Friday, February 18, 2011

Fab 5 Fridays


In our continuing tribute in honor of Black History Month, here's the top five books I've read in the last year by African-American authors, plucked from the depths of my Reading Bucket List:

1. 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter. It's a take on the movie Sixteen Candles, only it's a black woman who yearns for a Molly Ringwald ending of her own. Miramax has already purchased the movie rights.

2. Buying Time by Pamela Samuels-Young is a deftly plotted legal thriller that combines the best of Lisa Scottoline and Robert Crais. Samuels-Young writes like John Grisham with a female twist.

3. Substitue Me by Lori L. Tharps. This book, published by Simon and Schuster, is about a middle class college-educated Africa-American young adult who takes a job as a nanny for a yuppie couple. Tharps writes so well, you don't even realize you're reading. It feels like you're watching a movie instead.

4. Glorious by Bernice McFadden is a powerful novel about Easter Bartlett who travels from violence in the Jim Crow south to the promise of a brighter future during the Harlem Renaissance. Will the promise be realized?

5. The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow is a book about a biracial girl raised by her white mother, but is suddenly sent to live with her black relatives. Hilarity does not ensue. I read this book in one day!

6 comments:

Judaye said...

I am going read The Girl Who Fell From The Sky. It sounds interesting. Thanks for the post.

101 Things Before You Die said...

Great suggestions-I think I'll need to check out The Girl Who Fell From the Sky and Substitute Me.

MsALWalker said...

You're welcome, Judaye. That was a selection for my book club, and it spurred some interesting conversation to say the least. Enjoy!

MsALWalker said...

Good selections, Jessica. I think you'll enjoy them both. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for drinking the Old Speckled Hen. I love that name!

Cathy C. Hall said...

See how great FB is? Up came your post and I zipped over. I'm curious about The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, too.

I'd heard of it before. But you had me on that line "Hilarity does not ensue." :-)

MsALWalker said...

I know, Cathy. I love FB. I hope I don't become addicted. I already have a Twitdiction. Hmm....somehow that word doesn't feel right. Anyway, enjoy the book!