Calendar Girls February: Best Book by a Black Author

Good gracious, is it only just now February? Is it just me or did January feel like it lasted forever? (It’s probably just me…)

Here in the states February is national Black History Month. It’s a topic of some debate. Many people on both sides of the political spectrum aren’t fans, and every year there’s folks protesting. But publishing is still dominated by white males, so book bloggers tend to go out of our ways to look for ways to celebrate authors who are not. So, here we are!

Honestly, this was a really hard topic for me. Usually our Calendar Girls themes revolve on a particular topic or genre, so choosing a favorite isn’t hard. But since we’re choosing by author I feel like I’m being asked to compare apples and oranges. But once I stopped overthinking it and decided to go with my gut, the answer was obvious. Because it was my #2 book last year.

So without further ado, my favorite book by a black author is…

Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi

THIS BOOK!

There is a reason it was so hyped I couldn’t ignore it, and it isn’t the amazing cover. There’s a reason it was the only YA book nominated for the Tonight Show summer book club. AND WON. There’s a reason that it’s the only YA fantasy I’ve given a 5-star rating to since Percy Jackson.

Children of Blood and Bone reminded me that YA fantasy is a powerful genre with the potential to tell amazing stories. It follow Zelie, Amari, Tzain, and Inan as they struggle to bring balance to a kingdom where former-magic-users are discriminated against and abused. It’s a powerful story set in a one-of-a-kind world. I loved the tribal aspects of the magic, and the white hair of the magi was aesthetically on point. I loved that it featured a female friendship and a sister/brother relationship that was not perfect. I loved that the romance was steamy but not explicit. I loved the ending.

Guys, I loved everything about this book.

The sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, comes out this year. If you haven’t jumped on this train yet, it’s time.

Black History Month
Favorite Book by a Black Author

Our Picks

Children of Blood and Bone – Katie (that’s me!) @ Never Not Reading
Children of Blood and Bone – Deanna @ Deanna Writes About
The Belles – Adrienne @ Darque Dreamer Reads
Lullaby – Lucinda @ Lucinda is Reading
The Hate U Give – Teri Polen
The Hate U Give – Samantha @ Modern Witch’s Bookshelf
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms – Dani @ Mousai Books
Becoming – Sophie @ Beware the Reader
The Color Purple – Clarissa @ Clarissa Reads it All
Dread Nation – Flavia @ Flavia the Bibliophile
Dear Martin – Krista and Dawlyn @ Little Blind Book Finds
Let’s Talk About Love – Lindsey @ Lindsey Reads

Calendar Girls is a monthly blog event created by Melanie at MNBernard Books, and Flavia at Flavia the Bibliophile, and is now be hosted by me (!), and Adrienne at Darque Dreamer Reads. It is designed to ignite bookish discussions among readers, and was inspired by the 1961 Neil Sedaka song, Calendar Girl.

Just like the song, each month has a different theme. Each blogger picks their favorite book from the theme, and on the first Monday of the month reveals their pick in a Calendar Girls post. Make sure to post back to the hostess’s post, and I will make a master list for the month. The master lists allow everyone to see the other Calendar Girls’ picks and to pop on over to their blogs. Thus, we all get to chat about books and even make some new friends!

Check in next week for our March theme!