Books to Check out During UK Black History Month

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! October is Black History Month for my friends across the pond and during the past 2 years I've been making a conscious effort to include Black British stories on my TBR. I know often the UK gets lumped in with the US during discussion but let's be honest many people haven't read a book by a Black British author outside of Queenie, Love in Colour or The Brown Sisters trilogy.  I also encourage you to read at least one book for Black Britathon hosted by heroinescorner. 

I've been meaning to read If I Don't Have You since I bought it over a year ago so this month I'm going to find a way to squeeze it in. 

Afro-Brazilian filmmaker Ren is recovering from a romantic betrayal. Kayla is a Black British artist and journalist keen to make her mark. Thrown together during a string of interviews in New York for Ren's latest film, they’re struck by an irresistible attraction. The two surrender to one night of searing honesty and passion, which leaves them with more questions than answers about the future. With secrets lurking between them, letting their romance continue could upend the separate lives Ren and Kayla have so carefully built. But can they really risk losing their miraculous connection?

While not one of my favorites it felt distinctly British and if you liked West Side Story you might enjoy this quick read, Notting Hill Carnival: A Westside Story.

Sapphire is the hot-headed leader of the Red Roses in an area where gang loyalty is all that matters. But after a tragic event, Sapphire vows to leave her old life, friends and her gang behind. Life without the Red Roses and the violence that always followed them is certainly quieter.

When she meets a boy called Apollo on her way to Notting Hill Carnival, she forms an instant bond with him. She thinks he could be the one. Until she discovers he's a member of rival gang, the Gold Teeth. Will she ever escape her past with the Red Roses, and how many lives will be ruined until she does?

Do You Dream Of Terra-Two? is a very character driven sci-fi about a group of young people prepping for a 20+ year journey into space. 

A century ago, an astronomer discovered an Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star. She predicted that one day humans would travel there to build a utopia. Today, ten astronauts are leaving everything behind to find it. Four are veterans of the twentieth century’s space-race.

And six are teenagers who’ve trained for this mission most of their lives.

It will take the team twenty-three years to reach Terra-Two. Twenty-three years locked in close quarters. Twenty-three years with no one to rely on but each other. Twenty-three years with no rescue possible, should something go wrong.

And something always goes wrong.

This space opera is actually releasing this month by acclaimed author Tade Thompson. Far from the Light of Heaven is already getting a lot of praise. 

The colony ship Ragtime docks in the Lagos system, having traveled light-years to bring one thousand sleeping souls to a new home among the stars. But when first mate Michelle Campion rouses, she discovers some of the sleepers will never wake.

Answering Campion’s distress call, investigator Rasheed Fin is tasked with finding out who is responsible for these deaths. Soon a sinister mystery unfolds aboard the gigantic vessel, one that will have repercussions for the entire system—from the scheming politicians of Lagos station, to the colony planet Bloodroot, to other far-flung systems, and indeed to Earth itself.

I started this one and I like what I've read so far but had to shelve it for when I'm in more of a high fantasy mood. 

A sibling rivalry to fuel your worst nightmares. The dysfunctional triplet gods of Sleep, Dreams and Nightmares Theo, Fanta, and Tores are kept separate by the deadly Gates of Horn and Ivory. Only one fact keeps them tightly bound: each of them is a suspect in their mother s murder. Their knife-edge feud worsens when a mortal enters the world with astounding abilities that threaten to change the game for them all. In this thrilling young adult fantasy, Ashaye Brown brings to life a visionary world infused with Kenyan, Brazilian, Caribbean, and Grecian cultural references. A story like no other with stakes as high as they come.

We can't talk about Black British history without mentioning the Windrush Generation has made on society. The Place for Me: Stories About the Windrush Generation sheds a light on that history.

With a foreword from Baroness Floella Benjamin, DBE.

This book presents 12 moving tales of sacrifice and bravery, inspired by first-hand accounts of the Windrush generation. 

I read When Life Gives You Mangos last year and it was a good book about a close knit island community with an unexpected twist.

A small village on a Jamaican island. 

A girl who doesn't remember the previous summer. 

A best friend who is no longer acting like one; a new girl who fills that hole in her heart. 

A summer of finding fallen mangos, creating made up games and dancing in the rain. 

Secrets she keeps from others...and herself.

The courage to face the truth even in the toughest of storms.