A CHILDHOOD BETWEEN NATIONS, shaped by the legacies of colonialism and diaspora, but most of all by loss. Raw, candid memoir with an intriguing and daring structure. B PLUS

AFTERSHOCKS
Simon & Schuster
2021

A PRIVATE EYE WITH SECRETS. A woman on the run. An angry doctor with a missing dog. Stylish, tense thriller with West Coast flair and a complex, compelling Black woman as protagonist. Don’t miss this. A MINUS

AND NOW SHE'S GONE
Forge Books
2020

A PASTOR TURNED HITMAN fights white supremacist violence and police corruption in New Orleans. High-action thriller with an intriguing and timely premise. SOLID B

WAR OF THE HEART: AN ACHIM JEFFERS NOVEL
Spirit of 1811 Publishing
2020

THE TERRIBLE, NECESSARY BARGAINS a woman must make with her enslaver to protect the people she loves: inspired by true stories, this novel of pre-Civil War Richmond is hard to put down. B PLUS

YELLOW WIFE
Simon & Schuster
2021

ENSLAVED MEN IN LOVE shake a plantation’s life to its roots with their forbidden joy. Glorious parable of beauty and rage, in prose both mystical and devastatingly precise. SOLID A

THE PROPHETS
G.P. Putnam's Sons
2021

A FAMILY OF SPACE RENEGADES—moonshiners, smugglers, scavengers, and rogues—face the fight of their lives against cyborg and android enforcers. High-energy “space Western” with strong characters and fascinating world building. B PLUS

DUSK MOUNTAIN BLUES: A SPACE WESTERN OPERA
Deston Munden
2020

RICH, COMPELLING FANTASY set in a brilliantly imagined world of supernatural battles and young women with deadly secrets. Electrifying action and unforgettable characters. A MINUS

THE GILDED ONES
Delacorte Press
2021

A LIFE OF MANY EXILES, from Biafra to Jamaica to the United States, recounted with playful wit and raw candor, and above all, ruthless clarity. Stunning. SOLID A

FLOATING IN A MOST PECULIAR WAY
Mariner Books
2021

THE TRAGEDY OF THE RWANDAN GENOCIDES brought vividly to life with these spare, eloquent stories from a Tutsi writer now living in France. Breathtaking and profoundly moving. A MINUS

IGIFU
Archipelago
2020

BLACK WOMEN RESISTING SLAVERY, from Africa to the Caribbean: deeply researched look at enslaved women’s unique roles, from sparking revolt to passing down culture and tradition, draws on a wealth of 18th and 19th century documents. B PLUS

A KICK IN THE BELLY
Verso
2020