With 2020 behind us and 2021 still looming with uncertainty, everyone is still walking on eggshells and hoping for the best. The one constant is always finding new content to keep us occupied, inspired, and hopeful as we walk into the new year. These January Reads will be celebrating more Black voices and highlighting some upcoming books to look forward to throughout 2021!
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
This award-winning novel was released in mid-2020, and still deserves its flowers! This bittersweet story follows two young girls, one in the Dominican Republic, Camina Rios, and one in New York City, Yahaira Rios. Both receive the news on the same day that their father has died in a plane crash. Distance isn’t the only thing that separates these girls, they’re also separated by their father's secrets, and forced to face a new reality that forever changes their perspective on family, and the world at large.
As we follow these girls on an unforgettable and life-changing journey, the author writes about forgiveness, loss, and bonds that can change lives forever.
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
The Book of Night Women is a captivating novel told in the best storytelling way. Readers follow the slave Lilith, born on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. What’s different about Lilith is that she possesses a power that even the elderly slave women are afraid of. The Night Women is a group that has been planning a slave revolt for a long time, and when they find out about Lilith’s dark power, they figure she might be the key to making their plans happen.
As Lilith embarks on her journey of self-discovery, we also find her burdened with impossible decisions to make, inhumane violence, overflowing emotion, and a new look inside what could have been a powerful slaves’ mind.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deeshaw Philyaw
This collection of short stories follows a handful of Black Women, all raised or exposed to the Church in some way or form throughout their lives. It explores four generations of heavy emotions as girls and women embark on the journey of discovering and rediscovering who they are and following their deepest desires, or not.
These women are caught between who the Church tells them to be and who they want to be, and as readers follow these women from short peaks into their lives, we also find ourselves questioning and rediscovering who we are too.
Coming in 2021:
There’s a lot to look forward to in 2021, and author Lane Clarke has made a thread that highlights a bunch of books being released by Black authors this year! Be sure to check it out and check back into Black Talk Radio for more book recommendations!