Tag: Black Lives Matter

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Celebrate Pride: Books with LGBTQ+ Characters

The background image of this graphic is creased brown paper. In the top right-hand corner there is a stamp with the Pride flag. In the center, text reads "Celebrate Pride: Books with LGBTQ plus Characters." There are book covers pasted on the graphic, which are listed in the blog post.
Book covers are organized in order of the list below from left to right.

Happy Pride month! Although we should read books celebrating pride all year, I wanted to make a list of books that feature LGBTQ+ characters before June ends! One book on this list, All Boys Aren’t Blue, is a nonfiction book written by a Black queer author. These books represent various experiences on the Pride spectrum and immerse readers into contemporary, fantasy, and drawn worlds. I personally recommend Little & Lion, a story about a bisexual Black and Jewish girl navigating the changing relationship with her brother amidst conversations of mental illness. Clap When You Land also features family relationships as two girls discover they are sisters when their father dies in a plane crash and it is revealed he had two families. Another book on this list I enjoyed is Bingo Love, a comic spanning generations about two women who fell in love as teens and then reconnect as older adults.

I am working on individual reviews of a couple of these books, and I invite you to do the same! Shoot me an email if you’d like to write a review on Uni Reads for any of these books. Have a favorite book not on this list? We’d love to post it.

If you’d like more book lists and content, check out YA Pride, a blog advocating for inclusive and affirming content in YA Lit.

I made note of where you can find online copies through OverDrive and Hoopla via the Champaign Public Library and Urbana Free Library. If you need help finding books at your local library or with anything else, don’t hesitate to ask!

Please note: Books that are available as physical copies through the Uni High Library are noted with a call number in case you reference this list once we are able to return to campus. Some of these books are on order and we will update the call number ASAP.

  • Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar (Audiobook & eBook on Overdrive)
  • Running with Lions by Julian Winters (eBook on Hoopla)
    • Call # Fiction W736ru
  • Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (Audiobook & eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction C671li
  • Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (Audiobook & eBook on Overdrive)
  • Check, Please! Book 1, #Hockey! by Ngozi Ukazu (eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # GN Uk1ch
    • You can also find this as a webcomic here.
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (Audiobook on Hoopla & Overdrive) (eBook on Overdrive)
  • The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow (Audiobook on Hoopla) (eBook on Overdrive)
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (Audiobook on Hoopla)
  • Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction K1331le
  • Bingo Love by Tee Franklin (eBook on Hoopla)
    • Call # GN F8548b
  • Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (Audiobook & eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction Em369pe
Friday, June 5, 2020

Uplifting Black Stories: Fiction Books by Black Authors

This is an illustration by Casey Moses of a few YA fiction books by Black authors.
This is an illustration by Casey Moses (@_thebookcase on Instagram). The order of the books listed below is determined by the illustration, top to bottom, left to right.

Nic Stone (author of Dear Martin, Odd One Out, and Jackpot) urged readers in an Instagram post to read beyond books about racism and “also read books about explicitly black people– especially black kids– just being human. Doing things humans are allowed to do in our imaginations: falling in love, dealing with illness, navigating time travel, questioning other aspects of their identities, saving their country, fighting with their parents.”

In response, Casey Moses (@_thebookcase on Instagram) illustrated a stack of YA fiction books written by Black authors across various genres, including contemporary, romance, fantasy, and LGBTQ stories. These books showcase everyday life, the fantastical, and the brilliant imagination of Black people. I’ve listed below the titles illustrated in the graphic.

I made note of where you can find online copies through OverDrive and Hoopla via the Champaign Public Library and Urbana Free Library. If you need help finding books at your local library or with anything else, don’t hesitate to ask!

Please note: Books that are available as physical copies through the Uni High Library are noted with a call number in case you reference this list once we are able to return to campus.

  • Dear Martin by Nic Stone (Audiobook and eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction St722de
  • The Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds (Audiobook on Hoopla and Overdrive) (eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction R3355op
  • With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (Audiobook and eBook on Hoopla and OverDrive)
    • Call # Fiction Ac37wi
  • Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett (Audiobook and eBook on Overdrive)
    • Call # Fiction G1922fu
  • Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson with lyrics by Malik “Malik-16” Sharif (Audiobook and eBook on Hoopla and OverDrive)

Post by Cynthia

Friday, February 8, 2019

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

When Starr Carter witnesses the fatal shooting of Khalil, her childhood best friend, her life is turned upside down. The shooting becomes a national headline, but Starr’s best friends at her private, mostly-white high school do not know of her involvement in the incident. Starr struggles to keep her school life in Williamson separate from her family life in Garden Heights, the poor and dangerous black neighborhood where Starr grew up and lives. People are holding demonstrations in support of Khalil and tensions arise in Starr’s life. Starr is hesitant to become further involved with the shooting so as not to put her life at risk, but her words and actions could change the views of the community.

The Hate U Give is quite a heart-wrenching and fast-paced book. It faces the reality of living as an African-American poverty in crime-ridden, low-income neighborhoods while providing an intriguing, humorous plot. Additionally, the setting was well-portrayed and helps move the storyline along, keeping the reader on edge. The book is told from Starr’s point of view and is highly authentic and effective. Furthermore, the characters are well developed and contribute to the plot successfully. Books like these are especially necessary to spreading awareness of today’s racial issues in America, so I highly recommend reading it.

Call # Fiction T3614ha

Student review by Cadi