Eboni Njoku

1 month ago | hbook.com | Eboni Njoku |Adrienne L. Pettinelli |Sarah Ellis |Martha V. Parravano

I Am the Swarm by Hayley ChewinsHigh School    Viking    336 pp. 3/25    9780593623862    $19.99e-book ed. 9780593623879    $10.99In this Cape Town–set verse novel, each woman in the Strand family gains magical abilities when she turns fifteen. As Nell Strand approaches her fifteenth birthday, she is painfully aware of the potential dangers that can accompany this “gift.” Her older sister, Mora, carries songs underneath her skin—and has been hospitalized for trying to cut the music out.

Nov 12, 2024 | hbook.com | Eboni Njoku |Lindsay Bayer |Jennifer Hubert Swan

Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings by Dionna L. MannIntermediate    Ferguson/Holiday    208 pp. 8/24    9780823455553    $17.99e-book ed. 9780823459261    $10.99Mann sets this amiable story in 1930s Vinegar Hill, “a thriving African American business and residential community” outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Allie Lewis wants the best for her mama and thinks she needs a husband to help with financial worries and repairs.

Oct 15, 2024 | hbook.com | Eboni Njoku |Jessica MacDonald |Martha V. Parravano |Jerry Dear

Boy 2.0by Tracey BaptisteIntermediate, Middle School    Algonquin    304 pp. 10/24    9781643753812    $16.99e-book ed. 9781523529896    $9.99Win “Coal” Keegan is moving to another foster home; the McKay family seems nice enough, and Coal is relieved that he’s remaining at the same school with his best friend, nicknamed Door. After a case of police brutality that leaves a woman dead, Coal processes his emotions in his usual way: making chalk art throughout the neighborhood.

Apr 17, 2024 | hbook.com | Eboni Njoku |Amanda Toledo |Martha V. Parravano |Michelle Lee

You’re Breaking My Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday-PerkovichMiddle School, High School    Levine/Levine Querido    304 pp. 1/24    9781646141814    $19.99Fourteen-year-old Harriet is convinced she’s responsible for her older brother Tunde’s tragic death and wishes more than anything that she could take back the cruel words she spoke to him that fateful morning.

Mar 19, 2024 | hbook.com | Eboni Njoku |Julie Danielson |Sylvia Vardell |Martha V. Parravano

Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson; illus. by Ekua HolmesMiddle School, High School    Kokila/Penguin    96 pp. 2/24    9780593461709    $18.99e-book ed. 9780593461716    $10.99This poetry collection masterfully encapsulates Watson’s experience of Black girlhood and womanhood. Through an array of poetic styles, she weaves together her personal reflections, celebrating the multifaceted nature of her own upbringing.