5 Books by Black Authors: Part Two

While street protests may have decreased, we must remember that black lives still matter. We must keep supporting our friends and family in the black community. A month ago we made a list of 5 books written by black authors and we have decided to make a second part!

1.Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi

In a reimagining of the classic German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, a woman named Harriet narrates her origin story to her daughter Perdita. She makes a mysterious gingerbread that’s incredibly popular in Harriet’s magical hometown of Druhástrana. And it’s especially loved by her childhood best friend: Gretel.

Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!

2. Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

In an effort to fight for love and put herself first, Patsy leaves her daughter in Jamaica to follow her oldest friend to New York. But as she’s living in America as an undocumented immigrant, Patsy must adjust to her brand new life.

Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!

3. How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones

Jones’s bestselling memoir is a personal account of growing up in the South as a young gay man who’s attempting to find himself while battling rocky relationships with family, friends, and lovers.

Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!

4. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

A story that jumps through time, the acclaimed Red at the Bone explores themes of teenage pregnancy, classism, sexuality, and more, all beginning in the book’s first pages when we’re introduced to 16-year-old Melody — who’s celebrating her coming of age ceremony at her grandparents’ Brooklyn home.

Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!

5. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

A winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing chronicles the tense dynamics of a family in a fictional rural town in Mississippi. It follows a biracial 13-year-old boy named Jojo — who struggles to understand manhood — plus his drug-addicted mother Leonie and his white father, who is newly released from prison.

Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!

If any of these books caught your attention, or you’re looking for more, check out our Bookshop. We’ve made a list with various titles for you to shop and in doing so, you help local bookstores!