Black Page Turners

Let Love Rule by:Lenny Kravitz
“I see my story as a suite of songs that have a magical connection. I never understood that connection until I sat down to write. It was then that the magic started to flow.”

Let Love Rule is a work of deep reflection. Lenny Kravitz looks back at his life with candor, self-scrutiny, and humor.

“My life is all about opposites,” he writes. “Black and white. Jewish and Christian. The Jackson 5 and Led Zeppelin. I accepted my Gemini soul. I owned it. I adored it. Yins and yangs mingled in various parts of my heart and mind, giving me balance and fueling my curiosity and comfort.”

Let Love Rule covers a vast canvas stretching from Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant, Los Angeles’s Baldwin Hills, Beverly Hills, and finally to France, England and Germany.

It’s the story of a wildly creative kid who, despite tough struggles at school and extreme tension at home, finds salvation in music.

We see him grow as a musician and ultimately a master songwriter, producer, and performer. We also see Lenny’s spiritual growth—and the powerful way in which spirit informs his music.

The cast of characters surrounding Lenny is extraordinary: his father, Sy, a high-powered news executive; his mother, Roxie Roker, a television star; and Lisa Bonet, the young actress who becomes his muse.

The central character, of course, is Lenny, who, despite his great aspirational energy, turns down record deal after record deal until he finds his true voice.

The creation of that voice, the same voice that is able to declare “Let Love Rule” to an international audience, is the very heart of this story.

“Whether recording, performing, or writing a book,” says Lenny, “my art is about listening to the inspiration inside and then sharing it with people. Art must bring the world closer together.”
Release: 10/6/20
Get the Book: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Hardcover)

All Because You Matter by:Tami Charles
Discover this poignant, timely, and emotionally stirring picture book, an ode to black and brown children everywhere that is full of hope, assurance, and love.

Tami Charles pens a poetic, lyrical text that is part love letter, part anthem, assuring readers that they always have, and always will, matter. This powerful, rhythmic lullaby reassures readers that their matter and their worth is never diminished, no matter the circumstance: through the joy and wonder of their first steps and first laughter, through the hardship of adolescent struggles and the pain and heartbreak of current events, they always have, and always will, matter. Accompanied by illustrations by renowned artist Bryan Collier, a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient and a nine-time Coretta Scott King Award winner or honoree, All Because You Matter empowers readers with pride, joy, and comfort, reminding them of their roots and strengthening them for the days to come.

Lyrical, personal, and full of love, All Because You Matter is for the picture book audience what The Hate U Give was for YA and Ghost Boys was for middle grade: a conversation starter, a community touchstone, and a deep affirmation of worth for the young readers who need it most.
Release: 10/6/20
Ages: 4 to 8, Grades: P to 3
Get the Book: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Hardcover)

My Brother, Muhammad Ali by:Rahaman Ali
“Rahaman has, at last, written the definitive biography on his late brother, which tells the real Ali story.” —Mike Tyson

More words have been written about Muhammad Ali than almost anyone else. He was, without doubt, the world’s most-loved sportsman. At the height of his celebrity he was the most famous person in the world. And yet, until now, the one voice missing belonged to the man who knew him best—his only sibling, and best friend, Rahaman Ali.

No one was closer to Ali than Rahaman. Born Cassius and Rudolph Arnett Clay, the two brothers grew up together, lived together, trained together, travelled together, and fought together in the street and in the ring. A near-constant fixture in his sibling’s company, Rahaman saw Ali at both his best and his worst: the relentless prankster and the jealous older brother, the outspoken advocate, the husband and father. In My Brother, Muhammad Ali, Rahaman offers an insider’s perspective on the well-known stories as well as never-before-told tales, painting a rich and intimate portrait of a proud, relentlessly polarizing, yet often vulnerable man.

In this extraordinary, poignant memoir, Rahaman tells a much bigger and more personal story than in any other book on Muhammad Ali—that of two brothers, almost inseparable from birth to death. It is the final and most important perspective on an iconic figure.
Release: 10/9/20
Get the Book: (Kindle); (Hardcover); (Audio CD)

Black Hammer Library Edition Vol. 2 by:Jeff Lemire
The long-awaited conclusion to the highly acclaimed, Eisner Award-winning superhero saga.

Torn from the Farm and faced with startling revelations about their last ten years, the Black Hammer crew, stripped of their identities, must race to prevent a universal meltdown and make hard sacrifices for the sake of existence itself!

Meanwhile, a Lovecraftian teen finds there is a hefty price she must pay to become “normal.”

Collects Black Hammer: Age of Doom #1-#12, Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, and The World of Black Hammer Encyclopedia in a digital format with a new cover, sketchbook extras, and more!
Release: 10/6/20
Get the Book: (Kindle) or (Hardcover)

Barack Obama Speechless by:Barack Obama
Inspirational speeches from America’s first African American president.

You’ll be inspired to be the change you wish to see in the world as you read through this collection of speeches delivered by Barack Obama. These messages of hope for a more perfect union in America will appeal to readers across the political spectrum. From pre-presidential oratory to his farewell address, the former president covers issues of race, unemployment, natural disasters, public tragedies, and his legacy of health care reform. This beautiful leather-bound volume with a foil-stamped cover design will become one of your most treasured library volumes.
Release: 10/6/20
Get the Book: (Kindle) or (Leather Bound)

Be Antiracist: A Journal for Awareness, Reflection, and Action by:Ibram X. Kendi
Reflect on your understanding of race and discover ways to work toward an antiracist future with this guided journal from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped from the Beginning.

Antiracism is not a destination but a journey–one that takes deliberate, consistent work. Ibram X. Kendi’s concept of antiracism has reenergized and reshaped the conversation about racial justice in America and pointed us toward new ways of thinking about ourselves and our society. Whether or not you’ve read How to Be an Antiracist, this stunning paperback journal offers the opportunity to reflect on your personal commitment to antiracism. Be Antiracist is both a confessional and a log of your journey toward a more equitable and just society.

Be Antiracist helps you reflect on topics such as body, power, class, gender, and policy, as well as specific questions like, “Who or what scares you the most when you think about race?” and “How can we go about disconnecting Blackness from criminality?” and “What constitutes an American to you?” Kendi’s multipronged approach to self-reflection will challenge you to make change in yourself and your community, and contribute to an antiracist future.
Release: 10/6/20
Get the Book: (Paperback)

Insatiable Revenge: A Dr. Olivia C. Maxwell by:Cynthia Freeman Gibbs
In this dramatic sequel to her debut Reasonable Insanity – A Dr. Olivia C. Maxwell Novel, Cynthia Freeman Gibbs delivers another evocative account of the life-altering pathway of a psychologist on a mission to control her impulsive reactions to adversity.

Two months of freedom from prison have passed – but Dr. Olivia C. Maxwell is not free from the rage that landed her behind bars. Fury toward her soon-to-be ex-husband, Malcolm, is amplified by decisions he’s made about the lives of their two children, along with the announcement of his unexpected fiancée. Olivia must reckon with the impact her reckless actions have on her kids while balancing moving forward to a life without the insatiable urge for revenge.

Olivia’s best friend, Savannah Menefee, is open to exploring out-of-the-box relationships. No-nonsense Savvy lowers barriers around her heart for unusual encounters to find the right man for her life – and now she’s exposed herself to a dangerous rendezvous. The redeeming power of friendship is evident in the midst of Olivia and Savvy both navigating through chaotic relationships that bring about twists, terror and possibly, destruction.
Release: 10/6/20
Get the Book: (Kindle) or (Paperback)

This Thing Called Life by:Neal Karlen
A warm and surprisingly real-life biography, featuring never-before-seen photos, of one of rock’s greatest talents: Prince.

Neal Karlen was the only journalist Prince granted in-depth press interviews to for over a dozen years, from before Purple Rain to when the artist changed his name to an unpronounceable glyph. Karlen interviewed Prince for three Rolling Stone cover stories, wrote “3 Chains o’ Gold,” Prince’s “rock video opera,” as well as the star’s last testament, which may be buried with Prince’s will underneath Prince’s vast and private compound, Paisley Park.

According to Prince’s former fiancée Susannah Melvoin, Karlen was “the only reporter who made Prince sound like what he really sounded like.” Karlen quit writing about Prince a quarter-century before the mega-star died, but he never quit Prince, and the two remained friends for the last thirty-one years of the superstar’s life.

Well before they met as writer and subject, Prince and Karlen knew each other as two of the gang of kids who biked around Minneapolis’s mostly-segregated Northside. (They played basketball at the Dairy Queen next door to Karlen’s grandparents, two blocks from the budding musician.) He asserts that Prince can’t be understood without first understanding ‘70s Minneapolis, and that even Prince’s best friends knew only 15 percent of him: that was all he was willing and able to give, no matter how much he cared for them.

Going back to Prince Rogers Nelson’s roots, especially his contradictory, often tortured, and sometimes violent relationship with his father, This Thing Called Life profoundly changes what we know about Prince, and explains him as no biography has: a superstar who calls in the middle of the night to talk, who loved The Wire and could quote from every episode of The Office, who frequented libraries and jammed spontaneously for local crowds (and fed everyone pancakes afterward), who was lonely but craved being alone. Readers will drive around Minneapolis with Prince in a convertible, talk about movies and music and life, and watch as he tries not to curse, instead dishing a healthy dose of “mamma jammas.”
Release: 10/6/20
Click to Read: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Hardcover)

A Simmering Dilemma by:Tyora Moody
Eugeena and Amos are married, but the happy couple may see their new life fall apart when Amos’ daughter moves in next door. Briana Jones is cooking up mayhem when she hooks up with old friends.

When Amos receives a call in the middle of the night, he jumps into action to help his daughter whose quickly becoming a suspect in a murder. Eugeena doesn’t want to rock the boat between Amos and his daughter, but she can tell Briana is keeping secrets.

How is Eugeena going to help find the real murderer and keep her new marriage together?
Release: 10/6/20
Click to Read: (Kindle) or (Paperback)

Knight of Paradise Island by:J.L. Campbell
Someone is killing women and the villain’s next target strikes too close to the Kingdom of Durabia.

Dorian “Ryan” Bostwick is a protector and he’s one of the best in the business. When a King of the Castle assigns him to find his former lover, Aziza, he stumbles upon a deadly underworld operating close to the Durabian border.

Aziza Hampton had just rekindled her love affair with Ryan when a night out with friends ends in her kidnapping. Alone and scared, she must find a way to escape her captor and reunite with her lover.

In a race against time, Ryan and the Kings of the Castle follow ominous clues into the underbelly of a system designed to take advantage of the vulnerable. Failure isn’t an option and Ryan will rain down hell on earth to save the woman of his heart.
Release: 10/6/20
Get the Book: (Kindle)

Becoming Muhammad Ali by:James Patterson & Kwame Alexander
From two heavy-hitters in children’s literature comes a biographical novel of cultural icon Muhammad Ali.

Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander and James Patterson join forces to vividly depict his life up to age seventeen in both prose and verse, including his childhood friends, struggles in school, the racism he faced, and his discovery of boxing. Readers will learn about Cassius’ family and neighbors in Louisville, Kentucky, and how, after a thief stole his bike, Cassius began training as an amateur boxer at age twelve. Before long, he won his first Golden Gloves bout and began his transformation into the unrivaled Muhammad Ali.

Fully authorized by and written in cooperation with the Muhammad Ali estate, and vividly brought to life by Dawud Anyabwile’s dynamic artwork, Becoming Muhammad Ali captures the budding charisma and youthful personality of one of the greatest sports heroes of all time.
Release: 10/5/20
Ages: 8 to 12, Grades: 3 to 7
Get the Book: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Hardcover)

Class Act by:Jerry Craft

New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft returns with a companion book to New Kid, winner of the 2020 Newbery Medal, the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Kirkus Prize. This time, it’s Jordan’s friend Drew who takes center stage in another laugh-out-loud funny, powerful, and important story about being one of the few kids of color in a prestigious private school.

Eighth grader Drew Ellis is no stranger to the saying “You have to work twice as hard to be just as good.” His grandmother has reminded him his entire life. But what if he works ten times as hard and still isn’t afforded the same opportunities that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted?

To make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids. He wants to pretend like everything is fine, but it’s hard not to withdraw, and even their mutual friend Jordan doesn’t know how to keep the group together.

As the pressures mount, will Drew find a way to bridge the divide so he and his friends can truly accept each other? And most important, will he finally be able to accept himself?

New Kid, the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal, is now joined by Jerry Craft’s powerful Class Act.

Release: 10/6/20

Ages: 8 to 12, Grades: 3 to 7

Get the Book: (Kindle); (Audiobook); (Hardcover)