Celebrate Black Authors
The Reading Chamber is a small bookstore, but we always have a few books that feature diverse characters and authors. Over the years, the young adult category has grown to include more characters with different backgrounds and ethnicities, but it can always use more. Every reader is different and they want to see themselves in these characters. Historically, Black authors only make up about 5% of the book industry. Black History Month is an excellent time to read these authors and encourage more books by them. Our book availability rotates as we sell more titles and get new titles in, but we currently have two titles by Black authors that are featured below. For a larger variety, Simon & Schuster has a great catalog on their website here. Black history is American history.
A French Girl in New York by Anna Adams
Orphan Maude dreams of escaping her provincial French village and becoming an opera star. When a livestream of her singing in a Paris café goes viral, record companies chase her with promises of stardom—but they all want her to sing pop. Maude hates pop but she accepts the challenge in part because she learns that her Nigerian father lived in New York once. Whisked away to the Big Apple, she has six months to prove herself and learn about her parents. If she doesn’t succeed, she’ll have to return to France.
But there’s one major problem—her collaborator, Matt. He’s annoying and arrogant, a popstar on a break, and he’s determined to force Maude out of her comfort zone. As Maude and Matt explore New York, they’ll have to put their bickering aside if they’re ever going to create the perfect harmony.
Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello
Charming, handsome Trey Anderson is struggling to balance the pressures of school popularity with a job at his family’s local bookshop, Wonderland.
Quirky, creative Ariel Spencer needs tuition for the art program of her dreams, and an opening at Wonderland is the answer.
When Trey and Ariel learn that Wonderland is on the brink of being shut down by a neighborhood gentrifier, they team up to stop the doors from closing before the Christmas Eve deadline—and embark on a hate-to-love journey that will change them forever.
Heartwarming and romantic, this read is the gift that keeps on giving, no matter the season.
