African-American Fiction: Great Books!

Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do , by Valerie Wilson Wesley (1999)

A family is strained to the limits when a husband walks out on his forty-year-old wife and two adult children to search for happiness and everyone must pick up the pieces.

B-Boy Blues: A Seriously Sexy, Fiercely Funny, Black-on-Black Love Story , by James Earl Hardy (1994)

Mitchell Crawford, who has long sought a street-wise lover, finds one in Raheim Rivers, a young man who can take him for a walk on the wild side.

Bebe's By Golly Wow! , by Yolanda Joe (1998)

A thoroughly modern look at romance, friendship, and family, the sequel to He Say, She Say continues the story of Bebe, a fortysomething bank supervisor and recent college graduate, and her best friend, Sandy, a young radio executive.

Big Girls Don't Cry , by Connie Briscoe (1996)

Naomi Jefferson, who experiences loss, betrayal, and addiction, believes that the weight of the world lies on her shoulders, until Joseph, her deceased brother's illegitimate teenage son, enters her life and teaches her a lesson in courage and self-love.

Caught Up in the Rapture , by Sheneska Jackson (1996) I

n the heart of South Central L.A., Jazmine, the daughter of a preacher, connects with X-Man, headed for a life on the streets, and their love takes them to the top of the music industry.

Coffee Will Make You Black , by April Sinclair (1994)

Chronicles the experiences of Stevie, a bookish African-American girl growing up on Chicago's South Side during the 1960s.

Fed Up With the Fanny , by Franklin White (1996)

Combining humor and compassion, a debut novel -- originally self-published -- explores one man's convoluted relationships with the women in his life -- colleagues, love interests, friends, and sisters -- and how interconnected they all are.

Friends and Lovers , by Eric Jerome Dickey (1997)

The author of Sister, Sister tells the humorous, poignant story of two romances between young African-American couples -- one of which ends in a storybook marriage, and the other which ends in an unexpected pregnancy and a painful reunion.

Good Hair , by Benilde Little (1996)

Alice Andrews, a reporter in Newark, falls in love with handsome, Harvard-educated surgeon Jack Russworm, but class differences, especially his upper-crust African American background, threaten their romance.

It's a Thin Line , by Kimberla Lawson Roby (2001)

When their mother suffers a debilitating stroke, siblings Sydney, Rick, and Gina must overcome personal obstacles, rebuild their lives, and find solace and trust in one another.

Just As I Am , by E. Lynn Harris (1994)

Middle-class, black, gay folks deal with AIDS, racism, and homophobia in a novel that explores the lies people tell one another in an effort to find acceptance and safety.

Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made , by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant (1997)

A heartwarming novel of friendship follows the lives of Patricia Reid and Gayle Saunders, two black children raised as sisters, who as adults are separated by the different dreams that each tries to follow.

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day , by Pearl Cleage (1997)

A highly praised debut novel by an African-American playwright and essayist follows Ava Johnson's discovery that she is HIV positive and her journey back to her sleepy North Michigan hometown, where she manages to find new love.

4/10

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