WIS Book Club’s Black History Month book recommendations

By RUTHIE

To celebrate Black History Month, the Book Club hopes to expand WIS’s literary horizons and support Black-owned businesses and creators. With that intent, the following is a list of novels by Black authors, many of which address issues such as racism and inequality.

the aftermath of police shootings and how they affect the people living in the community where the shooting occurred. Kekla Magoon recounts a tale that we are all too familiar with, but in a way that we have never seen before. Through multiple viewpoints and powerful vignettes, she addresses oppression, racism, police brutality and how much people’s lives can change in ic, who are called divîners or maji. Their children, marked by their white hair, grow up under intense oppression. In the novel, protagonist Zélie stumbles upon a disguised princess, Amari, who is carrying a scroll that can awaken divîners’ powers. Zélie’s quest to restore magic to the land becomes all the more difficult when she is forced to depend on an ally she is not sure she can trust. However, the solstice is quickly approaching and she only has a narrow window of time before it’s too late.

Tomi Adeyemi’s novel, although fictional, beautifully illustrates some West African culture and religious beliefs. The book also wrestles with themes of oppression which are mirrored in the U.S. and the world.

Other Black authors to support:

• Angie Thomas

• Jacqueline Woodson

• Nnedi Okorafor

“Children of Blood and Bone” takes place in a fictional African country named Orïsha, where King Saran has ordered the killing of all adult practitioners of mag-

• Renée Watson

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“Ghost” by Jason Reynolds Ghost is running. He’s not running anywhere, just away: away from his past, his father, from a lot of things, actually. That is, until he meets Coach, the first person to notice his natural talent and encourage him to join an elite track team. Ghost quickly befriends Patina, Lu and Sunny and realizes that he can be so much more than he ever thought he could be. He hits roadblocks along the way, but with the help of his friends, he overcomes barriers and fixes his mistakes. Jason Reynolds is the national ambassador for young people’s literature and “Ghost” is just one of his many books that celebrate the stories of young Black people.