantown tries to outfox a shadowy property developer who wants to buy him out. August Snow isn’t looking to become a tortilla baron, but he also doesn’t want outsiders messing with his neighborhood. A little like Easy Rawlins’ Detroit cousin, Snow is someone who doesn’t look for trouble, but isn’t scared to meet it halfway. The first two books in this series won both awards and rave reviews, so here’s hoping this turns out to be Jones’ breakout book. (May 4) —Vannessa Cronin
Rita Williams-Garcia has won multiple awards, including the Coretta Scott King and a Newbery Honor. She’s also been a National Book Award finalist three times, so a new book from her is not to be missed. A Sitting in St. James takes place in the antebellum South and spans generations of those who live and work on a plantation. It’s a story of the white family who owns the plantation and their enslaved workers, and how their lives are intertwined. The book has been described as “empathetic, brutal, and entirely human” and while there are sure to be parts that are difficult to read, this young adult novel is a must-read for everyone grappling with the legacy of racism in America. (May 25) —Seira Wilson
Nekesa Afia’s first novel, Dead, Dead Girls is a mystery set in 1920’s Harlem. The Harlem Renaissance is such a fascinating period in history, it’s surprising and disappointing it isn’t featured more often in novels. So, we’re very excited for Afia’s take on the café society and the speakeasies of 1926 Harlem. If it is a mystery, even better. And if it features a smart, young protagonist willing to take on a shadowy killer who’s murdered several local Black girls, one outside the café where our heroine—Louise Lloyd—works, better again. (June 1) –Vannessa Cronin
