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Recommendations based on Invisible Lifeby E. Lynn Harris
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
The Coldest Winter Ever
by Sister Souljah
Coming of age story of a young girl's survival in a harsh, inner-city environment.
Renowned hip-hop artist, political activist, and bestselling author Sister Souljah brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable first novel. I came busting into the ... (Goodreads)
Friends and Lovers
by Eric Jerome Dickey
A romantic comedy of two couples navigating the ups and downs of relationships.
"Recommended....Dickey uses humor, poignancy and a fresh, creative writing style....The reader is hooked from the first sentence." —,USA Today, In this sexy, soulful tale of love, betrayal, and ... (Barnes & Noble)
Disappearing Acts
by Terry McMillan
A love story between two African American working-class individuals, exploring the complexities of relationships and personal growth.
He was tall, dark as bittersweet chocolate, and impossibly gorgeous, with a woman-melting smile. She was pretty and independent, petite and not too skinny, just his type. Franklin Swift was a ... (Goodreads)
Flyy Girl
by Omar Tyree
A coming-of-age story of a young woman's journey to success in the music industry, navigating love, friendship, and betrayal along the way.
The bestselling urban classic novel about a young woman coming of age in the late 1980s. Tracy Ellison, a young knockout with tall hair and attitude, is living life as fast as she can. Motivated by ... (Barnes & Noble)
Waiting to Exhale
by Terry McMillan
Four African American women navigate the complexities of life and relationships.
The story of friendship between four African American women who lean on each other while "waiting to exhale": waiting for that man who will take their breath away. ... (Goodreads)
Kindred
by Octavia E. Butler
A modern woman is thrown back in time, forced to confront the harsh realities of slavery.
Kindred scholars have noted that the novel's chapter headings suggest something "elemental, apocalyptic, archetypal about the events in the narrative," thus giving the impression that the main ... (Wikipedia)
The Darkest Child
by Delores Phillips
A young girl's struggle to find her place in a world of racial prejudice and inequality.
Bakersfield, Georgia, 1958: Thirteen-year-old Tangy Mae Quinn is the sixth of ten fatherless siblings. She is the darkest-skinned among them and therefore the ugliest in her mother, Rozelle's, ... (Goodreads)
Addicted
by Zane
A story of a woman's struggle to overcome an addiction to drugs, alcohol and sex.
For successful African-American businesswoman Zoe Reynard, finding the pleasure she wants, the way she wants it, is not worth the risk of losing everything she has: marriage to the man she has loved ... (Goodreads)
The Bluest Eye
by Toni Morrison
Coming of age story of a young Black girl dealing with prejudice and racism in 1940s Ohio.
In Lorain, Ohio , nine-year-old Claudia MacTeer and her 10-year-old sister Frieda live with their parents, a tenant named Mr. Henry, and Pecola Breedlove, a temporary foster child whose house was ... (Wikipedia)
Devil in a Blue Dress
by Walter Mosley
Set in 1940s Los Angeles, a black WWII veteran is hired to find a missing white woman, but uncovers corruption and danger.
Set in 1948, the story begins in the Watts area of Los Angeles, with Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, a Houstonian - from that city's Fifth Ward - who lost his job at an aviation defense plant in Los Angeles ... (Wikipedia)
Native Son
by Richard Wright
A young African American man's exploration of his identity, facing the harsh realities of systemic racism.
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black ... (Goodreads)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
A woman's journey of self-discovery, liberation and empowerment.
Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person – no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three ... (Goodreads)
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
Exploration of African culture and traditions, grappling with the tension between modernity and tradition.
The novel's protagonist , Okonkwo, is famous in the villages of Umuofia for being a wrestling champion, defeating a wrestler nicknamed "Amalinze The Cat" (because he never lands on his back). Okonkwo ... (Wikipedia)
Wild Seed
by Octavia E. Butler
A shape-shifting immortal and a mortal healer's lives intertwine over centuries, exploring power, oppression, and the human condition.
Wild Seed is the story of two immortal Africans named Doro and Anyanwu. Doro is a spirit who can take over other people's bodies, killing anyone and anything in his path, while Anyanwu is a woman ... (Wikipedia)
The Partner
by John Grisham
A lawyer's daring escape from a powerful law firm and the pursuit of a hidden fortune.
It's been four years since Patrick Lanigan, a junior partner in a law firm in Biloxi, Mississippi , learned of the scheme, masterminded by his firm's client, shipbuilding magnate Benny Aricia, to ... (Wikipedia)
Go Tell It on the Mountain
by James Baldwin
A young boy's struggle to reconcile his faith and family with his own identity.
“,Mountain,” Baldwin said, “is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else.”, Go Tell It on the Mountain, originally published in 1953, is Baldwin’s first major work, a novel ... (Barnes & Noble)
A Lion Among Men
by Gregory Maguire
The third book in the Wicked series, following the Cowardly Lion's journey to find his identity and place in the world of Oz.
In this much-anticipated third volume of the Wicked Years, we return to Oz, seen now through the eyes of the Cowardly Lion - the once tiny cub defended by Elphaba in Wicked. While civil war looms, a ... (Goodreads)
Song of Solomon
by Toni Morrison
A tale of family, heritage, and identity, exploring the power of memory and its impact on the present.
Song of Solomon opens with the death of Robert Smith, an insurance agent and member of The Seven Days, an organization that kills white people in retaliation for the racial killing of black people. ... (Wikipedia)
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution
by Michelle Moran
Historical novel of a young woman's struggle to survive in tumultuous 18th century France.
The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire... but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story ... (Goodreads)
Possessing the Secret of Joy
by Alice Walker
Tashi, a woman from an African tribe, undergoes female genital mutilation and struggles to find her identity and place in the world.
It tells the story of Tashi, an African woman and a minor character in Walker's earlier novel, The Color Purple, . Now in the US she comes from Olinka, Alice Walker's fictional African nation where ... (Wikipedia)
Son of a Witch
by Gregory Maguire
A story of redemption set in a fantastical world, as a young man searches for his true identity.
Liir hid in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch. Left for dead in a gully, the teen is shattered in spirit and body. But silent novice Candle tends him at the Cloister of Saint ... (Goodreads)
Blubber
by Judy Blume
A young girl's struggle to stand up against bullying, and her own internalized feelings of worthlessness.
The story takes place in Radnor, Pennsylvania , a suburb of Philadelphia . The entire class ostracizes Linda and, though she is not the heaviest student in their class, Wendy and her best friend and ... (Wikipedia)
Petals on the Wind
by V.C. Andrews
The Dollanganger siblings struggle to overcome their traumatic past, but their secrets and desires threaten to tear them apart.
They were such brave children to withstand such suffering. Such clever children to escape such terror! For Carrie, Chris and Cathy, the attic was a dark horror that would not leave their minds, even ... (Goodreads)
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
by Ntozake Shange
A powerful collection of stories exploring the struggles and triumphs of African-American women.
In celebration of its highly anticipated Broadway revival, Ntozake Shange’s classic, award-winning play centering the wide-ranging experiences of Black women, now with introductions by two-time ... (Goodreads)
If There Be Thorns
by V.C. Andrews
A family drama exploring the dark corners of love, secrets, and forbidden passion.
The book is narrated by two half-brothers , Jory and Bart Sheffield. Jory is a handsome, talented fourteen-year-old boy who wants to follow his mother Cathy in her career in the ballet , while ... (Wikipedia)
Yellow Crocus
by Laila Ibrahim
A story of courage and resilience in the face of slavery and racism in the Antebellum South.
Moments after Lisbeth is born, she’s taken from her mother and handed over to an enslaved wet nurse, Mattie, a young mother separated from her own infant son in order to care for her tiny charge. ... (Goodreads)
Parable of the Sower
by Octavia E. Butler
A post-apocalyptic story of survival, hope, and the power of community.
This highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from award-winning author Octavia E. Butler "pairs well with, 1984, or, The Handmaid's Tale," (John Green,, New York Times,)–now with a ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
by Ernest J. Gaines
The life story of a former slave, Jane Pittman, who lived through the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement.
Miss Jane Pittman. She is one of the most unforgettable heroines in American fiction, a woman whose life has come to symbolize the struggle for freedom, dignity, and justice. Ernest J. Gaines’s ... (Goodreads)
Einstein's Dreams
by Alan Lightman
Exploring the mysteries of time as imagined through the dreams of Albert Einstein.
The novel fictionalizes Albert Einstein as a young scientist who is troubled by dreams as he works on his theory of relativity in 1905. The book consists of 30 chapters, each exploring one dream ... (Wikipedia)
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
by Stephenie Meyer
A story of a newborn vampire's courage in the face of danger and death.
The story begins with Bree and Diego hunting for human blood in Seattle , Washington. Bree has been a vampire for three months, and Diego has been one for eleven months. Together they kill and drink ... (Wikipedia)
