African American Magic

After Winna's little sister breaks her glasses, her grandfather gives her an old-timey pair of spectacles that belonged to her great-aunt Estelle. The specs are silver and perfectly circular, with tiny stars on the bridge and earpieces that curl all the way around her ears. Best of all, they're magic. Because when Winna makes a wish beginning with the words "What if"—that is, when she speculates—the spectacles grant it.

IN A HOUSE OF LIES, TRUST WISELY. Book 2 in the prize poly Sleeping Lotus series.... The country of Soma is on the brink of war… and its newly-minted spy, Raena Barren, must stop it. Only a week has passed since she earned the ranking of Rose, but already, she has a high-profile client. An ambassador from another kingdom has requested her company, and if Raena can convince him to ally his country to hers, then she can avert a four-to-one war. But being the escort of a vigorous man like Ossyne True is not easy. Fearing her own inexperience, Raena seeks guidance from Mikail Haze--a fellow ...

In the heart of Gary, Indiana, three adventurous siblings named Leah, Nasir, and Kingston roamed the bustling streets every summer day. Leah, a curious and resourceful girl with a passion for books, led the way. Nasir, her older brother, was a tech-savvy boy with a love for puzzles, while Kingston, the youngest of the trio, was a fearless and imaginative boy who dreamed of becoming a superhero, yet wise enough to know that being a hero doesn’t require powers but selflessness and bravery. After their parents banned electronics for a week. One sunny afternoon, as they explored a seldom-...

In this anthology, everybody is Black. Filled with epic battles, complicated families, soft kisses, and sharpened blades, Magic in the Melanin is an adult fantasy anthology that showcases Black authors who write magical stories of all kinds.

Jacqueline Woodson's first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming celebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories. It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat—by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for "A Room to Talk"), they discover it's safe to talk about what's bothering them—everything from Esteban's father's deportation and Haley's father's incarceration to Amari's fears of racial profiling and Ashton's adjustment to his changing family fortunes.

FACE THE STORM. Book 4 in the prize poly Sleeping Lotus series.... Jaded and betrayed, Raena Barren walks on eggshells, trying to keep her fellow spies from stabbing her in her sleep. They’re jealous of her fast rise through their hierarchy, and some dangerous people want her to stay put. But when someone she cares about gets a knife in the back, the only way to save him is to keep up the pace. And to rank again, Raena will have to face her greatest fear yet: she will have to share a bed with Jaen Portent. But this calculating, cold-eyed man has his own set of secrets… and Raena finds ...

Gone Like Yesterday follows two Black women—Zahra, a listless college prep coach, and Sammie, a teenage girl and budding activist soon off to college—who are drawn to each other through the songs of gypsy moths. Gypsy moths have been singing the songs of Zahra’s ancestors to her for years, so when Zahra realizes that Sammie might be a moth person too, their paths become intertwined. Then, the unthinkable happens: Zahra’s brother, Derrick, goes missing.

Gabrielle LeRoux was just like any other girl, focused on her academics and other normal teenage angst. That is, until her 18th birthday, where she inherits her powers and finds out she's a witch! She discovers that she is part of a long line of witches that descended from West Africa. They have the power to control the elements at will, breathe life into anything they wish, as well as take it away. The source of their magic comes from the melanin only their kind possess in their skin, absorbed from the sun and radiating through their bodies.

If he loves her, he loves her – career woman or addict – despite what they say about her value. They can’t speak for black women. They can’t speak for the man who has found his one. No man ever fell in love with a table; he doesn’t much look at that table if his heart is full. This black love, romantic thriller is a testing ground for the statements above, as its plot applies pressure from all sides. Lulu, a depressed, kept-wife disappears. When she returns to her husband, Russ, back to the confines of their mansion and their cold-war marriage, the scare of her disappearance leads...

Danger L’Aventure grew up surrounded by magic. She is the daughter of the Adja High Priestess, and chosen child of the primordial god of wisdom, Danbala Wèdo, the Alovi. Magic is her birthright. As one of the Children of Ginen: Adja, Asogwe, and Bizango, the course of her life was predetermined. But that life is derailed when her father is killed by dark magic, and the murderer escapes justice. As an Adja, she is forbidden to use her gift for personal gain or vengeance. Disillusioned and consumed with rage, Danger turns her back on her house and magic. Until the night, while nan domi, ...

Deadly ingredients, earth-shattering recipes, and poisoned relationships abound in this tantalizing third installment of the Hex Kitchen series. The culinary magic world is at war with itself. A murderer with a vendetta has taken control of the all-powerful Gourmands. The first step in his recipe for domination: kill all his rivals...beginning with Braxton and Kenzie. New enemies are emerging from all sides, and the future of magic is at stake. Everything hinges on Braxton’s sister and her lover-turned-enemy. The problem is that Sofia is in jail, and Graham is being hunted by the police. ...

J. Sutter is a bonafide junketeer - a freelance writer, travelling from city to city, hungry for free meals and the discarded sales receipts of others to claim on his expense account. Travelling into the backwoods of West Virginia to write a piece on the unveiling of the new John Henry postage stamp and the ensuing John Henry Days festival, J. continues his nearly record-setting, three-month junket binge.

From Vanessa Brantley-Newton, the author of Grandma's Purse, comes a collection of poetry filled with engaging mini-stories about girls of all kinds: girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful; girls who love their bodies and girls who don't; country girls, city girls; girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. This book invites listeners to find themselves and each other within.

In this glittering triptych novel, Suzette, Maple and Agnes, three Black women with albinism, call Shreveport, Louisiana home. At the bustling crossroads of the American South and Southwest, these three women find themselves at the crossroads of their own lives. A searing meditation on grief, female strength, and self‑discovery, Nobody's Magic is a testament to the power of family—the ones you're born into and the ones you choose. And in these three narratives, among the yearning and loss, each of these women may find a seed of hope for the future.

All 13-year-old Izzy wants to do is get through this family camping trips as soon as possible, so she can get back to hanging out with her friends. But when she and a group of campers get lost in Glacier National Park, Izzy’s only thought is if they can make it out alive before the snow sets in. Deep in the forest, Izzy and her new friends are thrown into a world of magic, witches, wolves and shape shifters as they struggle against the forces of nature and magic.

I loved you… until… A disastrous wedding left two families in turmoil. When the bride and groom-to-be both go missing after the catastrophe that was their nuptials, the families have to come together to find them. Lafyette “Fee” Wallace fled her wedding after her sister’s jealousy caused her to come crashing down from Cloud 9. Comatose and unaware of the trouble brewing back home, she may end up losing her life before she even truly gets to live. Jévon McCoy made one mistake on a drunken night that cost him the love of his life and future wife. He was now being forced to pay for ...

This freewheeling black comedy features a bizarre cast of characters, including a Japanese man with a ball floating six inches in front of his head, an American CEO with three arms, and a Brazilian peasant who discovers the art of healing by tickling one’s earlobe with a feather. By the end of this hilarious tale, they each have risen to the heights of wealth and fame, before arriving at disasters—both personal and ecological— that destroy the rain forest and all birds of Brazil.

“Hex Kitchen transports you to a delicious world of culinary magic and fantastical, sometimes deadly, competition where every dish keeps you at the edge of your plate—wondering who will win the next move and what bite may be their last.” —Elizabeth Karmel, best-selling cookbook author, and Chopped and Iron Chef judge Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Hunger Games in this mouthwatering, magical, and murderous fantasy. Hex Kitchen is a once-a-decade tournament where contestants have to cook magical dishes that are to die...and maybe even to kill...for. Kenzie has perfected ...

Alicia has been out of grad school for months. She has no career prospects and lives with her mom, who won’t stop texting her macabre news stories and reminders to pick up items from the grocery store. Then, one evening, the Jamaican water deity River Mumma appears to Alicia, telling her that she has twenty-four hours to scour the city for her missing comb. Alicia doesn’t understand why River Mumma would choose her. She can’t remember all the legends her relatives told her, unlike her retail co-worker Heaven, who can reel off Jamaican folklore by heart.

A CHRISTIAN SUSPENSE ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE. When it comes to “falling in love,” you can't help who you fall in love with. This is the sobering reality of Malik Harrington, the wealthy heir of a well-known preacher, who falls hard for Isabella Chavez, the stunning daughter of one of the hired help. But unbeknownst to Malik, Gina Wheaton, the main organist at his father’s church, is obsessed with becoming his wife to the point of seeking assistance from the “dark side.” Gina wants Malik and she will do whatever it takes to get him. As if Malik doesn’t already face enough of a ...