Black Page Turners

Welcome to a Fresh New Week of Books! We have compiled a list of books by Black People that will be released this week. Some you may like, some you may love, or some you may dislike; but that makes you a booklover. Please share this post with every booklover you know.

Black Bottom Saints by:Alice Randall
An enthralling literary tour-de-force that pays tribute to Detroit’s legendary neighborhood, a mecca for jazz, sports, and politics, Black Bottom Saints is a powerful blend of fact and imagination reminiscent of E.L. Doctorow’s classic novel Ragtime and Marlon James’ Man Booker Award-winning masterpiece, A Brief History of Seven Killings.

From the Great Depression through the post-World War II years, Joseph “Ziggy” Johnson, has been the pulse of Detroit’s famous Black Bottom. A celebrated gossip columnist for the city’s African-American newspaper, the Michigan Chronicle, he is also the emcee of one of the hottest night clubs, where he’s rubbed elbows with the legendary black artists of the era, including Ethel Waters, Billy Eckstein, and Count Basie. Ziggy is also the founder and dean of the Ziggy Johnson School of Theater. But now the doyen of Black Bottom is ready to hang up his many dapper hats.

As he lays dying in the black-owned-and-operated Kirkwood Hospital, Ziggy reflects on his life, the community that was the center of his world, and the remarkable people who helped shape it.

Inspired by the Catholic Saints Day Books, Ziggy curates his own list of Black Bottom’s venerable “52 Saints.” Among them are a vulnerable Dinah Washington, a defiant Joe Louis, and a raucous Bricktop. Randall balances the stories of these larger-than-life “Saints” with local heroes who became household names, enthralling men and women whose unstoppable ambition, love of style, and faith in community made this black Midwestern neighborhood the rival of New York City’s Harlem.

Accompanying these “tributes” are thoughtfully paired cocktails―special drinks that capture the essence of each of Ziggy’s saints―libations as strong and satisfying as Alice Randall’s wholly original view of a place and time unlike any other.
Release: 8/18/20
Get the Book: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Hardcover)

Harlem Grown by:Tony Hillery
Discover the incredible true story of Harlem Grown, a lush garden in New York City that grew out of an abandoned lot and now feeds a neighborhood.

Once
In a big city called New York
In a bustling neighborhood
There was an empty lot.
Nevaeh called it the haunted garden.

Harlem Grown tells the inspiring true story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. After seeing how restless they were and their lack of healthy food options, Tony Hillery invited students from an underfunded school to turn a vacant lot into a beautiful and functional farm. By getting their hands dirty, these kids turned an abandoned space into something beautiful and useful while learning about healthy, sustainable eating and collaboration.

Five years later, the kids and their parents, with the support of the Harlem Grown staff, grow thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables a year. All of it is given to the kids and their families. The incredible story is vividly brought to life with Jessie Hartland’s “charmingly busy art” (Booklist) that readers will pore over in search of new details as they revisit this poignant and uplifting tale over and over again.

Harlem Grown is an independent, not-for-profit organization. The author’s share of the proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to Harlem Grown.
Release: 8/18/20
Ages: 4 to 8; Grades: P to 3
Get the Book: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

Raybearer by:Jordan Ifueko
The epic debut YA fantasy from an incredible new talent—perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir

Nothing is more important than loyalty.
But what if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?

Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself? With extraordinary world-building and breathtaking prose, Raybearer is the story of loyalty, fate, and the lengths we’re willing to go for the ones we love.
Release: 8/18/20
Get the Book: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Hardcover)

With His Song by:B. Love
Eva Waters has spent years being a kept woman. Money, cars, and options is the life she knows but no longer wants — especially when it comes with loose hands, black eyes, and a heavy heart. When her sister, Elise, moves away under witness protection, she envisions her own escape from a world she deems her prison. Despite being a new mother, she takes the leap, but will it be easy to fall into the arms of the man waiting to catch her?

Pianist and tattoo artist, Hezekiah Moses, is immensely talented. He’s also a lover. Thoughtful, intuitive, and sincere, he can’t help but grow even more infatuated with Eva when she comes to town seeking refuge for her weary heart. Respectfully giving her space to recover, Hezekiah holds back. Yet, when her pain becomes his, lines must be drawn and every card played.

Can Eva stand on her own two feet? Will Hezekiah’s savior complex leave him jolted once again? Or will they both discover the difference between being saved and finally being free?

*Please note: This is a spinoff. These characters were originally introduced in Strumming My Pain. SMP does not have to be read first, but it will give you a foundational glimpse into their lives.*
Release: 8/18/20
Get the Book: (Kindle)

Asha and Boom by:Keith Thomas Walker
Things quickly spiral out of control when Asha hires a contract killer to avenge her godson’s murder. In this edge-of-your-seat drama, Asha and Boom embark on a harrowing ride as they dodge feelings for each other and bullets from an unknown assailant.
Release: 8/18/20
Get the Book: (Kindle) or (Paperback)

Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora by:Zelda Knight
Dominion is the first anthology of speculative fiction and poetry by Africans and the African Diaspora. An old god rises up each fall to test his subjects. Once an old woman’s pet, a robot sent to mine an asteroid faces an existential crisis. A magician and his son time-travel to Ngoni country and try to change the course of history. A dead child returns to haunt his grieving mother with terrifying consequences. Candace, an ambitious middle manager, is handed a project that will force her to confront the ethical ramifications of her company’s latest project—the monetization of human memory. Osupa, a newborn village in pre-colonial Yorubaland populated by refugees of war, is recovering after a great storm when a young man and woman are struck by lightning, causing three priests to divine the coming intrusion of a titanic object from beyond the sky.

A magician teams up with a disgruntled civil servant to find his missing wand. A taboo error in a black market trade brings a man face-to-face with his deceased father—literally. The death of a King sets off a chain of events that ensnare a trickster, an insane killing machine, and a princess, threatening to upend their post-apocalyptic world. Africa is caught in the tug-of-war between two warring Chinas, and for Ibrahim torn between the lashings of his soul and the pain of the world around him, what will emerge? When the Goddess of Vengeance locates the souls of her stolen believers, she comes to a midwestern town with a terrible past, seeking the darkest reparations. In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by nuclear war, survivors gather in Ife-Iyoku, the spiritual capital of the ancient Oyo Empire, where they are altered in fantastic ways by its magic and power.
Release: 8/17/20
Click to Read: (Kindle) or (Paperback)

Becoming Brave by:Brenda Salter McNeil
Reconciliation is not true reconciliation without justice! Brenda Salter McNeil has come to this conviction as she has led the church in pursuing reconciliation efforts over the past three decades. McNeil calls the church to repair the old reconciliation paradigm by moving beyond individual racism to address systemic injustice, both historical and present. It’s time for the church to go beyond individual reconciliation and “heart change” and to boldly mature in its response to racial division.

Looking through the lens of the biblical narrative of Esther, McNeil challenges Christian reconcilers to recognize the particular pain in our world so they can work together to repair what is broken while maintaining a deep hope in God’s ongoing work for justice. This book provides education and prophetic inspiration for every person who wants to take reconciliation seriously.

Becoming Brave offers a distinctly Christian framework for addressing systemic injustice. It challenges Christians to be everyday activists who become brave enough to break the silence and work with others to dismantle systems of injustice and inequality.
Release: 8/18/20
Click to Read: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

Uprising: Who the Hell Said You Can’t Ditch and Switch? — The Awakening of Diamond and Silk by:Diamond & Silk
Who Are Diamond and Silk?

Donald Trump’s biggest fans. A national treasure. A force of nature. A political awakening that can’t be stopped. And a natural anti-depressant. Diamond and Silk are all that and more.

The very sight and sound of these insightful and ebullient ladies lifts spirits and opens minds. Diamond and Silk are a unique phenomenon impossible to pigeonhole—or to control.

And now they tell their own story for the first time. In this account of their amazing journey, told in their own inimitable and irresistible voices, you’ll learn:

• How the sisters Lynette and Rochelle Hardaway—a.k.a. Diamond and Silk—“were created for such a time as this”
• How the bridge between their mother’s sharecropping family and their father, a middle-class business owner, shaped their characters
• Why being “preacher’s kids” was a blessing—and a challenge
• How working in North Carolina textile plants gave Diamond and Silk early insight into the way NAFTA was hurting Americans and exporting jobs to Mexico
• Why they supported Donald Trump from the minute he announced his candidacy
• Why Diamond and Silk will never desert Trump—despite being offered large monetary rewards to switch candidates
• How social media moguls tried to shut them down and shut them up, lied to them, and gave them the run around
• How after gaslighting them for 6 months, 29 days, 5 hours, 40 minutes, and 43 seconds, Facebook made the preposterous claim that Diamond and Silk were “unsafe for the community”

Practical advice for succeeding the Diamond and Silk way: why “rejection is God’s protection—and redirection” and “your haters make you greater”
Release: 8/18/20
Click to Read: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

Anarcho-Blackness by:Marquis Bey
Anarcho-Blackness seeks to define the shape of a Black anarchism. Classical anarchism tended to avoid questions of race—specifically Blackness—as well as the intersections of race and gender. Bey addresses this lack, not by constructing a new cannon of Black anarchists but by outlining how anarchism and Blackness already share a certain subjective relationship to power, a way of understanding and inhabiting the world. Through the lens of Black feminist and transgender theory, he explores what we can learn by making this kinship explicit, including how anarchism itself is transformed by the encounter. If the state is predicated on a racialized and gendered capitalism, its undoing can only be imagined and undertaken by a political theory that takes race and gender seriously.
Release: 8/18/20
Click to Read: (Paperback)

Money Devil 1 by:Ashley & JaQuavis
The LaCroixs are four beautiful Haitian American women bound by blood. On the surface The LaCroix Group is a venture capitalist company, but peel back the layers and one will see that it’s much more. The four sisters run long cons, targeting wealthy, prominent business figures. They have a system. They find a mark, create the problem, then present the solution. For a cost…

Sutton “Sutty” LaCroix, the eldest LaCroix sister and an accomplished business maven, sits on the family throne as the CEO of the LaCroix Group. She is the head PR person and is a magician at press conferences. She has an innate ability to handle press and be the face of reason for their clients. She is well respected and considered the best in her field. However, the devil is always in the details.

When Sutton meets Austin, a young, black oil tycoon, she breaks all the rules. She falls in love with his good looks, charm, and old money. He represents a life that she and her sisters vowed to never live. The LaCroix sisters have a pact—to never leave roots in one place. They find a new city and establish a new target every three years, so falling in love and settling down is not in the rule book. But Sutton can’t help herself, which means that Austin poses a problem. When he inducts her into a high society of opulence, power, and generational wealth, Sutton must decide between her family and her heart.
Release: 8/18/20
Get the Book: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Paperback)

Ikenga by:Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedi Okorafor’s first novel for middle grade readers introduces a boy who can access super powers with the help of the magical Ikenga.

Nnamdi’s father was a good chief of police, perhaps the best Kalaria had ever had. He was determined to root out the criminals that had invaded the town. But then he was murdered, and most people believed the Chief of Chiefs, most powerful of the criminals, was responsible. Nnamdi has vowed to avenge his father, but he wonders what a twelve-year-old boy can do. Until a mysterious nighttime meeting, the gift of a magical object that enables super powers, and a charge to use those powers for good changes his life forever. How can he fulfill his mission? How will he learn to control his newfound powers?

Award-winning Nnedi Okorafor, acclaimed for her Akata novels, introduces a new and engaging hero in her first novel for middle grade readers set against a richly textured background of contemporary Nigeria.
Release: 8/18/20

Ages: 10 And Up, Grades: 5 And Up
Get the Book: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by:Kelly J. Baptist
A coming-of-age tale about a boy who discovers a love of poetry after finding his late father’s journal. Adapted from a story that first appeared in Flying Lessons & Other Stories and perfect for fans of The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson.

Isaiah is now the big man of the house. But it’s a lot harder than his dad made it look. His little sister, Charlie, asks too many questions, and Mama’s gone totally silent.

Good thing Isaiah can count on his best friend, Sneaky, who always has a scheme for getting around the rules. Plus, his classmate Angel has a few good ideas of her own–once she stops hassling Isaiah.

And when things get really tough, there’s Daddy’s journal, filled with stories about the amazing Isaiah Dunn, a superhero who gets his powers from beans and rice. Isaiah wishes his dad’s tales were real. He could use those powers right about now!

Kelly J. Baptist’s debut novel explores the indomitable spirit of a ten-year-old boy and the superhero strength it takes to grow up.
Release: 8/18/20

Ages: 8 to 10, Grades: 3 to 5
Get the Book: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Hardcover)