Black History Month YA Fiction & Poetry for Upper Schoolers by

Oxygen Mask by Jason Reynolds [Graphic Novel]

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

And so for anyone who didn't really know what it means to not be able to breathe, REALLY breathe, for generations, now you know. And those who already do, you'll be nodding yep yep, that is exactly how it is... Intimately set within the walls of a family home, this book is an incredible artefact of the historic year we have all lived through. We travel from the depths of despair but not without hope; the mundane details contained within four walls becomes our sanctuary.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League – but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighbourhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out. Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up – way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty police officer beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.

The Dark Lady by Akala

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

A pickpocket with an exceptional gift. A prisoner of extraordinary value An orphan haunted by dreams of the mysterious Dark Lady. Henry is an orphan, an outsider, a thief. He is also a fifteen-year-old invested with magical powers... This brilliant, at times brutal, first novel from the amazing imagination that is Akala, will glue you to your seat as you are hurled into a time when London stank and boys like Henry were forced to find their own route through the tangled streets and out the other side.

Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Life is not safe for Alem. His father is Ethopian, his mother Eritrean. Their countries are at war, and Alem is welcome in neither place. So Alem is excited to spend a holiday in London with his father – until he wakes up to find him gone. What seems like a betrayal is in fact an act of love, but now Alem is alone in a strange country, and he must forge his own path...

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Everybody ran, ducked, hid, tucked themselves tight. Pressed our lips to the pavement and prayed the boom, followed by the buzz of a bullet, didn't meet us. After Will's brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn's gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will's friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he's doing.

When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

When fourteen-year-old Shaq is stabbed outside of a busy shopping centre in Manchester, three teenagers from very different walks of life are unexpectedly brought together. What follows flips their worlds upside down and makes Chantelle, Jackson, and Marc question the deep-rooted prejudice and racism that exists within the police, the media, and the rest of society.

Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugar cane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa and his friend Keverton must face their first great task: to kill their overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking, and the day of the uprising approaches ...

Irresistible, gripping and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky's War in Jamaica, 1760.

Cuts Both Ways by Candice Brathwaite

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

London is all Cynthia knows, so when her parents abruptly uproot the family after a traumatic incident, to a place where there is only one bus an hour and the faint smell of horse manure continuously permeates the air, it's a culture shock, to say the least. As is transitioning to a private school. At her new school, Cynthia is one of the only black students. Goofy Thomas, her white lab partner, immediately takes her under his wing. He's kind and sweet, and her parents are pleased - someone like Thomas will be good for her 'future prospects'. As much as Cynthia likes Thomas though, she can't help noticing Isaac, the only other black student in her year. He is aloof and doesn't seem to like her, but there's something about him she cannot quite get enough of... But when it turns out both boys have been keeping secrets from her, secrets that link back to the life Cynthia thought she had left behind in London, she realises that not everything is as it seems. Will Cynthia be able to forgive the lies and follow her heart?

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

This is the story of a great love - a love that will threaten worlds and anger Gods. This is a story that will change history. Simidele is one of the Mami Wata, mermaids duty-bound to collect the souls of those who die at sea and bless their journeys back home to the Supreme Creator. But when a living boy is thrown overboard a slave ship, Simi saves his life, going against an ancient decree and bringing terrible danger to the mami wata. Now Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends - a journey of vengeful gods, treacherous lands and legendary creatures. If she fails, she risks not just the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Sephy is a Cross: she lives a life of privilege and power. But she's lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her. Callum is a nought: he's considered to be less than nothing - a blanker, there to serve Crosses - but he dreams of a better life. They've been friends since they were children, and they both know that's as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies - love is out of the question. Then - in spite of a world that is fiercely against them - these star-crossed lovers choose each other. But this is love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger... and which will have shocking repercussions for generations to come.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Once an enchanted land, Orïsha’s magic vanished without trace, leaving those who wielded it enslaved to a ruthless king. But now magic is returning and one girl has the chance to turn the tide… The daughter of a great maji, Zélie Adebola remembers a time when magic flowed through the land and through the bones of the summoners. With her white hair, the mark of the gods, she is marked as one of the ibawi – the divine - those with the potential for power. When a chance encounter brings her face to face with a rogue princess escaping from the palace with an object of immense significance, Zélie finds herself on a mission to restore what was stolen from her people and claim her birth right. As Zélie journeys across Orïsha, she discovers a land full of unforeseen dangers: snow leoponaires, avenging spirits and the threat of the crown prince, who will stop at nothing to rid the land of enchantment once and for all.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Trained at Miss Preston's School of Combat for Negro Girls in both weaponry and etiquette, Jane McKeene is poised for a successful career protecting the wealthy from the encroaching plague of walking dead. But when families begin to go missing, Jane uncovers a conspiracy that pits her against some powerful enemies. Sent far from home, Jane will need all her resourcefulness, wit and strength of character to survive.

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students' dark secrets to light.

Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can't escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn't afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.

Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they're planning much more than a high-school game...

Kemosha of the Caribbean by Alex Wheatle

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Kemosha and her brother have lived their whole lives in slavery. Sold away to work in lawless Port Royal, Kemosha takes her chance to escape brutal treatment. With fortune on her side, Kemosha befriends Ravenhide, a man with a mysterious past who teaches her the art of swordfighting, and introduces her to the beautiful runaway Isabella. Yet Kemosha's greatest test yet is upon the deck of the Satisfaction: the notorious Captain Morgan's ship. His next adventure on the high seas could be the making of Kemosha - and her one chance to earn enough pieces of eight to buy the freedom of her brother...

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Jade is a girl striving for success in a world that seems like it's trying to break her. She knows she needs to take every opportunity that comes her way. And she has: every day Jade rides the bus away from her friends to a private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities Jade could do without, like the mentor programme for 'at-risk' girls. Just because her mentor is black doesn't mean she understands where Jade is coming from. Why is Jade always seen as someone to fix? But with a college scholarship promised at the end of it, how can Jade say no? Jade feels like her life is made up of hundreds of conflicting pieces. Will it ever fit together? Will she ever find her place in the world? More than anything, Jade just wants the opportunity to be real, to make a difference.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Felix Love has never been in love - and, yes, he's painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it's like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What's worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he's one marginalisation too many - Black, queer and transgender - to ever get his own happily-ever-after. When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages - after publicly posting Felix's deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned - Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn't count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi-love triangle... But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

One fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighbourhood escalates into tragedy. 'Boys just being boys' turns out to be true only when those boys are white. Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal Shahid's bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer.

Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Set in the mid-1800’s in the aftermath of the American Civil War, Beloved chronicles the experiences of Sethe, abandoned by her sons and living with her youngest daughter in Cincinnati. Sethe’s is a house haunted by secrets; of the violent, traumatic memories of her former enslaved life at Sweet Home, Kentucky and by shameful secrets that refuse to stay buried. When another Sweet Home survivor, Paul D, appears at Sethe’s door, his arrival heralds the mysterious coming of a woman, calling herself only ‘Beloved’. As the revenant Beloved makes her home with Sethe, so her life becomes increasingly devoted both to her ever-increasing and contrary demands for love and her insatiable need for atonement.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Set in the deep American South between the wars, The Color Purple is the classic tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker - a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.

Small Island by Andrea Levy

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

It is 1948, and England is recovering from a war. But at 21 Nevern Street, London, the conflict has only just begun. Queenie Bligh's neighbours do not approve when she agrees to take in Jamaican lodgers, but Queenie doesn't know when her husband will return, or if he will come back at all. What else can she do? Gilbert Joseph was one of the several thousand Jamaican men who joined the RAF to fight against Hitler. Returning to England as a civilian he finds himself treated very differently. It's desperation that makes him remember a wartime friendship with Queenie and knock at her door. Gilbert's wife Hortense, too, had longed to leave Jamaica and start a better life in England. But when she joins him she is shocked to find London shabby, decrepit, and far from the golden city of her dreams. Even Gilbert is not the man she thought he was...

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Okonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive, and his fame spreads throughout West Africa like a bush-fire. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance, he can only hurtle towards tragedy.

The Long Song by Andrea Levy

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831, and she was present when slavery was declared no more. My son says I must convey how the story tells also of July's mama Kitty, of the negroes that worked the plantation land, of Caroline Mortimer the white woman who owned the plantation and many more persons besides - far too many for me to list here. But what befalls them all is carefully chronicled upon these pages for you to peruse.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. All the slaves lead a hellish existence, but Cora has it worse than most; she is an outcast even among her fellow Africans and she is approaching womanhood, where it is clear even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a slave recently arrived from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they take the perilous decision to escape to the North. In Whitehead's razor-sharp imagining of the antebellum South, the Underground Railroad has assumed a physical form: a dilapidated box car pulled along subterranean tracks by a steam locomotive, picking up fugitives wherever it can. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But its placid surface masks an infernal scheme designed for its unknowing black inhabitants. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher sent to find Cora, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom. At each stop on her journey, Cora encounters a different world.

Kindred by Octavia E Butler

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

In 1976, Dana dreams of being a writer. In 1815, she is assumed a slave. When Dana first meets Rufus on a Maryland plantation, he's drowning. She saves his life - and it will happen again and again. Neither of them understands his power to summon her whenever his life is threatened, nor the significance of the ties that bind them. And each time Dana saves him, the more aware she is that her own life might be over before it's even begun. Octavia E. Butler's ground-breaking masterpiece is the extraordinary story of two people bound by blood, separated by so much more than time.

How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N K Jemisin

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul.

And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Maya Angelou's poetry - lyrical and dramatic, exuberant and playful - speaks of love, longing, partings; of Saturday night partying, and the smells and sounds of Southern cities; of freedom and shattered dreams.

Search Party by George the Poet

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

A young black poet blending spoken word and rap; an inner city upbringing with a Cambridge education; a social consciousness with a satirical wit and infectious rhythm - George The Poet is the voice of a new generation. Search Party is a thought-provoking and deeply autobiographical collection. From the overtly political 'Go Home' to the deeply personal 'Full-time'; the narrative poems that offer vivid and unapologetic snapshots of inner-city life, such as 'His Mistakes', 'Believer' and the anthemic 'My City'; to the provocative social commentary in 'Lazy Dog' and 'YOLO'; to the inspiring, idea-driven pieces such as 'The Power of Collaboration' and 'School Blues', George takes poetry into new territories and to new audiences, offering a different way to talk about the things that matter, to explore his own experience and ideas, and encourage others explore theirs.

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Including 'The Hill We Climb,' the stirring poem read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, this luminous poetry collection by Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, these seventy poems shine a light on a moment of reckoning and reveal that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.

Part of a Story That Started Before Me: Poems about Black British History ed. by George the Poet

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Part of a Story That Started Before Me is an extraordinary collection of poems chosen by acclaimed spoken-word performer and social commentator George the Poet. Taking readers on an inspiring poetical journey through Black British history, the anthology brings together some of the most exciting wordsmiths from across the diaspora and fascinating era-by-era notes from historian Dr Christienna Fryar. From Africans in Roman Britannia to the first Black actor to play Othello on stage, from Malcolm X's visit to the West Midlands to highlighting an organizer of the UK's first Gay Pride, this important collection reveals unsung people and events from our past to recognize the intrinsic impact they've had on Britain today.

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

The debut collection from the voice of a generation – Beyoncé-annointed poet Warsan Shire. Poems of migration, womanhood, trauma and resilience from the award-winning Somali British poet Warsan Shire, celebrated collaborator on Beyoncé's Lemonade and Black Is King. With her first full-length poetry collection, Warsan Shire introduces us to a girl who, in the absence of a nurturing guide, makes her own stumbling way toward womanhood. Drawing from her own life and the lives of loved ones, as well as pop culture and news headlines, Shire finds vivid, unique details in the experiences of refugees and immigrants, mothers and daughters, Black women and teenage girls. These are noisy lives, full of music and weeping and surahs. These are fragrant lives, full of blood and perfume and jasmine. These are polychrome lives, full of moonlight and turmeric and kohl.

The Curious Case of Karl Nova by Karl Nova

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:03:49 UTC

Karl's second anthology is a collection of very personal poetry and is based on his own unique story. From the UK to Nigeria, and back again, Karl seeks to share his life journey, and explain how it has shaped who he has become today.

Liccle Bit by Alex Wheatle

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:09:32 UTC

What's worse than hiding a secret? Liccle Bit's about to find out... Venetia King is the hottest girl at school. Too bad Lemar is the second shortest guy in his year. Everyone calls him Liccle Bit, and his two best friends, McKay and Jonah, never tire of telling him he has no chance with girls. Things aren't much better at home. His mum is permanently hassled, his sister a frustrated single mum and his dad moved out years ago. Liccle Bit wishes he could do something - anything! - to make life better. A new phone would be a start... When Venetia starts paying Liccle Bit attention, he secretly hopes he's on a fast track to a first date. Unfortunately, as a new gang war breaks out, he finds himself on a fast track to something much more sinister. South Crongton's notorious gang leader has taken an interest in Liccle Bit. Before he knows what's happening, he finds himself running errands. But when he hears about a killing on the estate, Liccle Bit is forced to question his choices. How can he possibly put things right?

Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:09:59 UTC

'Pen in one hand, on my wrist, a ticking clock. I've got to make this work, just need a little luck...' When fourteen-year-old Ronny’s life is struck by tragedy, his mum decides it’s finally time they move out of East London. In his new city, as a Black teenager in a mostly white school, Ronny feels like a complete outsider and struggles to balance keeping his head down with his ambition of becoming a rapper. But when a local poet comes into class, Ronny discovers a world he’s never considered before. Rap is like spoken word, bars equal poetry – and maybe the combination of both could be the key to achieving his dreams?

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:11:01 UTC

This is not about being ready, it's not even about being fierce, or fearless, it's about being free. Michael waits in the stage wings, wearing a pink wig, pink fluffy coat and black heels. One more step will see him illuminated by spotlight. He has been on a journey of bravery to get here, and he is almost ready to show himself to the world in bold colours... Can he emerge as The Black Flamingo?

Selected Poems by Langston Hughes

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:12:25 UTC

For over forty years, until his death in 1967, Langston Hughes captured in his poetry the lives of black people in the USA. This edition is Hughes's own selection of his work, and was first published in 1959. It includes all of his best known poems including 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers', 'The Weary Blues', 'Song for Billie Holiday', 'Black Maria', 'Magnolia Flowers', 'Lunch in a Jim Crow Car' and 'Montage of a Dream Deferred'. A key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes is now seen as one of the great chroniclers of black American experience - and one of the great artists of the twentieth century.

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:15:09 UTC

The Urban Promise Prep School vows to turn boys into men. As students, J.B., Ramon, and Trey are forced to follow the prestigious "program's" strict rules. Extreme discipline, they've been told, is what it takes to be college bound, to avoid the fates of many men in their neighborhoods. This, the Principal Moore Method, supposedly saves lives. But when Moore ends up murdered and the cops come sniffing around, the trio emerges as the case's prime suspects. With all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. But is the true culprit hiding among them? This exquisitely taut thriller shines a glaring light on how the system too often condemns Black and Latinx teen boys to failure before they've even had a chance at success.

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:15:58 UTC

Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri's got massive shoes to fill. But when her first song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, Bri finds herself at the centre of controversy and portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. And with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it - she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.

If My words Had Wings by Danielle Jawando

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:16:48 UTC

When fifteen-year-old Tyrell Forrester gets caught up in a high-profile armed robbery, he's sentenced to two years in a young offenders’ prison. Now he’s getting out, and he’s determined to turn his life around. But despite his release, systemic discrimination makes it difficult for Ty to truly be free. Inspired by a visiting poet while inside, Ty discovers a whole new world through spoken word and is finally finding his voice. But will society ever see him as anything other than a criminal?

The Upper World by Femi Fadugba

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:17:46 UTC

Believing is seeing, Esso . . .' Esso is running out of time and into trouble. When he discovers he has the ability to see glimpses of the future, he becomes haunted by a vision of a bullet fired in an alleyway with devastating consequences. A generation later, fifteen-year-old Rhia is desperately searching for answers - and a catastrophic moment from the past holds the key to understanding the parents she never got to meet. Whether on the roads of South London or in the mysterious Upper World, Esso and Rhia's fates must collide. And when they do, a race against the clock will become a race against time itself...

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:18:32 UTC

It's 200 years since Cinderella found her prince, but the fairytale is over. Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she's tiny until the night she's sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball... are forfeit. But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen - she's in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia's night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella's tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world...

How Far We've Come by Joyce Efia Harmer

FHS_Library — 2025-10-07 08:20:00 UTC

Sometime, me love to dream that me is a human, a proper one, like them white folks is. Enslaved on a plantation in Barbados, Obah dreams of freedom. As talk of rebellion bubbles up around her in the Big House, she imagines escape. Meeting a strange boy who's not quite of this world, she decides to put her trust in him. But Jacob is from the twenty-first century. Desperate to give Obah a better life, he takes her back with him. At first it seems like dreams really do come true - until the cracks begin to show and Obah sees that freedom comes at an unimaginable cost...