Lisa Reneé Pitts
4) Balm
As teenagers, best friends Lola Poole and Joan Proctor concocted a scheme to escape their boredom, pass the time between boyfriends—and bring in some money. It all started when they got in the habit of corresponding with lonely, unsuspecting—and generous—older...
"One of the best fictional detectives conjured up in years." –Library Journal
Blanche White is a plump, feisty, middle-aged African-American housekeeper working for the genteel rich in North Carolina. But when an employer stiffs her, and her checks bounce, she goes on the lam, hiding out as a maid for a wealthy family at their summer home. That plan goes awry when there's a murder and Blanche becomes the prime suspect. So she's
...8) Big Girl
Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
Shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award
A Phenomenal Book Club Pick
TIME • Best Books of the Month
New York Times • Editors' Choice
Named one of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year by Vulture, Goodreads, Essence, Ms. Magazine, and SheReads.com
An extraordinary debut novel shot through with remarkable nuance and tenderness, Big
In the aftermath of a devastating plague, a fearless young heroine embarks on a dangerous and surprising journey to save her world in this brilliantly inventive dystopian thriller, told in bold and fierce language, from a remarkable literary talent.
My name be Ice Cream Fifteen Star and this be the tale of how I bring the cure to all the Nighted States . . .
In the ruins of a future America, fifteen-year-old Ice Cream Star and
...When Toni Morrison died in August 2019, she was widely remembered for her contributions to literature as an African American woman, an identity she wore proudly. Morrison was clear that she wrote from a Black, female perspective and for others who shared her identity. But just as much as she was an African American writer, Toni Morrison was a woman of faith.
Morrison filled her novels with biblical allusions, magic, folktales, and liberated
...In Lower Ed...
From debut author Claire O’Dell comes a fresh, clever, and timely reimagination of Sherlock Holmes, featuring Watson and Holmes as you’ve never seen them before
Dr. Janet Watson knows firsthand the horrifying cost of a divided nation. While she was treating broken soldiers on the battlefields of the New Civil War, a sniper’s bullet shattered her arm and ended her career. Honorably discharged and struggling with the
...Princess Sofia of Drachenburg is sick of being used for her older sister's political gains. At twelve years old, she's already been a hostage to invading dragons and promised to marry a wicked fairy. Now she's being sent to far-off Villene to play the part of a charming, diplomatic princess. Her only comfort lies in...
17) God Is Able
The classic, groundbreaking analysis of the role of race in the classroom and a guide for teaching across difference, from the MacArthur Award–winning educator
"Phenomenal. . . . [This book] overcomes fear and speaks of truths, truths that otherwise have no voice." —San Francisco Review of Books
In this groundbreaking, radical analysis of contemporary classrooms, MacArthur Award–winning author Lisa
...Christianity Today Award of Merit in Spiritual Formation
"Now, with God's help, I shall become myself."
These words from Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard resonate deeply with Marlena Graves, a Puerto Rican writer, professor, and activist. In these pages she describes the process of emptying herself that allows her to move upward toward God and become the true self that God calls her to. Drawing on the rich
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