African-American
Teen Fiction
The books on this list feature African-Americans as main characters.  
 This list includes books set in history and novels set in contemporary times.

Contemporary
Two Different Girls—Eve Bunting
Feeling bad about not having a prom date, Donna steps into the street and causes an accident with interesting results.

Double Dutch–Sharon Draper
Three eighth-graders preparing for a jump rope championship cope with their problems together.

Bronx Masquerade—Nikki Grimes
Bronx high school students read aloud poems that reveal their innermost thoughts to their classmates.

The Music of Summer—Rosa Guy
Sarah, a student at Juilliard, is ostracized by her wealthier peers during a summer in Cape Cod.

House of Dries Drear—Virginia Hamilton
A black family unravels the secrets of their new home, which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

The First Part Last —Angela Johnson
Bobby’s life changes when he becomes a teenaged father and must care for the baby girl he adores.

The Contender—Robert Lipsyte
A high school dropout in Harlem escapes from a gang by becoming a boxer.

Chill Wind—Janet McDonald
Single mother Aisha must figure out a way to support her 2 young children in NYC before welfare runs out.

Beast —Walter D. Myers
On vacation from boarding school, Anthony goes home to Harlem, and finds that the girl he loves uses drugs.

Come a Stranger—Cynthia Voigt
A young African-American dancer struggles with racism at dance camp, and falls in love with a married man.

No Laughter Here—Rita Williams-Garcia
Akilah is determined to find out what happened to her friend Victoria during a visit to Nigeria, her homeland.

Emako Blue—Brenda Woods
Emako brings together 4 L.A. teenagers in their high school chorus, but a tragedy tears them apart.

True Believer—Virginia Euwer Wolff
Surrounded by poverty and violence in the inner-city, LaVaughn is inspired by his friends and mentors.

Miracle’s Boys—Jacqueline Woodson
Lafayette’s close relationship with his brother changes when his brother blames him for their mother’s death.

Rite of Passage—Richard Wright
When Johnny finds out that he’s a foster child, he joins a gang in Harlem that wants him to mug someone.

Historical
Sounder—William Armstrong
The son of a sharecropper jailed for stealing food for his family grows up with the help of his dog, Sounder.

Black Bonnet - Louella Bryant
As they near the end of their journey on the Underground Railroad, two sisters face even more dangers.

My Home is Over Jordan—Sandra Forrester
When the Civil War ends, Maddie dreams of becoming a teacher, but she finds the reality of freedom harsh.

The Captive-Joyce Hansen
When Kofi’s father, an Ashanti chief, is killed, he is sold into slavery and sent to Massachusetts.

Mama, I Want to Sing—Vy Higginsen
In the late 1940s, Doris Winter follows her dreams and rises from church choir member to pop star.

Legend of Buddy Bush—Sheila Moses
In 1947, Patti Mae dreams of escaping Rich Square, NC and her family problems, and moving to Harlem.

47– Walter Mosley
Tall John teaches slave boy Number 47 a magical science and the meaning of freedom.

Nightjohn– Gary Paulsen
Sarny, whose life as a slave is brutal, is endangered by a newly arrived slave who offers to teach her to read.

Numbering All the Bones—Ann Rinaldi
For 13-year-old Eulinda, a house slave on a plantation in Georgia, 1864 is the most difficult year of her life.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry—Mildred Taylor
In Depression-era Mississippi, the children in a black family struggle to understand discrimination.