Urban Teens in the Library: Research and Practice by Denise E. Agosto and Sandra Hughes-Hassell

Urban Teens in the Library is the perfect solution for the concerns and uncertainty many librarians face when supporting this group of patrons and students. From a team of experts who have researched the information habits and preferences of urban teens to build better and more effective school and public library programs, this book will [...]

GLITTER by Babygirl Daniels

Asia Smith walks through her life with a silver spoon in her mouth, thanks to her father, who spares no expense when it comes to his baby girl. But when he dies tragically, her extravagant lifestyle is brought down a notch. She struggles to adjust to her new life with Auntie Joy.
Asia thinks that entering [...]

DIRTY SOUTH by Phillip Thomas Duck

College is a big adjustment—but not if you’re Kenya Posey. Even at a Southern school far from her Jersey turf, she’s the one the girls envy and the boys want. Kenya’s the star of a hot singing/dancing troupe, her high-school BFF Lark is on campus—could things get any better?
For Lark, the answer is yes. While [...]

A HERO AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT A SANDWICH by Alice Childress

Benjie can stop using heroin anytime he wants to. He just doesn’t want to yet. Why would he want to give up something that makes him feel so good, so relaxed, so tuned out? As Benjie sees it, there’s nothing much to tune in for. School is a waste of time, and home life isn’t [...]

TYRELL by Coe Booth

Tyrell can’t get a break. His dad’s in jail, his mom’s no help, his brother’s just a kid, and his girlfriend, Novisha, wants more than he can give. He’s living in a shelter, but he doesn’t want to be there long.
So he comes up with a plan. It could save him. Or it could [...]

CAN’T STOP THE SHINE by Joyce Davis – Kimani Tru

You’re Gonna Blow Up!
When an American Idol-like competition comes to Atlanta, Kalia and Mariama Jefferson (sisters who couldn’t be more different) stop arguing long enough to agree on one thing: Kalia has to try out. A senior at a prestigious performing arts high school, Kalia has a shot at making her dream come true. And [...]

BOOK OF RHYMES: THE POETICS OF HIP HOP by Adam Bradley

If asked to list the greatest innovators of modern American poetry, few of us would think to include Jay-Z or Eminem in their number. And yet hip hop is the source of some of the most exciting developments in verse today. The media uproar in response to its controversial lyrical content has obscured hip hop’s [...]

Urban Fiction by K.C. Taylor – Miranda Doyle

The following article was originally posted on StreetFiction.org
I’m so glad that authors are starting to write urban fiction especially for teens. The urban fiction, or “street lit”, genre is a relatively new one, and one that interests me because so many of my students ask for it. Many of the gritty adult titles, though, have [...]

FIRST SEMESTER by Cecil R. Cross

James “JD” Dawson grew up in the hood, but left a life of violence three thousand miles behind to make something of himself at the University of Atlanta. But when the freshman got off to a fool’s start – kicking it with his new homeboys, showing up late for class, not studying and checking out [...]

16 ON THE BLOCK by Babygirl Daniels

A girl’s 16th birthday is supposed to be sweet, but For Summer Flynt, it was the day that changed her life forever. Young, fly, and beautiful, Summer is under the wing of her older sister Trish, but when Trish steals something that doesn’t belong to her, she gets involved in a lifestyle that she can’t [...]