Hi and welcome to the reading world!
I’m back with another book list post this week! Today I’m following up on my 15 Recommendations for Your Next Book Club Read post from last year with another 15 reads your group may be interested in! Although I don’t always finish my book club’s reads, I love having a bookish community to chat about books with and it’s a great way to discover new favorites.
This list is divided by genre and is all books already published, so your book club readers should be able to find copies wherever they usually get their reads.
Let’s get into the list!
Sci Fi/Fantasy
The Bear and the Nightingale is a wintery, atmospheric read that starts off a trilogy I read and adored. If your club likes to read a series, this trilogy is completely published, the books themselves are all under 400 pages, and it’s a great one to discuss with friends.
In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift - a precious jewel on a delicate chain,intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, the father hides the gift away and his daughter, Vasya, grows up a wild, wilful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Published by Random House Publishing Group on March 28, 2019
Pages: 336
The Tensorate Series is 4 separate novellas but is also conveniently available in a beautiful bind up. This is one I’ve only finished the first novella in so far, but the world building is completely unique and the stories are fast paced.
The Tensorate Series, which has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus, and Lambda Literary Awards, is an incomparable treasure of modern epic fantasy. Across four novellas, Neon Yang established themself as a fantasist in bold defiance of the limitations of their genre. Available now in a single volume, these four novellas trace the generational decline of an empire and unfurl a world that is rich and strange beyond anything you've dreamed. In the Tensorate Series you will find: rebellious nonbinary scions of empire, sky-spanning nagas with experimental souls, revolutionary engineers bent on bringing power to the people, pugilist monks, packs of loyal raptors, and much, much more. The Tensorate Series omnibus contains The Black Tides of Heaven, The Red Threads of Fortune, The Descent of Monsters, and To Ascend to Godhood At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Tensorate Series by Neon Yang
Published by Tom Doherty Associates on September 21, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic
Pages: 480
Velocity Weapon is the first in another already fully published trilogy, and although I haven’t finished The Protectorate yet this one was one of my favorite reads in December. It’s fast paced, has great narrators, and kept me glued to the book. I think this would be a great one for book club readers who enjoy space opera reads with some good plot twists.
NOMINATED FOR THE PHILIP K. DICK AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL * Dazzling space battles, intergalactic politics, and rogue AI collide in Velocity Weapon, the first book in this epic space opera trilogy by award-winning author Megan O'Keefe.
Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe
Published by Orbit on June 11, 2019
Genres: Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Science Fiction / Genetic Engineering, Fiction / Science Fiction / Military, Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Exploration, Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera
Pages: 544
Sanda and Biran Greeve were siblings destined for greatness. A high-flying sergeant, Sanda has the skills to take down any enemy combatant. Biran is a savvy politician who aims to use his new political position to prevent conflict from escalating to total destruction.
However, on a routine maneuver, Sanda loses consciousness when her gunship is blown out of the sky. Instead of finding herself in friendly hands, she awakens 230 years later on a deserted enemy warship controlled by an AI who calls himself Bero. The war is lost. The star system is dead. Ada Prime and its rival Icarion have wiped each other from the universe.
Now, separated by time and space, Sanda and Biran must fight to put things right.
The ProtectorateVelocity Weapon
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is one that, although it wasn’t my favorite space operas, definitely holds that title for many sci fi readers and is a read that strikes the balance between adventure, sweet moments, and character development. This one is technically part of a series, but based on my understanding each novel is a standalone that all occur within the same universe but feature different characters and stories. This novel focuses on a ship crew’s adventures through the galaxies.
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEY'S WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 'A quietly profound, humane tour de force' Guardian The beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants. Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years... if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful. But Rosemary isn't the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed. PRAISE FOR THE WAYFARERS 'Explores the quieter side of sci-fi while still wowing us with daring leaps of imagination' iBOOKS 'So much fun to read' HEAT 'Chambers is simply an exceptional talent, quietly and beautifully redefining the space opera' TOR.COM 'The most fun that I've had with a novel in a long, long time' iO9
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Published by Hodder & Stoughton on March 16, 2015
Genres: Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Science Fiction / General, Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera
Pages: 608
#SmallAngryPlanet
'Never less than deeply involving' DAILY MAIL
Contemporary/Literary Fiction
Hell of a Book is a read that has stories within stories and features an author, so this would be a great pick for fans of “books about books/writing/authors” while also addressing serious and important conversations.
***2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER*** ***THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER*** Winner of the 2021 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction Long-listed for the 2022 Carnegie Medal Fiction, the 2021 Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and the 2021 Aspen Words Literary Prize An astounding work of fiction from New York Times bestselling author Jason Mott, always deeply honest, at times electrically funny, that goes to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon Black Americans and America as a whole As these characters’ stories build and converge, they astonish. For while this heartbreaking and magical book entertains and is at once about family, love of parents and children, art and money, it’s also about the nation’s reckoning with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news. And with what it can mean to be Black in America. Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour, and what kind of world will he leave behind? Unforgettably told, with characters who burn into your mind and an electrifying plot ideal for book club discussion, Hell of a Book is the novel Mott has been writing in his head for the last ten years. And in its final twists, it truly becomes its title.
Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
Published by Penguin on June 29, 2021
Genres: Fiction / African American & Black / General, Fiction / Literary, Fiction / Southern
Pages: 336
A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
An Ebony Magazine Publishing Book Club Pick!
One of Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Fiction | One of Philadelphia Inquirer's Best Books of 2021 | One of Shelf Awareness's Top Ten Fiction Titles of the Year | One of TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books | One of NPR.org's "Books We Love" | EW’s "Guide to the Biggest and Buzziest Books of 2021" | One of the New York Public Library's Best Books for Adults | San Diego Union Tribune—My Favorite Things from 2021 | Writer's Bone's Best Books of 2021 | Atlanta Journal Constitution—Top 10 Southern Books of the Year | One of the Guardian's (UK) Best Ten 21st Century Comic Novels | One of Entertainment Weekly's 15 Books You Need to Read This June | On Entertainment Weekly's "Must List" | One of the New York Post's Best Summer Reading books | One of GMA's 27 Books for June | One of USA Today's 5 Books Not to Miss | One of Fortune's 21 Most Anticipated Books Coming Out in the Second Half of 2021 | One of The Root's PageTurners: It’s Getting Hot in Here | One of Real Simple's Best New Books to Read in 2021
In Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book, a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Hell of a Book and is the scaffolding of something much larger and more urgent: Mott’s novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour.
One Last Stop is difficult to categorize. It’s a contemporary romance with a sci fi/time travel twist, but overall an adorable read that I think could appeal to a lot of readers who enjoy books that fall within those genres.
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures. But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train. Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all. Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time. "A dazzling romance, filled with plenty of humor and heart." - Time Magazine, "The 21 Most Anticipated Books of 2021" "Dreamy, other worldly, smart, swoony, thoughtful, hilarious - all in all, exactly what you'd expect from Casey McQuiston!" - Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal and Party for Two
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on June 1, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Lesbian, Fiction / Romance / New Adult, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 432
*INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER*
*INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER*
From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes a new romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks...
Convenience Store Woman is a read that delves into themes of identity, societal expectations versus personal values, and how we view ourselves but through the lens of a character’s journey in her life working at a convenience store.
The English-language debut of one of Japan’s most talented contemporary writers, selling over 650,000 copies there, Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life. In the store, unlike anywhere else, she understands the rules of social interaction—many are laid out line by line in the store’s manual—and she does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a “normal” person excellently, more or less. Managers come and go, but Keiko stays at the store for eighteen years. It’s almost hard to tell where the store ends and she begins. Keiko is very happy, but the people close to her, from her family to her coworkers, increasingly pressure her to find a husband, and to start a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action... A brilliant depiction of an unusual psyche and a world hidden from view, Convenience Store Woman is an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Published by Grove Press on June 12, 2018
Genres: Fiction / City Life, Fiction / Cultural Heritage, Fiction / Literary
Pages: 176
Historical Fiction
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is a read that is fast paced, memorable, devastating at times, and an incredible story that explores racism, grief, memory, and love. I would highly recommend the full cast audiobook and a great book club to read this one with.
A JIMMY FALLON TONIGHT SHOW SUMMER READS SELECTION An electrifying novel about the meteoric rise of an iconic interracial rock duo in the 1970s, their sensational breakup, and the dark secrets unearthed when they try to reunite decades later for one last tour. A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK “Feels truer and more mesmerizing than some true stories. It’s a packed time capsule that doubles as a stick of dynamite.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, Afro-punk before that term existed. Coming of age in Detroit, she can’t imagine settling for a 9-to-5 job—despite her unusual looks, Opal believes she can be a star. So when the aspiring British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her at a bar’s amateur night, she takes him up on his offer to make rock music together for the fledgling Rivington Records. In early seventies New York City, just as she’s finding her niche as part of a flamboyant and funky creative scene, a rival band signed to her label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert. Opal’s bold protest and the violence that ensues set off a chain of events that will not only change the lives of those she loves, but also be a deadly reminder that repercussions are always harsher for women, especially black women, who dare to speak their truth. Decades later, as Opal considers a 2016 reunion with Nev, music journalist S. Sunny Shelton seizes the chance to curate an oral history about her idols. Sunny thought she knew most of the stories leading up to the cult duo’s most politicized chapter. But as her interviews dig deeper, a nasty new allegation from an unexpected source threatens to blow up everything. Provocative and chilling, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev features a backup chorus of unforgettable voices, a heroine the likes of which we’ve not seen in storytelling, and a daring structure, and introduces a bold new voice in contemporary fiction.
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
Published by Simon and Schuster on March 30, 2021
Genres: Fiction / African American & Black / General, Fiction / Cultural Heritage, Fiction / Literary
Pages: 368
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2021 BY ESQUIRE AND ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2021 BY * OPRAH DAILY * VOGUE * ELLE * THE WASHINGTON POST * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY * ESSENCE * POPSUGAR * BOOKRIOT * GOODREADS * LITERARY HUB * PARADE * MS. MAGAZINE * THE MILLIONS *
Matrix is a story that goes back to the 12th century and focuses on a young woman named Marie and her role in a convent at the time. This one features immersive writing and, while slow paced, is a story of subtle character development over a lifetime.
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2021 Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, NPR, The Financial Times, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Vulture, Marie Claire, Vox, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and more! “An electric reimagining . . . feminist, sensual . . . unforgettable.” – O, The Oprah Magazine “Thrilling and heartbreaking.” –Time Magazine “[A] page-by-page pleasure as we soar with her.” –New York Times At first taken aback by the severity of her new life, Marie finds focus and love in collective life with her singular and mercurial sisters. In this crucible, Marie steadily supplants her desire for family, for her homeland, for the passions of her youth with something new to her: devotion to her sisters, and a conviction in her own divine visions. Marie, born the last in a long line of women warriors and crusaders, is determined to chart a bold new course for the women she now leads and protects. But in a world that is shifting and corroding in frightening ways, one that can never reconcile itself with her existence, will the sheer force of Marie’s vision be bulwark enough? Equally alive to the sacred and the profane, Matrix gathers currents of violence, sensuality, and religious ecstasy in a mesmerizing portrait of consuming passion, aberrant faith, and a woman that history moves both through and around. Lauren Groff’s new novel, her first since Fates and Furies, is a defiant and timely exploration of the raw power of female creativity in a corrupted world.
Matrix by Lauren Groff
Published by Penguin on September 7, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Historical / Medieval, Fiction / Literary, Fiction / Women
Pages: 272
“A relentless exhibition of Groff’s freakish talent. In just over 250 pages, she gives us a character study to rival Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell .” – USA Today
One of our best American writers, Lauren Groff returns with her exhilarating first new novel since the groundbreaking Fates and Furies.
Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine, deemed too coarse and rough-hewn for marriage or courtly life, seventeen-year-old Marie de France is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease.
Thriller/Mystery
Bullet Train is a Japanese thriller that hurtles along with several POVs on a bullet train with mysteries surrounding each character. I read this one as a buddy read with @johsjournal and absolutely loved discussing it with her!
A dark, satirical thriller by the bestselling Japanese author, following the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins—soon to be a major film from Sony Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird—the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world”—boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase—and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince,” with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate . . . like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose. When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka
Published by Abrams on August 3, 2021
Genres: Fiction / General, Fiction / Thrillers / Crime, Fiction / Thrillers / General, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 432
A massive bestseller in Japan, Bullet Train is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with an incredible energy and surprising humor as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwind. Award-winning author Kotaro Isaka takes readers on a tension packed journey as the bullet train hurtles toward its final destination. Who will make it off the train alive—and what awaits them at the last stop?
The Woman in the Purple Skirt is also a translated Japanese thriller, but this one is more of a slow burn story. It follows the woman in the purple skirt and the woman in the yellow cardigan. This one definitely has an eerie atmospheric vibe that slowly unfolds through the story which is well developed over a short but memorable read.
“A taut and compelling depiction of loneliness and obsession.” --Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train “[It] will keep you firmly in its grip.” --Oyinkan Braithwaite, bestselling author of My Sister, the Serial Killer “The love child of Eugene Ionesco and Patricia Highsmith.” --Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get in Trouble A bestselling, prizewinning novel by one of Japan's most acclaimed young writers, for fans of Convenience Store Woman, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, and the movies Parasite and Rear Window I think what I'm trying to say is that I've been wanting to become friends with the Woman in the Purple Skirt for a very long time... Almost every afternoon, the Woman in the Purple Skirt sits on the same park bench, where she eats a cream bun while the local children make a game of trying to get her attention. Unbeknownst to her, she is being watched--by the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, who is always perched just out of sight, monitoring which buses she takes, what she eats, whom she speaks to. From a distance, the Woman in the Purple Skirt looks like a schoolgirl, but there are age spots on her face, and her hair is dry and stiff. She is single, she lives in a small apartment, and she is short on money--just like the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, who lures her to a job as a housekeeper at a hotel, where she too is a housekeeper. Soon, the Woman in the Purple Skirt is having an affair with the boss and all eyes are on her. But no one knows or cares about the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. That's the difference between her and the Woman in the Purple Skirt. Studiously deadpan and chillingly voyeuristic, and with the off-kilter appeal of the novels of Ottessa Moshfegh, The Woman in the Purple Skirt explores envy, loneliness, power dynamics, and the vulnerability of unmarried women in a taut, suspenseful narrative about the sometimes desperate desire to be seen.
The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura
Published by Penguin on June 8, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, Fiction / Women, Fiction / World Literature / Japan
Pages: 224
The Honjin Murders is a locked room mystery by a famous Japanese mystery author that introduces Detective Kosuke Kindaichi. It’s one that I couldn’t put down and had plenty of twists to leave your book club wondering who did it right up until the final reveal.
One of Japan's greatest classic murder mysteries, introducing their best loved detective, translated into English for the first time In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour - it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions around the village. Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi household are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music. Death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. Soon, amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is on the scene to investigate what will become a legendary murder case, but can this scruffy sleuth solve a seemingly impossible crime?
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
Published by Steerforth Press on August 4, 2020
Genres: Fiction / Crime, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Amateur Sleuth, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / International Crime & Mystery
Pages: 192
Non-Fiction
Greedy is a memoir that discusses the author’s experience with bisexuality. It’s funny and heartfelt, and deals with biphobia and other issues through vignettes about the author’s life.
A hilarious and whip-smart collection of essays, offering an intimate look at bisexuality, gender, and, of course, sex. Perfect for fans of Lindy West, Samantha Irby, and Rebecca Solnit—and anyone who wants, and deserves, to be seen. If Jen Winston knows one thing for sure, it’s that she’s bisexual. Or wait—maybe she isn’t? Actually, she definitely is. Unless…she’s not? Jen’s provocative, laugh-out-loud debut takes us inside her journey of self-discovery, leading us through stories of a childhood “girl crush,” an onerous quest to have a threesome, and an enduring fear of being bad at sex. Greedy follows Jen’s attempts to make sense of herself as she explores the role of the male gaze, what it means to be “queer enough,” and how to overcome bi stereotypes when you’re the posterchild for all of them: greedy, slutty, and constantly confused. With her clever voice and clear-eyed insight, Jen draws on personal experiences with sexism and biphobia to understand how we all can and must do better. She sheds light on the reasons women, queer people, and other marginalized groups tend to make ourselves smaller, provoking the question: What would happen if we suddenly stopped? Greedy shows us that being bisexual is about so much more than who you’re sleeping with—it’s about finding stability in a state of flux and defining yourself on your own terms. This book inspires us to rethink the world as we know it, reminding us that Greedy was a superpower all along.
Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much by Jen Winston
Published by Simon and Schuster on October 5, 2021
Genres: Biography & Autobiography / LGBTQ, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs, Social Science / Essays
Pages: 336
Call Us What We Carry is a poetry collection by Amanda Gorman, an incredibly talented poet who gained further national acclaim with her poem The Hill We Climb at the 2021 Inauguration. Her poetry collection is powerful, challenging, and reflective. It is also one I highly recommend on audio.
The instant #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, this beautifully designed volume features poems in many inventive styles and structures and shines a light on a moment of reckoning. Call Us What We Carry reveals that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
Published by Penguin Publishing Group on December 7, 2021
Genres: Poetry / American / African American & Black
Pages: 240
The breakout poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman
The Black Flamingo is a young adult poetry memoir of Dean Atta’s experiences growing up and understanding his identity. It is a read that I think many readers, young adult and adult, can read and appreciate both the incredible writing and important themes. Since I personally prefer audiobooks for poetry, I wanted to mention this one is also an excellent audiobook read narrated by the author.
'I loved every word' - Malorie Blackman 'Atta's bold verse novel calls to its readers to find their own blazing, performative inner truth' - Guardian 'I masquerade in makeup and feathers and I am applauded.' SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READER AWARDS 2019 
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Published by Hachette Children's on August 8, 2019
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Social Themes / Adolescence & Coming of Age, Juvenile Fiction / Social Themes / New Experience, Young Adult Fiction / LGBTQ, Young Adult Fiction / Poetry, Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Dating & Sex
Pages: 176
A boy comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen - then at university he finds his wings as a drag artist, The Black Flamingo. A bold story about the power of embracing your uniqueness. Sometimes, we need to take charge, to stand up wearing pink feathers - to show ourselves to the world in bold colour.
There’s another 15 reads that your book club might enjoy! Have you read any from this list or the 15 Recommendations for Your Next Book Club Read I shared in 2021? Let me know if you like this getting book club recommendations as book lists and I’m happy to share more!
Thanks for stopping by!
Rae