The bonds of mothers and daughters across four generations of Cherokee women are put to the test in this lyrical debut that focuses on Justine, who becomes pregnant at age 15 and flees her religiously conservative family, determined to break a cycle…
We first meet Vivek Oji after his death. The novel opens with Vivek's mother, Kavita, discovering his dead body wrapped in colorful fabric at her doorstep. Through snapshots of the past and present, we piece together Vivek's story by following…
Centering on the town of Ngaba, journalst Barbara Demick's sweeping history of Tibet's long struggle for freedom is grounded in the perspectives of various individuals: a monk, a scholar, a local historian and the daughter of a local king. Long…
An Australian journalist, inspired by her encounter with a beached humpback, explores whales from a variety of perspectives, including scientific, artistic, and environmental, in this creatively written book that explores humanity's relationship…
A rising star of the poetry scene with roots in Chicago, Nate Marshall explores language, identity and place with exciting artistry and a powerful blend of emotion and intelligence. In one series of poems included here, he reflects on the experience…
The quest to discover the oldest human ancestors has been an all-consuming passion in the field of paleoanthropology. There are still so many unanswered questions about how humans came to be, and every fossil discovery can help solve another piece…
In this long but fully-absorbing coming of age story set in Nattetta, an Ugandan village, Kirabo is trying to find her mother, and she uncovers the truth of her lineage through the story of her grandmother's falling out with her childhood best…
This compact collection of short nonfiction pieces reads like the work of a columnist you look forward to discovering in the latest issue of your favorite newspaper or magazine because they always pop with personality. Walker makes it look…
In a brief and beautiful collection of 5 short stories infused with elements of memoir, French Rwandan writer Mukasonga reflects Rwandan history of the last century. The stories deal with refugee displacement, hunger, and disruption to a traditional…
In this short collection of essays written during the global pandemic of 2020, author Zadie Smith addresses the perils of the pandemic, the effects of the lockdown, civil unrest, and racism, which she refers to as a virus. Smith narrates and records…
Part gripping memoir, part searing rebuke of racist drug sentencing laws, A Knock at Midnight inspires compassion, outrage and, ultimately, hope. Calling mass incarceration "the most pressing civil rights issues of our time," Brittany K. Barnett…
In this darkly funny, wholly original debut, desperate circumstances lead a young black woman to move in with her married boyfriend, his wife and their adopted daughter. The underemployed, singularly observant and self-destructive Edie is working in…
In this incisive new collection, Danielle Evans (Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self) explores class, race, love, and family through her protagonists' struggles to find their footing in adulthood. In one story, a white college student posts a…
This history of the Green Book (made famous by the Oscar-winning movie) is the subject of this informative blend of history and travel literature. In an era of segregation when African Americans faced limitations in where they could purchase…
In this expansive, years-in-the-making work of human rights reporting, Gevisser explores the global struggle over issues of sexuality and gender identity. In a world connected through the internet and TV, LGBTQ+ people around the globe living in…
This Booker-shortlisted novel of campus life centers on Wallace, a introverted African American biochemistry student from Alabama at a Midwestern university (unnamed but picture someplace like Madison, WI). When not outright undermined by fellow…
Beginning in 1953, the Supreme Court as led by Chief Justice Earl Warren issued a series of rulings to expand equality and increase the power of federal courts. The Warren Court rulings ended school segregation, expanded voting rights, developed…
The crisis around American immigration policy receives urgent, sustained and informative attention in this acute work of nonfiction by Cornejo Villavicencio. Undocumented herself, she worked hard to earn the trust of the undocumented people she…
The author of H is for Hawk returns with a magnificent collection of essays (most of them quite short) about nature, the environment and humanity's relationship to animals and the natural world. Whereas her previous book delved deep into a single…
In a lovely blend of memoir, nature writing, and literary expression, poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil's World of Wonders is an animal lover's dream. Its also a rare example of today's nature writing boom from the perspective of a non-white author. A…
