We asked our publishing partners which books they’re buzzing about—and here are their picks just in time for your 2022 To Be Read List!
Breath better spent: Living black girlhood dAmaris hill
January 25, 2022, Bloomsbury
Paying homage to prominent Black female figures from Zora Neale Hurston to Whitney Houston and Toni Morrison, Breath Better Spent invites you to walk through this landscape, too, exploring the spaces-both visible and invisible-that Black girls occupy in the national imagination, taking in the communal breath of girlhood, and asking yourself: In a country like America, what does active love and protection of Black girls look like?
GIRLHOOD
MELISSA FEBOS
Bloomsbury
Blending investigative reporting, memoir, and scholarship, Febos charts how she and others like her have reimagined relationships and made room for the anger, grief, power, and pleasure women have long been taught to deny. Written with Febos’ characteristic precision, lyricism, and insight, Girlhood is a philosophical treatise, an anthem for women, and a searing study of the transitions into and away from girlhood, toward a chosen self.
THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE
ABI DAré
Dutton
The unforgettable, inspiring story of a teenage girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village who longs to get an education so that she can find her “louding voice” and speak up for herself, The Girl with the Louding Voice is a simultaneously heartbreaking and triumphant tale about the power of fighting for your dreams.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
CHARLIE MACKESY
HarperOne
From British illustrator, artist, and author Charlie Mackesy comes a journey for all ages that explores life’s universal lessons, featuring 100 color and black-and-white drawings.
ACE OF SPADES
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Macmillan
Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, in this YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully.
BROWN GIRLS
DAPHNE PALASI ANDREADES
Random House, January 4, 2022
A blazingly original debut novel about a group of friends and their immigrant families from Queens, New York—a tenderly observed, fiercely poetic love letter to a modern generation of brown girls.
OWN IT
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
Phaidon
“Own It is a must-have survival guide that you can come back to time and again for immediate inspiration from the heart and soul of the trailblazing business leader and creative genius that is DVF!” – Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO and Founder of Bumble.
BLUEBIRD
SHARON CAMERON
Scholastic
Critically acclaimed author of The Light in Hidden Places, Sharon Cameron, weaves a poignant portrait of the personal betrayals, terrifying injustices, and deadly secrets that seethe beneath the surface in the aftermath of World War II.
In 1946, Eva leaves behind the rubble of Berlin for the streets of New York City, stepping from the fiery aftermath of one war into another, far colder one, where power is more important than principles, and lies are more plentiful than the truth.
Take me home tonight
morgan matson
Simon & Schuster
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist in this romp through the city that never sleeps from the New York Times bestselling author of Since You’ve Been Gone.
Two girls. One night. Zero phones.
Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong?
JUSTINE
FORSYTH HARMON
Tinhouse
Summer 1999. Long Island, New York. Bored, restless, and lonely, Ali never expected her life would change as dramatically as it did the day she walked into the local Stop & Shop. But she’s never met anyone like Justine, the store’s cashier. Justine is so tall and thin she looks almost two-dimensional, and there’s a dazzling mischief in her wide smile. “Her smile lit me up and exposed me all at once,” Ali admits. “Justine was the light shining on me and the dark shadow it cast, and I wanted to stand there forever in the relief of that contrast.”
SKIN OF THE SEA
NATASHA BROWN
Penguin Random House
Enjoy this must-read Black mermaid fantasy series that #1 NYT bestselling author Nicola Yoon calls “epic and original,” in which one mermaid takes on the gods themselves. Perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Beasts of Prey.
Can’t wait to get your hands on a book? Girls Write Now supporter Books Are Magic carries many of these titles.
“If not for me—brown skin, spike-studded leather gloves, combat boots and sculptural woolen coat—this place could be 1963, still.”
– MENTOR & MENTEE ALUM KAT JAGAI
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