Top Ten Tuesday | YA books by Black authors on my TBR

Posted on by Jess @ Jessticulates Posted in Top Ten TuesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

TTT-NEW

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week’s theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week’s theme is ‘Books that Give Off Summer Vibes (submitted by Kristin @ Lukten av Trykksverte)’, but today I want to do something different.

Not gonna lie, I ummed and ahhed over this blog post because I worried that it seemed facetious, but then I figured that the more Black authors we in the book community support, the more Black voices will be heard and the more Black stories will be told because publishers will know that these are voices we want to hear.

Before I say anything else, though, if you have no idea how you can help the protesters and the Black Lives Matter movement, you can find a list of petitions you can sign right here.

So today I’m going to talk about ten YA books by black authors that are currently on my TBR. These are books that I actually own copies of, whether they’re on my physical bookshelves or on my kindle—as well as one that I’ve pre-ordered! I’m really looking forward to reading all of them.

If you have any recommendations, please do leave them below!

ttt1

Crossfire by Malorie Blackman: Noughts & Crosses is still one of my favourite novels, but I’ve yet to read the latest novel in the series.

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann: I desperately want more ace rep in the books I read and I’ve had my eye on this novel for a while, so, as it’s Pride Month, I decided to finally treat myself to a copy and I can’t wait to read it.

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland: I loved Dread Nation so I’m really hoping I’ll be able to get to the sequel this month! If I remember correctly I believe Katherine is also ace.

A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope ed. by Patrice Caldwell: This collection sounds amazing, so it’s about time I opened my copy! I haven’t read an anthology in a long time.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor: Considering I love witches and I love novels set in Nigeria, it’s kind of ridiculous that I still haven’t read this. I’d like to cross it off my TBR this year!

ttt2

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson: I really enjoyed Jackson’s debut, Allegedly, so I’ve pre-ordered a copy of her latest novel which is due out this September and sounds like a YA contemporary meets a thriller. I love YA thrillers, so I’m looking forward to trying this one!

With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo: I’ve heard wonderful things about Acevedo’s work and I love the sound of this novel, so it’s about time I read it!

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow: Firstly, how stunning is this cover? Secondly, this novel is about sirens. Naturally, I want to read it and, luckily for me, it arrived on my kindle today!

A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney: Retellings of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland aren’t usually my thing, despite it being one of my favourite classics, but I love the sound of this and yet for some reason still haven’t read it.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: This YA contemporary has quickly become a classic of its genre but I still haven’t read it. Hopefully that’s something I can change this year!

Which books made your list this week?

44 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday | YA books by Black authors on my TBR”

  1. Pingback: { Wrap-up } My First SapphicAThon & May Wrap-up
  2. Pingback: The Awesome Blogger Award – Way Too Fantasy
  4. Reply
    Jaime says:

    Great post idea! I definitely need to read more books by black authors so I’m glad you made this list. Dread Nation is so great, and I hope you enjoy Deathless Divide.

    Like

  6. Pingback: { Wrap-up } My First SapphicAThon & May Wrap-up – Read Between the Skylines
  12. Reply
    Brooke Lorren says:

    I loved Naughts and Crosses, although I never read on because of what happened at the end.

    I went with today’s topic, but I loved Rebel by Beverly Jenkins. So if I was going to do a post about black authors today, I’d put that one on the list for sure.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Reply
    acquadimore says:

    I agree, the cover of A Song Below Water is just… wonderful. I hope I’ll be able to get to it in July. Also, I’m curious about Grown, I usually don’t get along with the mystery/thriller genre but I’ve heard really good things about Tiffany D. Jackson. (And, again, that cover. Stunning.)
    I hope you like With the Fire on High! It’s one of my favorite books.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      Jess @ Jessticulates says:

      I’m really looking forward to checking it out! I don’t read thrillers very often – adult thrillers often seem unnecessarily depressing? – but something about YA thrillers get me turning the pages like crazy. I hope we both enjoy A Song Below Water. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Reply
    Rissi says:

    I too have heard great things about this novel by Elizabeth Acevedo, but haven’t read it or anything by her; from what I read, I’m not sure her style of writing would be a favorite of mine. A Blade So Black always sounded interesting to me too! So many books, and so little time. Thanks for visiting Finding Wonderland, Jess.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Reply
    dinipandareads says:

    Great take, Jess! I had WTFOH on my list today as well and ugh, I really need to read that book! Haha I feel like it’s been on my TBR for way too long and I don’t even know why coz I’m so looking forward to reading it. I hope you enjoy all of these reads 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Reply
    Tammy says:

    I love that we both had the same idea! Awesome list, and there are a few here that I should have added. My focus is on fantasy and science fiction, but there are some awesome contemporary books by Black authors too😁

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      Jess @ Jessticulates says:

      There’s so much talent out there! I was horrified a few years ago when I realised how many white authors I’d read compared to authors of colour, so now I make a real effort to not only read authors who look like me.

      Like

  26. Reply
    Jocelyn says:

    Amazing take on the topic!

    I know what you mean about feeling like foofy things seeming out of place at the moment. I had a really bad work day on Friday and felt like I wasn’t really justified in feeling like I needed a weekend of pick me ups when the streets of my country are in turmoil.

    I think I’m going to steal your topic for its own post this week, thanks for this.

    My TTT https://alittlenerdtoldme.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/top-ten-tuesday-books-that-give-off-summer-vibes/

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s