New Book Club Books for Black History Month

This was just released yesterday and is already on a few radars (it’s Jenna Bush Hager’s February book club pick, which I mention again below). It follows 25-year-old Maddie, a British Ghanian woman who is struggling to crawl out from under a mountain of stress. From caring for her father who is suffering from late stage Parkinson’s to dealing with a distant (but somehow still) overbearing mother and constant micro aggressions at work, she just really needs a break. She gets it in the form of her mother finally returning to London, and seizes the chance to start carving out a path for her independence. She accomplishes a few firsts — like living with roommates and engaging in some internet dating — but when something terrible happens, she has to pivot once more. This is a story that has all the seriousness of caring for a sick parent and work stress, but it centers a charming main character and has lots of humor and levity as well.

Lensinda is a young Black woman working in the Canadian town of Dunmore in the 1800s, around the time the Underground Railroad ended. Dunmore is a town that many formerly enslaved people fled to seeking freedom. When a slave hunter is shot dead by an older woman who came by way of the Underground Railroad — and who refuses to leave before authorities come — the crusading journalist Lensinda works for asks that she get the elderly lady’s testimony. But it won’t be for free. She’ll only talk if Lensinda agrees to trade a story for a story. Soon, readers are taken on a journey of Black American history, which shows just how much Black and Indigenous people’s stories have intersected throughout the North American landscape. The older lady also has a secret for Lensinda that could change everything for her.

As I mentioned a couple newsletters ago, I’ve really been into apocalyptic stories lately. I think watching and reading them a lot naturally makes you wonder how you’d fare in the same situation as the characters, so this book is right on time for me. Aretha falls in with a group of survivalists after having become an attorney and striving for partner, only to see that dream gradually slip away. When she meets coffee entrepreneur Aaron and moves in with him, she starts to wonder if her goals in life really make sense for her as she falls into an underground world of selling guns. Apart from having an interesting premise, this book also just has some great comedy moments, which makes sense since the author used to write for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Note: I just realized this is also a book club pick for Roxane Gay’s club!

This story of the differences between socioeconomic class in modern-day Nigeria centers around Eniola, a young boy who struggles with paying for tuition and other expenses after his father loses his job; and Wuraola, a girl from a well-off family who is practicing as a doctor. Though their life circumstances are very different at first glance, there is some overlap, like small instances of violence. Adébáyọ̀ writes in a way that is empathetic and lush, slowly building up characters and their surroundings in a way that is immersive.