African American Family Fiction

When Nate suggests that they attempt to be the first Black American men to summit Mount Everest, his younger brother Dixon can’t refuse. The two are determined to prove something—to themselves and to each other. Dixon interrupts his orderly life as a school psychologist, leaving behind disapproving friends, family, and one particularly fragile student. Once on the mountain, Nate and Dixon are met with extreme weather conditions, oxygen deprivation, and precarious terrain. But as much as they’ve prepared for this, Mt. Everest is always fickle.

Embark on an extraordinary journey through the segregated South of 1957 with Drunetta Brown, a woman determined to rewrite her story of struggle and heartbreak. Fleeing her shattered dreams and an alcoholic husband, Drunetta takes her children to New York City for a fresh start. There, she finds unexpected allies in Raycie, a talented bar singer, and Rose, a devoted church secretary. As Drunetta navigates the challenges of her new life, her friendships become her lifeline, offering the strength she needs to carve her own path in a changing world.

Walker Jareau prided himself on being a player. Women came a dime a dozen, and he was like a revolving door... until he met the one woman who threatened to swipe his player card—Jorja Sandifer. The beautiful dancer captivated him from the moment he laid eyes on her. It didn’t take long for the friends with benefits to migrate into an unconventional relationship, laced with a bit of toxicity. Feelings developed, and neither wants to come clean until Jorja has had enough.

There's always a man around the corner, and church trustee James Black should know - he's usually that very man. Meet a deliciously dysfunctional family in this riveting new novel, filled with intrigue, sex, and surprises.

Three siblings, Sydney, Gina, and Rick, each have full lives, complex relationships, and serious personal problems. But when their mother suffers a debilitating stroke, her need for extensive care forces them to examine the strength of the bonds between them. A Blackboard best-selling author, Roby tackles several contemporary issues in this moving novel, including marital violence and childhood abuse.

An Essence best-selling author, Travis Hunter is acclaimed for the way he honestly confronts the issues facing African-American men. Jermaine Banks is a pot dealer in Philadelphia, father to a three-year-old boy, and committed partner to his pregnant girlfriend. As he approaches his 30th birthday and suffers the loss of a close friend to gang violence, he realizes it's time for some changes.

The story carries a profound message about embracing unexpected events with a positive attitude. Lysis's brother is inspired by Nana's resilience and aspires to emulate her ability to find happiness even in challenging situations. With the story lingering in their hearts, the children snuggle up in their cozy blankets, cherishing the lessons of laughter and optimism.

African-American police officer and family man Carson Blake pulls over a young black man for speeding. When the man reaches for his cell phone, Carson thinks he's going for a weapon and shoots to kill. Now a promising life has been snuffed out, and Carson must begin a painful journey toward redemption.

In How to Read the Air, Mengestu crafts a moving tale about one man’s search for identity. After his estranged Ethiopian immigrant father dies, Jonas hopes to answer questions about his heritage and culture. So he leaves his wife and home in New York and sets out across the trail his own parents took when they first arrived in America.

In this powerful, edgy, and funny debut novel about making right and wrong choices, Bump gives us an unforgettable and lovable protagonist, Claude McKay Love. Claude is a young black man in search of a place where he can fit; born on the South Side of Chicago, he is raised by his civil rights-era grandmother, who tries to shape him into a principled actor for change. After a riot consumes his neighborhood, Claude decides to escape Chicago for another place, to go to college, to find a new life and identity. But he discovers, there's no escaping the people and places that made him.

Set in contemporary Louisville, Leesa Cross-Smith's mesmerizing first novel surrounding the death of a police officer is a requiem for marriage, friendship, and family, from an author Roxane Gay has called "a consummate storyteller". Evi - a classically-trained ballerina - was nine months pregnant when her husband Eamon was killed in the line of duty on a steamy morning in July. Now, it is winter, and Eamon's adopted brother Dalton has moved in to help her raise six-month-old Noah.

When summoned to Georgetown, South Carolina, sisters Mariah Clark and Sabrina Holland both assume their ailing grandfather's health has gotten worse. Neither expects their grandmother's undeniable request—save the family restaurant. Mariah is at a crossroad in her life. After being dumped by her husband and forced to walk away from their diner that she helped rescue from bankruptcy, bitter feelings consume her. Even though the restaurant has been in the family for eighty-six years, giving her all to another struggling business isn't something she wants to do.

Our narrator is a gifted photographer, an uncertain wife, an infertile mother, a biracial woman in an unraveling America. As she grapples with a lifetime of ambivalence about motherhood, yet another act of police brutality makes headlines, and this time the victim is Noah, a boy in her photography class. Unmoored by the grief of a recent devastating miscarriage and Noah's fight for his life, she worries she can no longer chase the hope of having a child, no longer wants to bring a Black body into the world.

Three daughters, connected only through their relationship to Amos, a now elderly ex-musician struggling with Alzheimer's disease, find their lives intertwining as a car accident reunites them at Amos' bedside - bringing some long-buried issues to light.

At 72, Johnny Ribkins shouldn't have such problems: he's got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster boss or it's curtains. What may or may not be useful to Johnny as he flees is that he comes from an African American family that has been gifted with superpowers that are a bit, well, odd. Okay, very odd. For example, Johnny's father could see colors no one else could see. His brother could scale perfectly flat walls. His cousin belches fire. And Johnny himself can make precise maps of any space you name, whether he's been there or not.

Nikki Turner, Queen of Hip-Hop Lit, is back with one of her gutsiest female characters yet, a glamorous chick with a high-end hustle that can rival any man’s game. As the respected, renowned concierge for a luxury hotel chain, Beijing Lee caters to the wealthy and famous. Whether it’s securing a dinner reservation, a fleet of limos, or a record deal, or protecting her clients from the paparazzi, there’s nothing Beijing can’t do. She’s stacked up an impressive pile of IOUs from the world’s elite - and one day she decides it’s time to start cashing in.

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.

On a routine trip to the Piggly Wiggly in Albany, Georgia, widower Fletcher Dukes smells a familiar perfume, then sees a tall woman the color of papershell pecans with a strawberry birthmark on the nape of her neck. He knows immediately that she is his lost love, Altovise Benson. Their bond, built on county fairs, sit-ins, and marches, once seemed a sure and forever thing. But their marriage plans were disrupted when the police turned a peaceful protest violent.

A fun listen-aloud written in upbeat rhyming verse, Girl Dad is a book that honors the strong men who raise, love, and uplift strong girls.

Through the darkest tunnel comes the light, but for Caesar King, there is nothing but more darkness on the other side. After the failed attempt on his life, he is afraid that the Pact of the Five Families is no more. He can trust nobody. Whoever murdered Barry is now aiming for Caesar's crown, and the only way to flush them out and figure out who's responsible is to go to war...with everybody.