Top 12 Must-Read Books by Black Authors in February 2025
Honoring Black Voices , celebrate Black History Month with stories that reflect resilience, legacy, and the richness of Black experiences.
A Book of Poems for Black Kings, by Fulterius King
A Book of Poems for Black Kings is a profound and empowering anthology that speaks directly to the hearts and souls of Black men and Black boys.
Expected on: February 3, 2025
Mainline Mama: A Memoir, by Keeonna Harris
A powerful exploration of self-resilience, family, and community from activist and prison abolitionist Keeonna Harris.
Expected on: February 11, 2025
People of Means : A novel , by Nancy Johnson
When a chance encounter with an intriguing young man draws her into the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, Freda finds herself caught between two worlds, and two loves, and must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice in the name of justice, equality, and the advancement of her people.
Expected on: February 11, 2025
Red Clay, by Charles B Fancher
An astounding multigenerational saga, Red Clay chronicles the interwoven lives of an enslaved Black family and their white owners as the Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins.
Expected on: February 4, 2025
The Wounds Are the Witness: Black Faith Weaving Memory Into Justice and Healing, by Yolanda Nicole Pierce
What do we do with wounds--our own, others', and a nation's? We can turn away, avert our gaze. We can make a spectacle of suffering. Or like the doubting disciple who longed to touch Jesus's side, we can acquaint ourselves with the wounds: both the story they tell and the healing they prefigure.
Expected on: February 4, 2025
Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve Ewing
In Original Sins, Ewing demonstrates that our schools were designed to propagate the idea of white intellectual superiority, to “civilize” Native students and to prepare Black students for menial labor. Education was not an afterthought for the Founding Fathers; it was envisioned by Thomas Jefferson as an institution that would fortify the country’s racial hierarchy.
Expected on: February 11, 2025
A Season of Light, by Julie Iromuanya
When 276 schoolgirls are abducted from their school in Nigeria, Fidelis Ewerike, a Florida-based barrister, poet, and former POW of the Nigerian Civil War, begins to go mad, consumed by memories of his younger sister Ugochi, who went missing during that conflict. Consumed by survivor’s guilt and fearful that the same fate awaits Amara, his sixteen-year-old daughter who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ugochi, Fidelis locks her in her bedroom, offering no words of explanation, only lovingly—if poorly—made meals and sweets.
Expected on: February 4, 2025
The Grand Scheme of Things, by Warona Jay
Two unlikely friends hatch an extraordinary scheme to expose the theater world in this wildly entertaining and sharply observed debut novel exploring perception, redemption, and how success shapes us all.
Expected on: February 25, 2025.
Junie: A Novel, by Erin Crosby Eckstine
A young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost, navigating truths about love, friendship, and power as the Civil War looms.
Expected on: February 4, 2025
Listen to Your Sister, by Neena Viel
A razor-sharp, breathlessly harrowing novel of siblings, the nightmares that haunt us, and the deep, powerful love that can tie a family together, perfect for fans of Grady Hendrix, Isabel Canas and T. Kingfisher.
Expected on: February 4, 2025
Needy Little Things, by Channelle Desamours
In this debut speculative YA mystery, a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend's disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger, perfect for fans of Ace of Spades.
Expected on: February 4, 2025
The Edge of Water, by Olufunke Grace Bankole
Set between Nigeria and New Orleans, The Edge of Water tells the story of a young woman who dreams of life in America, as the collision of traditional prophecy and individual longing tests the bonds of a family during a devastating storm.
Expected on: February 4, 2025