Spotlight Books - UVM Libraries at UVM Libraries

This month we are highlighting new graphic novels in Howe Library! Check out our latest additions in fictional and non-fictional graphic novels.

Huda F cares? by Fahmy, Huda

This summer's exercise in Fahmy family sisterly bonding involves a trip to Disney World--which seems like it is headed for disaster when Huda gets into a fight with a boy making fun of her hijab.

Stamped from the beginning : a graphic history of racist ideas in America by Gill, Joel Christian

A comprehensive history of anti-black racism in graphic-novel format focuses on the lives of five major players in American history and highlights the debates that took place between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and anti-racists.

The great turkey walk by Bischoff, Léonie

Kathleen Karr's classic American story of grit, friendship, and turkeys finally reimagined as a sensational graphic novel. Missouri 1860: Simon Green is a bad student. His mother is dead and his father has disappeared. But he's daring, and so when he hears that turkeys fetch a higher price in Denver, he borrows his teacher's life savings and buys a herd of a thousand birds. Then he sets off on the thousand-mile trek with his dog and a pair of mules. To survive the odyssey that follows, Simon will need grit, luck, and smarts--and a colorful cast of friends.

The mythmakers by Hendrix, John

The rich worlds of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have enchanted readers both young and old for generations. But before they created these literary landmarks, Lewis and Tolkien were simply two friends who shared a love of stories. The Mythmakers chronicles their lives, from their horrific tour in the trenches of World War I, their first meeting at Oxford in 1929, and the literary discussions of the Inklings, to World War II, the publications of their works, and their legacies. Their personal stories are so intertwined that neither can be easily told without the other....The Mythmakers reveals how these remarkably creative minds influenced each other--their world-building philosophies, their ideas of mythology and faith, and their belief in the truth behind the human imagination. The Mythmakers is a masterful work capturing the extraordinary lives and literary contributions of Liews and Tolkien, two of the most important and influential writers of the 20th century.

Toxic : a tour of the Ecuadorian Amazon by Fiske, Amelia

This graphic novel ethnography takes the reader on a "toxic tour" of the Ecuadorian Amazon and reveals the struggles for environmental justice in everyday life.

Zodiac : a graphic memoir by Ai, Weiwei

As a child living in exile during the Cultural Revolution, Ai Weiwei often found himself with nothing to read but government-approved comic books. Although they were restricted by the confines of political propaganda, Ai Weiwei was struck by the artists' ability to express their thoughts on art and humanity through graphic storytelling. Now, decades later, Ai Weiwei and Italian comic artist Gianluca Costantini present Zodiac, Ai Weiwei's first graphic memoir. Inspired by the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and their associated human characteristics, Ai Weiwei masterfully interweaves ancient Chinese folklore with stories of his life, family, and career. The narrative shifts back and forth through the years--at once in the past, present, and future--mirroring memory and our relationship to time. As readers delve deeper into the beautifully illustrated pages of Zodiac, they will find not only a personal history of Ai Weiwei and an examination of the sociopolitical climate in which he makes his art, but a philosophical exploration of what it means to find oneself through art and freedom of expression.

The Puerto Rican War : a graphic history by Mejias, John Vasquez

Rendered in gorgeously carved wood blocks and buffeted with historical supplemental material, John Vasquez Mejias's The Puerto Rican War tells the story of the the 1950 insurrection on the island that resulted in 38 deaths and a failed assassination attempt against President Harry S. Truman. Told as a fable, in which the leaders of the movement are visited by the ghosts of Michael Collins and Gandhi, this book showcases an important and often overlooked moment in American history and a historical touchstone for the Puerto Rican independence movement.

Lies my teacher told me : a graphic adaptation by Loewen, James W.

A graphic adaptation of the bestselling book about what most American history textbooks get wrong.

Comics and modernism : history, form, and culture by Najarian, Jonathan (Editor)

Since the early 1990s, cartoonist Art Spiegelman has made the case that comics are the natural inheritor of the aesthetic tradition associated with the modernist movement of the early twentieth century. In recent years, scholars have begun to place greater import on the shared historical circumstances of early comics and literary and artistic modernism. Comics and Modernism: History, Form, and Culture is an interdisciplinary consideration of myriad social, cultural, and aesthetic connections. Filling a gap in current scholarship, an impressively diverse group of scholars approaches the topic from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and methodologies. Drawing on work in literary studies, art history, film studies, philosophy, and material culture studies, contributors attend to the dynamic relationship between avant-garde art, literature, and comics. Essays by both established and emerging voices examine topics as divergent as early twentieth-century film, museum exhibitions, newspaper journalism, magazine illustration, and transnational literary circulation. In presenting varied critical approaches, this book highlights important interpretive questions for the field. Contributors sometimes arrive at thoughtful consensus and at other times settle on productive disagreements. Ultimately, this collection aims to extend traditional lines of inquiry in both comics studies and modernist studies and to reveal overlaps between ostensibly disparate artistic practices and

movements.

Forecasts by Schuster, Caroline; Bernardou, Enrique (Illustrator); Bueno, David (Illustrator)

Based in the agrarian world of commercial sesame farming in northern Paraguay, Forecasts tells a story about what happens when global insurance companies promise financial safety nets to local farmers struggling with the effects of climate change. This striking graphic novel brings together original ethnographic research and Paraguayan gothic art to confront the limitations of finance to respond to a deteriorating environment. Taking a human-centered approach to complex weather and financial models, Forecasts offers new ways of looking at overlapping speculative futures in a more-than-human landscape. Based on more than a year of fieldwork in Paraguay, the book follows one man's possible journeys through a season of planting and harvesting, buffeted by losses and sustained by the hope that he can cultivate conditions that will help his family thrive. Forecasts makes a sweeping account of environmental and financial risk accessible through the intimate story of one family's triumphs, heartbreaks, and hopes for the future. The graphic novel is followed by appendices that provide historical, anthropological, and methodological insights, as well as classroom guides, exercises, and questions that make this book ideal for teaching.

Undesirables by Boum, Aomar; Berber, Nadjib (Illustrator)

In this gripping graphic novel, a Jewish journalist encounters an extension of the horrors of the Holocaust in North Africa. In the lead-up to World War II, the rising tide of fascism and antisemitism in Europe foreshadowed Hitler's genocidal campaign against Jews. But the horrors of the Holocaust were not limited to the concentration camps of Europe: antisemitic terror spread through Vichy French imperial channels to France's colonies in North Africa, where in the forced labor camps of Algeria and Morocco, Jews and other "undesirables" faced brutal conditions and struggled to survive in an unforgiving landscape quite unlike Europe. In this richly historical graphic novel, historian Aomar Boum and illustrator Nadjib Berber take us inside this lesser-known side of the traumas wrought by the Holocaust by following one man's journey as a Holocaust refugee. Hans Frank is a Jewish journalist covering politics in Berlin, who grows increasingly uneasy as he witnesses the Nazi Party consolidate power and decides to flee Germany. Through connections with a transnational network of activists organizing against fascism and anti-Semitism, Hans ultimately lands in French Algeria, where days after his arrival, the Vichy regime designates all foreign Jews as "undesirables" and calls for their internment. On his way to Morocco, he is detained by Vichy authorities and interned first at Le Vernet, then later transported to different camps in the deserts of Morocco and Algeria. With memories of his former life as a political journalist receding like a dream, Hans spends the next year and a half in forced labor camps, hearing the stories of others whose lives have been upended by violence and war. Through bold, historically inflected illustrations that convey the tension of the coming war and the grimness of the Vichy camps, Aomar Boum and Nadjib Berber capture the experiences of thousands of refugees through the fictional Hans, chronicling how the traumas of the Holocaust extended far beyond the borders of Europe.

Visions of the crow by John-Kehewin, Wanda

A new girl at school. A mysterious crow. Weird visions he can't explain. Grade 12 just got a lot more complicated for Damon Quinn... "Your ancestors have called us to help you." "I think you have the wrong number." Damon Quinn just wants to get through his senior year unscathed. His mom struggles with alcohol and is barely coping with the day-to-day. Marcus and his cronies at school are forever causing him trouble. The new girl, Journey, won't mind her own business. To make matters worse, now a mysterious crow is following him everywhere. After he is seized by a waking dream in the middle of a busy street, he's forced to confront his mom with some hard questions: Why haven't I met my dad? Where did we come from? Who am I? Damon must look within himself, mend the bond with his mother, and rely on new friends to find the answers he so desperately needs. Travelling through time and space, Damon will have to go back before he can move forward. The Dreams series of graphic novels explores cultural connection as a path to healing. Volume 1, Visions of the Crow, explores urban Indigenous experiences through the eyes of a Cree-Métis teen as he learns about his identity and finding home. Ultimately, Damon will learn what it takes to be a good leader for his people.

A first time for everything : a true story by Santat, Dan

Dan is used to feeling invisible. After being bullied in middle school, Dan has low expectations about everything, including the class trip to Europe with the same girls who love to make fun of him. But during his travels, a series of firsts begin to change him -- first Fanta, first fondue, and maybe even... first girlfriend? Funny, heartfelt, and embarrassingly true, this graphic novel memoir is based on Caldecott Medal Winner Dan Santat's most awkward middle school memories.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month. Check out these new titles featuring AAPI voices in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. These titles and more can be found on display in the Howe Library lobby.

Cat and bird : a memoir by Mori, Kyoko

A “sweet, touching” memoir about animals, loss, and finding a home in the world by the author of Shizuko’s Daughter and Yarn ( Kirkus Reviews ). Cat and Bird , a “memoir in animals,” is anchored around Kyoko Mori’s relationship with the six house cats who defined the major eras of her life as a writer: Dorian, Oscar, Ernest, Algernon, Miles, and Jackson. As she details the rhythms and routines of their days together, she weaves a narrative tapestry out of her past: the deep family tragedy and resilience that marked her childhood in Japan, her move to the American Midwest as a young adult, her experiences as a bird rehabilitator and cat trainer, her marriage and divorce, and the joys and profound heartbreaks that come with pet ownership. Full of razor-sharp observations and generous prose, Cat and Bird whirls into a moving meditation about grief, writing, the imagination, the solitary life, and the wonders of companionship with creatures both domestic and wild.

Asian American is not a color : conversations on race, affirmative action, and family

A mother and race scholar seeks to answer her daughter's many questions about race and racism with an earnest exploration into race relations and affirmative action from the perspectives of Asian American.

When the hibiscus falls : stories by Galang, M. Evelina

Seventeen stories traverse borderlines, mythic and real, in the lives of Filipino and Filipino American women and their ancestors. Moving from small Philippine villages of the past to the hurricane-beaten coast of near-future Florida, When the Hibiscus Falls examines the triumphs and sorrows that connect generations of women. Daughters, sisters, mothers, aunties, cousins, and lolas commune with their ancestors and their descendants, mourning what is lost when an older generation dies, celebrating what is gained when we safeguard their legacy for those who come after us. Featuring figures familiar from M. Evelina Galang's other acclaimed and richly imagined novels and stories, When the Hibiscus Falls dwells within the complexity of family, community, and Filipino American identity. Each story is an offering, a bloom that unfurls its petals and holds space in the sun.

Nature unfurled : Asian American environmental histories by Chiang, Connie Y.

As immigrants and laborers, gardeners and artists, activists and vacationers, Asian Americans have played, worked, and worshipped in nature for almost two centuries, forging enduring relationships with diverse places and people. In the process, their actual or perceived ties to the environment have added to and amplified xenophobia and racist tropes. Indeed, white constructions of Asian Americans as the yellow peril, the perpetual foreigner, and the model minority were often intertwined with their environmental activities. At the same time, Asian Americans also harnessed environmental resources for their own needs, challenging restrictions and outmaneuvering their detractors in the process. This volume examines the links between Asian American and environmental history from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century. With essays on topics such as health in urban Chinatowns, Japanese oysters on Washington tidelands, American Indian and Japanese American experiences at the Leupp boarding school and isolation center, Southeast Asian community gardens, and contemporary Asian American outdoor recreation, this collection underscores the vibrancy of the field of Asian American environmental history.

Crying in H Mart : a memoir

From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity. In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

The immortal King Rao : a novel by Vara, Vauhini

Will you, dear Shareholder, set Athena free? Athena Rao must reckon with the memory of her father, King Rao-literally. Through biotechnological innovation, he has given her his memories. His Dalit childhood on an Indian coconut plantation in the 1950s is as alive to her as her own existence in a prison cell, accused of her father's murder. Egocentric, brilliant, a little damaged, King Rao had a visionary idea: the personal computer known as the Coconut. His wife, Margie, was an artist with a marketing genius. Together they created a new world order, led by a corporate-run government. Athena's future is now in the hands of its Shareholders--unless she can rejoin the Exes, a resistance group sustaining tech-free lifestyles on low-lying islands. Lyrical, satirical, and profound, The Immortal King Rao obliterates genre to confront the digital age. This gripping, brilliant debut poses an urgent question: can anyone--peasant laborers, convention-destroying entrepreneurs, radical anarchists, social-media followers--ever get free?

Family style : memories of an American from Vietnam by Pham, Thien

Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam. After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don't get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien's mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity. Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search-- for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream"-- Back cover.
"A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do! Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam. After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don't get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien's mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity. Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search-- for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream.

Stay true : a memoir by Hsu, Hua

From the New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu, a gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art. In the eyes of 18-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken-with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity-is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, a first-generation Taiwanese American who has a 'zine and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to. The only thing Hua and Ken have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn't seem to have a place for either of them. But despite his first impressions, Hua and Ken become best friends, a friendship built of late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast, and the textbook successes and humiliations of everyday college life. And then violently, senselessly, Ken is gone, killed in a carjacking, not even three years after the day they first meet. Determined to hold on to all that was left of his best friend-his memories-Hua turned to writing. Stay True is the book he's been working on ever since. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.

Asian American histories of the United States by Choy, Catherine Ceniza

Asian American Histories of the United States illuminates how an over-century-long history of Asian migration, labor, and community formation in the United States is fundamental to understanding the American experience and its existential crises of the early twenty-first century"--Provided by publisher.
"Original and expansive, Asian American Histories of the United States is a nearly 200-year history of Asian migration, labor, and community formation in the US. Reckoning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in anti-Asian hate and violence, award-winning historian Catherine Ceniza Choy presents an urgent social history of the fastest growing group of Americans. The book features the lived experiences and diverse voices of immigrants, refugees, US-born Asian Americans, multiracial Americans, and workers from industries spanning agriculture to healthcare. Despite significant Asian American breakthroughs in American politics, arts, and popular culture in the 21st century, a profound lack of understanding of Asian American history permeates American culture. Choy traces how anti-Asian violence and its intersection with misogyny and other forms of hatred, the erasure of Asian American experiences and contributions, and Asian American resistance to what has been omitted are prominent themes in Asian American history. This ambitious book is fundamental to understanding the American experience and its existential crises of the early 21st century.

Everything we never had by Ribay, Randy

The Maghabol family journey begins with sixteen-year-old Francisco, who has left everything behind in the Philippines to seek his fortune in California. Following this life-changing decision, each generation of Maghabol boys must forge a path forward while contending with the past. Watsonville, CA, 1930. Francisco barely ekes out a living picking apples. As he spends what little he earns at dance halls and faces increasing violence from white men in town, Francisco wonders if he should've never left the Philippines. Stockton, CA, 1965. Emil works hard and keeps his head down despite the prejudice he faces at school and the long shifts he takes at a restaurant to make ends meet. He refuses to be like his unreliable labor organizer father, Francisco. He's going to make it in this country, no matter what or who he has to leave behind. Denver, CO, 1983. Chris is determined to prove that his overbearing father, Emil, can't control him. But when an assignment on family roots sends Chris out of the football field and into the library, he discovers a hunger to know more about Filipino history -- even if his father dismisses his interest as un-American and unimportant. Philadelphia, PA, 2020. Enzo struggles with anxiety as a global pandemic breaks out and his abrasive grandfather moves in. While tensions are high between his dad and his lolo, Enzo's daily walks with Lolo Emil have him wondering if maybe he can help bridge the decades-long rift between the two men. From National Book Award finalist Randy Ribay comes a poignant intergenerational saga about Filipino American men passing down flaws, values, and virtues until it's up to Enzo to see how he can braid all those strands and stories together.

This book won't burn by Ahmed, Samira

While still coping with her parents' sudden divorce and having to start at a new school midway through her senior year, Noor and two new friends take a stand against book bans at their small-town Illinois high school.
"I'm Noor. And I read banned books. After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mom moves them far from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves. Reeling from being uprooted and deserted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation. But things aren't so simple. At school, Noor discovers that hundreds of books have been labeled "obscene" or "pornographic" and are being removed from the library in accordance with a new school board policy. Even worse, virtually all the banned books are by queer and BIPOC authors. Noor can't sit back and do nothing, because that goes against everything she believes in, but challenging the status quo just might put a target on her back. Can she effect change by speaking up? Or will small-town politics -- and small-town love -- be her downfall? This Book Won't Burn is a timely and gripping social-suspense novel about the American book-banning movement.

Time is a mother by Vuong, Ocean

Ocean Vuong's second collection of poetry looks inward, on the aftershocks of his mother's death, and the struggle - and rewards - of staying present in the world. Time Is a Mother moves outward and onward, in concert with the themes of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, as Vuong continues, through his work, his profound exploration of personal trauma, of what it means to be the product of an American war in America, and how to circle these fragmented tragedies to find not a restoration, but the epicenter of the break.

The apology by Han, Jimin

In South Korea, a 105-year-old woman receives a letter. Ten days later, she has been thrust into the afterlife, fighting to head off a curse that will otherwise devastate generations to come. Hak Jeonga has always shouldered the burden of upholding the family name. When she sent her daughter-in-law to America to cover up an illegitimate birth, she was simply doing what was needed to preserve the reputations of her loved ones. How could she have known that decades later, this decision would return to haunt her--threatening to tear apart her bond with her beloved son, her relationship with her infuriatingly insolent sisters, and the future of the family she has worked so hard to protect? Part ghost story and part family epic, The Apology is an incisive tale of sisterhood and diaspora, reaching back to the days of Japanese colonialism and the Korean War, and told through the singular voice of a defiant, funny, and unforgettable centenarian.

Made in Asia/America : why video games were never (really) about us

Made in Asia/America explores the key role video games play within the race-makings of Asia/America. Each of its fourteen critical essays on games, ranging from Death Stranding to Animal Crossing, and five roundtables with twenty Asian/American game makers, examine the historical entanglements of games, Asia, and America, and reveal the ways games offer new modes of imagining imperial violence, racial difference, and coalition. Shifting away from Eurocentric, white, masculinist takes on gaming, the contributors focus on minority and queer experiences, practices, and innovative scholarly methods, to better account for the imperial circulation of games. Encouraging ambiguous and contextual ways of understanding games, the editors offer an "interactive" editorial method, a genre-expanding approach that encourages hybrid works of auto-theory, queer of color theory, and conversation among game makers and scholars to generate divergent meanings of games, play, and “Asian America.”

Fake Chinese sounds by Tsong, Jing Jing

Between homework, studying, and Chinese school, Měi Yīng's summer is shaping up to be a boring one. Her only bright spots are practice with her soccer team, the Divas, and the time spent with her năi nai, who is visiting from Taiwan. Although Měi Yīng's Mandarin isn't the best and Năi Nai doesn't speak English, they find other ways to connect, like cooking guōtiē together and doing tai chi in the mornings. By the end of the summer, Měi Yīng is sad to see Năi Nai go-she's the complete opposite of Měi Yīng serious professor mother-but excited to start fifth grade. Until new kid Sid starts making her the butt of racist jokes. Her best friend, Kirra, says to ignore him, but does everyone else's silence about the harassment mean they're also ignoring Sid . . . or her? As Sid's bullying fuels Měi Yīng's feelings of invisibility, she must learn to reclaim her identity and her voice.

Monstrous : a transracial adoption story by Myer, Sarah

Bullied by her classmates, Sarah, a Korean American girl growing up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors, channels her rage into her art and cosplay until it threatens to explode.
"Sarah has always struggled to fit in. Born in South Korea and adopted at birth by a white couple, she grows up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors. People whisper in the supermarket. Classmates bully her. She has trouble containing her anger in these moments--but through it all, she has her art. She's always been a compulsive drawer, and when she discovers anime, her hobby becomes an obsession. Though drawing and cosplay offer her an escape, she still struggles to connect with others. And in high school, the bullies are louder and meaner. Sarah's bubbling rage is threatening to burst.

American betiya by Rajurkar, Anuradha D.

Rani Kelkar never lied to her parents-- until she meets Oliver. The same qualities that draw her in-- his tattoos, his charisma, his passion for art-- make him her mother's worst nightmare. When Oliver's troubled home life unravels, he starts to ask more of Rani than she knows how to give. When a twist of fate leads Rani from Evanston, Illinois to Pune, India for a summer, she has a reckoning with herself... and what's really brewing beneath the surface of her first love.

I would meet you anywhere : a memoir by Ito, Susan

A memoir about one woman's search for her birth parents, exploring complicated relationships with family, the legacy of WWII internment on generations of Japanese Americans, and the challenges adoptees often face in learning their own histories.

Lunar boy by Wibowo, Jessica

Indu, a boy from the moon, feels like he doesn't belong. He hasn't since he and his adoptive mom disembarked from their spaceship -- their home -- to live on Earth with their new blended family. The kids at school think he's weird; he has a crush on his pen pal, who might not like him back; and his stepfamily doesn't seem to know what to do with him. Worst of all, Indu can't even talk to his mom about how he's feeling because she's so busy. In a moment of loneliness, Indu calls out to the moon, begging them to take him back. And against all odds, the moon hears him and agrees to bring him home of the first day of the New Year. But as the promised day draws nearer, Indu finds friendship in unlikely places and discovers that home is more than where you come from. And when the moon calls again, Indu must decide: is he willing to give up what he's just found?

Deep as the sky, red as the sea : a novel by Chang-Eppig, Rita

When Shek Yeung sees a Portuguese sailor slay her husband, a feared pirate, she knows she must act swiftly or die. Instead of mourning, Shek Yeung launches a new plan: immediately marrying her husband's second-in-command, and agreeing to bear him a son and heir, in order to retain power over her half of the fleet. But as Shek Yeung vies for control over the army she knows she was born to lead, larger threats loom. The Chinese Emperor has charged a brutal, crafty nobleman with ridding the South China Seas of pirates, and the Europeans--tired of losing ships, men, and money to Shek Yeung's alliance--have new plans for the area. Even worse, Shek Yeung's cutthroat retributions create problems all their own. As Shek Yeung navigates new motherhood and the crises of leadership, she must decide how long she is willing to fight, and at what price, or risk losing her fleet, her new family, and even her life.

World Press Freedom Day is May 3rd. The United Nations declared World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of a free press and the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This selection of books and eBooks from our collection look at freedom of press, journalistic ethics, local and global news, and the impact of “fake news” and disinformation in the digital age. For many more great titles, visit our book display at the new “News Hub” on the first floor of Howe Library.

Attacks on the press : the new face of censorship by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

The latest, definitive assessment of the state of free press around the world Attacks on the Press is a comprehensive, annual account of press conditions worldwide, focusing this year on the new face of censorship perpetrated by governments and non-state actors. Compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the 2017 edition documents new dangers and threats to journalists and to the free and independent media. The risks are a combination of familiar censorship tactics applied in novel ways, and the exertion of pressure through unconventional means or at unprecedented levels. These censorship efforts range from withholding advertising to online trolling, website blocking to physical harassment, imprisonment to the murder of journalists. In the Americas, governments and non-state actors use new, sometimes subtle ways to limit journalists' ability to investigate wrongdoing. In Europe, authorities deploy intelligence services to intimidate the press in the name of national security. In Asia, governments block access to information online, and in some cases, punish those who manage to get around the obstacles. And throughout the world, terror groups are using the threat of targeted murder to compel journalists to refrain from covering crucial stories or otherwise self-censor. Attacks on the Press documents how these new forms of censorship are perpetrated and provides journalists with guidance on how to work around them, when possible, and how to ensure their own safety as well as the safety of their sources and people with whom they work. The book enables readers to: Examine the state of free media around the world Learn which nations violate press freedom with impunity Discover the most dangerous beats and regions Delve inside specific, increasingly complex challenges CPJ's mission is to defend the rights of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal. Attacks on the Press provides a platform for direct advocacy with governments and the diplomatic community, for giving voice to journalists globally, and for ensuring that those journalists have a seat in discussions at the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the European Union, the African Union, and others.

News literacy now : how to "read" the news by Eisenstock, Bobbie

Real news. Fake news. Alternative Facts. We are living in the Digital Age of Disinformation where factual news, opinion and disinformation exist side-by-side in the media culture. How do we know who and what to believe? News Literacy Now introduces a new way to "read" the news. Based on the intersection of media literacy, news literacy, information and web literacy skills, this hybrid strategy adapts the media literacy framework developed by the Center for Media Literacy to analyse the nature of news, explain professional journalism practices and standards, and apply lateral reading to verify facts and empower informed participation in democracy. Written in a Q and A format from the news consumers' perspective, the book asks and answers questions to think critically about our personal news experiences, the news-gathering process, and the vital role journalism and the First Amendment play in a democracy. It connects key concepts with strategies to deconstruct misinformation and disinformation that have weaponised falsehoods and disrupted the flow of trustworthy news. Challenged by a news credibility crisis, news media literacy has never mattered more. What we need are skills to think like a journalist and search like a fact-checker. Whether you are a media literacy expert or newbie to media and news literacy, this book is essential for everyone who uses media teachers and students from middle and high school to higher ed, parents and grandparents, media and youth advocates and anyone who cares about living in a world where facts matter.

Journalism in a fractured world by Eldridge, Scott A. (Series edited by)

Journalism in a Fractured World addresses the fractured nature of journalism as it has developed online. Engaging with theories from journalism studies and politics, it bases its findings on the study of peripheral journalistic media from the US, UK, and Netherlands. It addresses the pronounced animosity that has become a feature of peripheral, political, digital news. Focusing on the metajournalistic discourses produced by peripheral actors, it develops a framework to distinguish between peripheral antagonists and agonists. Antagonists blur lines between news and politics and foment societal divisions through narratives of backlash, fragmentation, and grievance. Journalistic agonists, on the other hand, are also political and critical, but offer a constructive vision of what journalism and society can become. Journalism in a Fractured World presents theories and frameworks for engaging with these actors with a clear-eyed message about the challenges journalism faces and how we might find our way forward, even in our fractured societies.

A century of repression : the Espionage Act and freedom of the press by Engelman, Ralph

A Century of Repression offers an unprecedented and panoramic history of the use of the Espionage Act of 1917 as the most important yet least understood law threatening freedom of the press in modern American history. It details government use of the Act to control information about U.S. military and foreign policy during the two World Wars, the Cold War, and the War on Terror. The Act has provided cover for the settling of political scores, illegal break-ins, and prosecutorial misconduct.

Reviving rural news : transforming the business model of community journalism in the US and beyond

Based on extensive research into weekly rural publishers and rural readers, Reviving Rural News demonstrates that a new financial approach to community journalism is urgently needed and viable. This book provides historical context for the state of local news, examines the influence of journalistic identity and boundaries that have prevented change, and offers practical guidance on how to adapt the financial strategies of weekly newspapers to the habits of modern readers. Findings are grounded in robust data collection, including surveys, focus groups, and a year-long oral history study of a small weekly newspaper group in the United States. A new model known as Press Club is presented as a template via which memberships, events, and newsletters can better engage community journalism with its audiences and create a more sustainable path for the future. Reviving Rural News will be of interest to advanced students and researchers of local, community, and rural journalism as well as practitioners looking to bring about real-world change in journalism organizations.

The psychology of fake news : accepting, sharing, and correcting misinformation by Greifeneder, Rainer

This volume examines the phenomenon of fake news by bringing together leading experts from different fields within psychology and related areas, and explores what has become a prominent feature of public discourse since the first Brexit referendum and the 2016 US election campaign. Dealing with misinformation is important in many areas of daily life, including politics, the marketplace, health communication, journalism, education, and science. In a general climate where facts and misinformation blur, and are intentionally blurred, this book asks what determines whether people accept and share (mis)information, and what can be done to counter misinformation? All three of these aspects need to be understood in the context of online social networks, which have fundamentally changed the way information is produced, consumed, and transmitted. The contributions within this volume summarize the most up-to-date empirical findings, theories, and applications and discuss cutting-edge ideas and future directions of interventions to counter fake news. Also providing guidance on how to handle misinformation in an age of "alternative facts", this is a fascinating and vital reading for students and academics in psychology, communication, and political science and for professionals including policy makers and journalists.

The anatomy of fake news : a critical news literacy education by Higdon, Nolan

Since the 2016 US presidential election, debates about fake news have appeared regularly in entertainment, politics, and news media. While many agree on the dangers associated with fake news, there is no consensus around the definition of the phenomenon, and its origins are loosely attributed to a variety of practices and technologies. Much of the discourse has focused on proposing solutions, with media literacy being one of the most frequently mentioned. Nolan Higdon cautions, however, that critical media literacy pedagogy will be unsuccessful without a comprehensive understanding of fake news. The Anatomy of Fake News offers the first examination of fake news for the purpose of creating effective critical news literacy. Higdon employs a critical-historical media ecosystems framework to identify the producers, themes, purposes, and influences of fake news and incorporates his findings into an invaluable fake news detection kit. This much-needed resource provides a rich history of fake news and a promising set of pedagogical strategies for mitigating its pernicious influence.

Political discourse and media in times of crisis by Iordanidou, Sofia (Editor); Jebril, Nael (Editor); Takas, Emmanouil (Editor)

The changes triggered by the global financial crisis in 2008, the immigration flows and the covid-19 pandemic in contemporary societies have transformed the way individuals communicate, create content, and 'consume' publicly available information. Consequently, political, societal, and financial pressures have led to alternative forms of media practice and representations and disrupted the core relationships and dynamics between politics, journalism, and society. This edited book examines the key challenges in political discourse and journalistic practice in times of crisis. It focuses on European paradigms and links political rhetoric and media challenges with the societal, political, and financial crises from 2008 until the present.

The press and democratic backsliding : how journalism has failed the public and how it can revive democracy by Johnson, Thomas J.

This edited volume explores the democratic dangers posed by a political press that emphasizes electoral competition, strategy, entertainment, and what Jay Rosen calls "savviness"--praising candidates for being politically smart rather than being honest--in its coverage of a political landscape dominated by a looming authoritarian threat. Contributors document how the American and global political press have failed to fulfill their role in elections and demonstrate how authoritarians have used and will continue to use their power in setting policy before going on to suggest and develop solutions to these problems. These proposed solutions include the adoption of democracy-focused framing, solutions journalism, and solidarity journalism, all of which emphasize the needs and issues of democratic communities over candidates' political strategy. The book's recommendations contribute to a reorientation of journalism toward democracy and truth rather than performative detachment and forced balance. Scholars of journalism, mass media, communication, and political science will find this collection to be of particular use.

Enemy of the people : Trump's war on the press, the New McCarthyism, and the threat to American democracy by Kalb, Marvin L.

Shortly after assuming office in January 2017, President Donald Trump accused the press of being an "enemy of the American people." Attacks on the media had been a hallmark of Trump's presidential campaign, but this charge marked a dramatic turning point: language like this ventured into dangerous territory. Twentieth-century dictators--notably, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao--had all denounced their critics, especially the press, as "enemies of the people." Their goal was to delegitimize the work of the press as "fake news" and create confusion in the public mind about what's real and what isn't; what can be trusted and what can't be. That, it seems, is also Trump's goal. In Enemy of the People, Marvin Kalb, an award-winning American journalist with more than six decades of experience both as a journalist and media observer, writes with passion about why we should fear for the future of American democracy because of the unrelenting attacks by the Trump administration on the press. As his new book shows, the press has been a bulwark in the defense of democracy. Kalb writes about Edward R. Murrow's courageous reporting on Senator Joseph McCarthy's "red scare" theatrics in the early 1950s, which led to McCarthy's demise. He reminds us of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's reporting in the early 1970s that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. Today, because of revolutionary changes in journalism, no Murrow is ready at the battlements. Journalism has been severely weakened. Yet, without a virile, strong press, democracy is in peril. Kalb's book is a frightening indictment of President Trump's efforts to delegitimize the American press--and put the future of our democracy in question.

Democracy's news : a primer on journalism for citizens who care about democracy by Killenberg, George M.

Since the Founding, America's faith in a democratic republic has depended on citizens who could be trusted to be communicators. Vigorous talk about equality, rights, and collaboration fueled the Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution with its amendments. In a republic, the people set the terms for their lives not individually, but in community. The genius of keeping it alive exists in how everyday citizens talk and listen, write and read, for a common good. Dialogue and deliberation--rather than an accumulation of individual preferences--sustains a republic, yet a diminished and scarred institution of journalism jeopardizes citizens' access to shared and truthful information. A disturbing 'what's in it for me?' attitude has taken over many citizens, and a creeping, autocratic sense of dismissive accusation too often characterizes the political style of elected officials. The basic fuel for democracy is the willingness of informed citizens to take each other seriously as they talk about political choices. Once we begin to clam up, build walls, and dismiss each other, we unravel the threads tying us to the Founders' vision of a republic. A free press and free speech become meaningless if not supported by sustained listening to multiple positions. There are those who profit by dividing citizens into two camps: a comfortable 'us' versus a scary 'them.' They make their case with accusations and often with lies. They warp the very meaning of communication, hoping citizens never truly discover each other's humanity. Democracy's News discusses today's problems of public communication in the context of history, law, and interpersonal life. News should not be something to dread, mistrust, or shun. Aided by reliable, factual journalism, citizens can develop a community-based knowledge to cope with social issues great and small. They come to treat neighbors and strangers as more than stereotypes or opponents. They become collaborators with whom to identify and sustain a working republic where news, citizenship, and public discourse merge.

Saving the news why the Constitution calls for government action to preserve freedom of speech by Minow, Martha

As traditional for-profit news media in the United States declines in economic viability and sheer numbers of outlets and staff, what does and what should the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press mean? The book examines the current news ecosystem in the U.S. and chronicles historical developments in government involvement in shaping the industry. It argues that initiatives by the government and by private-sector actors are not only permitted but called for as transformations in technology, economics, and communications jeopardize the production and distribution of and trust in news and the very existence of local news reporting. It presents ten proposals for change to help preserve the free press essential to our democratic society.

Censorship, digital media, and the global crackdown on freedom of expression by Nocella II, Anthony J.

Censorship, Digital Media and the Global Crackdown on Freedom of Expression explores the rising global phenomenon of censorship across various media platforms, in schools, universities, and public spaces. It documents physical assaults, legal restrictions, and the exclusion of critical topics from public discourse. This volume analyzes contemporary censorship methods, emphasizing the anti-democratic implications and the threat to civil society, human rights, and global democracy. It delves into the dangerous consequences of suppressing dialogue, information dissemination, and educational materials, providing insight into the challenges faced by critical media literacy and activists. The book advocates for policy alternatives, including economic restructuring of media, global agreements on freedom of the press, and educational strategies to preserve global freedom of expression.

Journalistic autonomy the genealogy of a concept by Örnebring, Henrik

Winner of the 2023 AEJMC Tankard Book Award and the ICA Journalism Studies Book Award The idea that journalism should be independent is foundational to its contemporary understandings and its role in democracy. But from what, exactly, should journalism be independent? This book traces the genealogy of the idea of journalistic autonomy, from the press freedom debates of the 17th century up to the digital, networked world of the 21st. Using an eclectic and thought-provoking theoretical framework that draws upon Friedrich Nietzsche, feminist philosophy, and theoretical biology, the authors analyze the deeper meanings and uses of the terms independence and autonomy in journalism. This work tackles, in turn, questions of journalism's independence from the state, politics, the market, sources, the workplace, the audience, technology, and algorithms. Using broad historical strokes as well as detailed historical case studies, the authors argue that autonomy can only be meaningful if it has a purpose. Unfortunately, for large parts of journalism's history this purpose has been the maintenance of a societal status quo and the exclusion of large groups of the population from the democratic polity. "Independence," far from being a shining ideal to which all journalists must aspire, has instead often been used to mask the very dependencies that lie at the heart of journalism. The authors posit, however, that by learning the lessons of history and embracing a purpose fit for the needs of the 21st century world, journalism might reclaim its autonomy and redeem its exclusionary uses of independence.

Building back truth in an age of misinformation by Stebbins, Leslie F.

How can we build back truth online? Here's how. In this book, researcher Leslie F. Stebbins provides solutions for repairing our existing social media platforms and building better ones that prioritize value over profit, strengthen community ties, and promote access to trustworthy information. Stebbins provides a road map with six paths forward to understand how platforms are designed to exploit us, how we can learn to embrace agency in our interactions with digital spaces, how to build tools to reduce harmful practices, how platform companies can prioritize the public good, how we can repair journalism, and how to strengthen curation to promote trusted content and create new, healthier digital public squares. New, experimental models that are ethically designed to build community and promote trustworthy content are having some early successes. We know that human social networks--online and off--magnify whatever they are seeded with. They are not neutral. We also know that to repair our systems we need to repair their design. We are being joined in the fight by some of the best and brightest minds of our current generation as they flee big tech companies in search of vocations that value integrity and public values. The problem of misinformation is not insurmountable. We can fix this.

Capturing news, capturing democracy : Trump and the voice of America by Wright, Kate

The Voice of America (VOA) is the oldest and largest US government-funded international media organization. In 2020, Donald Trump nominated Michael Pack, a right-wing documentarian and close friend of Steve Bannon, to lead the US Agency for Global Media - the independent federal agency overseeing US-funded international media. During Pack's seven-month tenure, more than 30 whistleblowers filed complaints against him and a judge ruled that he had infringed journalists' constitutional right to freedom of speech. How did such a major international public service media network become intensely politicized by government allies in such a short time, despite having its editorial independence protected by law? Capturing News, Capturing Democracy puts these events in historical and international context--and develops a new analytical framework for understanding government capture and its connection to broader processes of democratic backsliding. Drawing from in-depth interviews with network managers and journalists, and analysis of private correspondence and internal documents, Kate Wright, Martin Scott, and Mel Bunce analyze how political appointees, White House officials, and right-wing media influenced VOA-- changing its reporting of the Black Lives Matter movement and the 2020 presidential election. The authors stress that leaving the VOA unprotected leaves it and other public media open to targeting by authoritarian leadership and poses serious risks to US democracy. Further, they offer practical recommendations for how to protect the network and other international public service media better in the future.

Celebrate Black History Month with Howe Library by checking-out new fiction titles in our collection by Black authors. See also, our featured books post for “African Americans and Labor”, the theme selected for 2025 Black History Month by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Find these books and more at the Howe Library Lobby display.

Great expectations : a novel. by Cunningham, Vinson

I'd seen the Senator speak a few times before my life got caught up, however distantly, with his, but the first time I can remember paying real attention was when he delivered the speech announcing his run for the Presidency. When David first hears the Senator from Illinois speak, he feels deep ambivalence. Intrigued by the Senator's idealistic rhetoric, David also wonders how he'll balance the fervent belief and inevitable compromises it will take to become the United States's first Black president. Great Expectations is about David's eighteen months working for the Senator's presidential campaign. Along the way David meets a myriad of people who raise a set of questions-questions of history, art, race, religion, and fatherhood, all of which force David to look at his own life anew and come to terms with his identity as a young Black man and father in America.

Let us descend : a novel. by Ward, Jesmyn

Let Us Descend describes a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. A journey that is as beautifully rendered as it is heart wrenching, the novel is "[t]he literary equivalent of an open wound from which poetry pours" (NPR). Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader's guide. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with spirits: of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take. While Annis leads readers through the descent, hers is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation. From one of the most singularly brilliant and beloved writers of her generation, this "[s]earing and lyrical...raw, transcendent, and ultimately hopeful" ( The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ) novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land—the rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South. Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Ward's most magnificent novel yet.

Redwood court by Dameron, DéLana R. A.

Mika, you sit at our feet all these hours and days, hearing us tell our tales. You have all these stories inside you: all the stories everyone in our family knows and all the stories everyone in our family tells. You write 'em in your books and show everyone who we are." So begins DéLana R.A. Dameron's stunning novel-in-stories, Redwood Court. The baby of the family, Mika Mosby spends much of her time in the care of loved ones, listening to their stories and secrets, witnessing their struggles. Growing up on Redwood Court, the cul-de-sac in the working-class suburb of Columbia, South Carolina where her grandparents live, Mika learns important, sometimes difficult lessons from the people who raise her: Her exhausted parents, who work long hours at multiple jobs while still making sure their kids experience the adventure of family vacations; her older sister, who, in a house filled with Motown would rather listen to Alanis Morrisette, and can't wait to taste real independence; her retired grandparents, children of Jim Crow, who realized their own vision of success when they bought their house on Redwood Court in the 1960s, imagining it filled with future generations; and the many neighbors on the Court who hold tight to the community they've built, committed to fostering joy and love in an America so insistent on seeing Black people stumble and fall.

Chain gang all stars by Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame

The explosive, hotly-anticipated debut novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Friday Black, about two top women gladiators fighting for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America's own. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom. In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences. Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means from a "new and necessary American voice"

Come and get it by Reid, Kiley

It's 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the chance. But Millie's starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardized by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue.

We are all so good at smiling by McBride, Amber

When hospitalized for her clinical depression, Whimsy connects with a boy named Faerry, who also suffers from the traumatic loss of a sibling, and together they work to unearth buried memories and battle the fantastical physical embodiment of their depression.

Kin : rooted in hope by Weatherford, Carole Boston

A multi-generational family history told in the voices of the author's ancestors, spanning enslavement alongside Frederick Douglass at Maryland's Wye House plantation, service in the U.S. Colored Troops, and the founding of all-Black Reconstruction-era communities.

What Napoleon could not do by Nnuro, DK

One of the Books Barack Obama Is Reading This Summer One of Vulture's Best Books of 2023 One of Goodreads' Buzziest Debut Novels of 2023 One of Essence's 31 Books You Must Read One of the most anticipated books by Town & Country and Elle America is seen through the eyes and ambitions of three characters with ties to Africa in this gripping novel When siblings Jacob and Belinda Nti were growing up in Ghana, their goal was simple: to move to America. For them, the United States was both an opportunity and a struggle, a goal and an obstacle. Jacob, an awkward computer programmer who still lives with his father, wants a visa so he can move to Virginia to live with his wife--a request that the U.S. government has repeatedly denied. He envies his sister, Belinda, who achieved, as their father put it, "what Napoleon could not do": she went to college and law school in the United States and even managed to marry Wilder, a wealthy Black businessman from Texas. Wilder's view of America differs markedly from his wife's, as he's spent his life railing against the racism and marginalization that are part of life for every African American living here. For these three, their desires and ambitions highlight the promise and the disappointment that life in a new country offers. How each character comes to understand this and how each learns from both their dashed hopes and their fulfilled dreams lie at the heart of what makes What Napoleon Could Not Do such a compelling, insightful read.

Cool. Awkward. Black by Strong, Karen (Editor)

A girl who believes in UFOs; a boy who might have finally found his Prince Charming; a hopeful performer who dreams of being cast in her school's production of The Sound of Music; a misunderstood magician of sorts with a power she doesn't quite understand. These plotlines and many more compose the eclectic stories found within the pages of this dynamic, exciting, and expansive collection featuring exclusively Black characters. From contemporary to historical, fantasy to sci-fi, magical to realistic, and with contributions from a powerhouse list of self-proclaimed geeks and bestselling, award-winning authors, this life-affirming anthology celebrates and redefines the many facets of Blackness and geekiness--both in the real world and those imagined.

Forever is now by Lockington, Mariama

When sixteen-year-old Sadie, a Black bisexual recluse, develops agoraphobia the summer before her junior year, she relies on her best friend, family, and therapist to overcome her fears.
"I'm safe here. That's how Sadie feels, on a perfect summer day, wrapped in her girlfriend's arms. School is out, and even though she's been struggling to manage her chronic anxiety, Sadie is hopeful better times are ahead. Or at least, she thought she was safe. When her girlfriend reveals some unexpected news and the two witness an incident of police brutality, Sadie's whole world is upended in an instant. I'm not safe anywhere. That's how Sadie feels every day after -- vulnerable, uprooted. She retreats as the weeks slip by. When Sadie's therapist gives her a diagnosis for her debilitating panic -- agoraphobia -- she starts on a path of acceptance and healing. Meanwhile, protests are taking place all over the city. Sadie wants to be a part of it, to use her voice and effect change. But how do you show up for your community when you can't even leave your house? I can build a safe place inside myself. That's what Sadie learns over the course of one life-changing summer. From critically acclaimed and Stonewall Honor-winning author Mariama J. Lockington comes a powerful young adult novel in verse about mental health, love, family, Black joy, and finding your voice and power in an unforgiving world.

The Davenports by Marquis, Krystal

The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it's 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love--even where they're not supposed to. There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married... until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love--unless it's with her sister's suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business--and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen's brother, John. But Olivia's best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can't seem to keep his interest... until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.

The probability of everything by Everett, Sarah

When an asteroid has an 84.7% chance of colliding with the Earth in four days, eleven-year-old Kemi, who loves scientific facts and probability, assembles a time capsule to capture her family's truth as she tries to come to terms with saying goodbye.

The Heaven and Earth grocery store by McBride, James

From James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah's Book Club pick Deacon King Kong and the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, a novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe's theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe. As these characters' stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town's white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community--heaven and earth--that sustain us. Bringing his masterly storytelling skills and his deep faith in humanity to The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride has written a novel as compassionate as Deacon King Kong and as inventive as The Good Lord Bird.

Moonrise over New Jessup by Minnicks, Jamila

It's 1957, and after leaving the only home she has ever known, Alice Young steps off the bus into the all-Black town of New Jessup, Alabama, where residents have largely rejected integration as the means for Black social advancement. She falls in love with Raymond Campbell, whose clandestine organizing activities challenge New Jessup's status quo and could lead to the young couple's expulsion-or worse-from the home they hold dear. But as Raymond continues to push alternatives for enhancing New Jessup's political power, Alice must find a way to balance her undying support for his underground work with her desire to protect New Jessup from the rising pressure of upheavals both in and out of town.

Magic Enuff : poems by Stringfellow, Tara M.

An electrifying collection of poems that tells a universal tale of survival and revolution through the lens of Black femininity. Tara M. Stringfellow embraces complexity, grappling with the sometimes painful, sometimes wonderful way two conflicting things can be true at the same time. How it's possible to have a strong voice and also feel silenced. To be loyal to things and people that betray us. To burn as hot with rage as we do with love. Each poem asks how we can heal and sustain relationships with people, systems, and ourselves. How to reach for the kind of real love that allows for the truth of anger, disappointment, and grief. Unapologetic, unafraid, and glorious in its nuance, this collection argues that when it comes to living in our full humanity, we have-and we are-magic enough.

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