Edited by Ibi Zoboi. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-06-269872-8
This collection of 17 original stories is written by contemporary black authors who explore “teens examining, rebelling against, embracing, or simply existing within their own idea of blackness.” The tales offer a wide array of perspectives and...
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Varian Johnson, Author . Delacorte $16.99 (231p) ISBN 978-0-385-73804-0
Johnson’s (My Life as a Rhombus
) third book is a slightly overwritten but sincere story about an obedient preacher’s son who is “expected to never break the rules.” But 17-year-old Joshua does just that when a close friend...
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Varian Johnson. Scholastic/Levine, $16.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-545-52552-7
Jackson Greene, 13, has exhibited “four months of model behavior,” an amazing feat considering that he naturally tends toward scheming, pranking, and dreaming (it runs in the family). After a kissing incident that’s been dubbed “Mid-Day PDA,”...
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Varian Johnson. Scholastic/Levine, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-545-94617-9
After her parents divorce, 12-year-old Candice Miller begrudgingly moves with her mother from Atlanta to the small town of Lambert, S.C., for the summer. In the attic of Candice’s late grandmother’s house she finds a letter addressed to her...
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Varian Johnson. Scholastic Press, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-338-34853-8
Johnson (Twins) addresses themes of toxic masculinity, family, and legacy in this vividly told novel centering Black 10-year-old card shark Anthony “Ant” Joplin. As he starts the fifth grade in South Carolina, Ant is preparing for the Oak Grove...
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Varian Johnson, illus. by Shannon Wright. Graphix, $24.99 ISBN 978-1-338-23613-2
Maureen and Francine are sixth graders and Black identical twins about to embark on their first day at O’Connor Middle School. For the first time ever, the two don’t share the same schedule or the same activities—Maureen is in Cadet Corps, while...
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