African American Fiction - 2010/2011 Wishlist Picks
Explore top African American fiction picks from 2010-2011 with our curated wishlist. Discover must-read novels and acclaimed authors in this essential collection.
Book
In My Father's House
by E. Lynn Harris
When financial challenges compel the world's most elite modeling agency to supply models for a celebrity gala, owners Bentley and Alexandra are forced to send Bentley's protégé, a young man who inadvertently falls in love with a married A-list actor who is publicly hiding the truth about his sexuality. By the late best-selling author of Just Too Good to Be True.
Book
Murder in the Hamptons
by Danita Carter
Murder in the Hamptons intersects the worlds of music, money, and murder—a clash between the classes erupts in the Hamptons after a rapper moves into an elite community with his unruly crew. The residents of Coco Beach, a private enclave tucked away in the Hamptons, are a hoity-toity bunch. Black society snobs with roots in Sag Harbor that run generations deep. So, imagine how incensed the locals become when their tranquil summer getaway is infringed upon by TuSmArt, a rapper with money, but without the necessary pedigree to fit into this upper-crust community. When a body is found floating face down at TuSmArt’s yacht party, the police waste no time swarming in to find the killer. The snooty locals rejoice, automatically assuming that now the police will rid the area of the unwanted inhabitants. However, their victory song is cut short when one of the most prominent residents of Coco Beach is implicated in the murder. In the end, the residents of Coco Beach are forced to examine the socioeconomic racism that exists within their community.
Book
Stealing Candy
by Allison Hobbs
A shocking look at human sex trafficking as three underaged girls are routinely battered and abused by a ruthless pimp named Bullet, who refers to the minors he exploits as his “candy.” Routinely battered, emotionally manipulated, three underaged girls are victims of human trafficking. They’ve been brainwashed into accepting sexual servitude as their hopeless plight in life. But Saleema Sparks might be the woman to save them from this nightmare. Saleema has made it her life’s mission to provide a sanctuary for troubled teenage girls. But with dwindling personal funds, she may have to close the doors to her one-woman operation—Head Up—a safe haven for young women in crisis. So when Portia, a member of Head Up, goes missing, Saleema does not accept that the troubled teen is simply a runaway. She is compelled to look for Portia, forcing an apathetic community to open their eyes and lend a hand in the search for the abducted teen. But can she help Portia and the other sex-trafficked girls break free from the malicious pimp who has abducted them? Determined to save three young lives, Saleema risks everything to get the girls out of the pimp’s murderous grasp. Allison Hobbs offers a provocative look into the lives of three young girls who have been forced into sex slavery by a homicidal pimp, and the one woman who risks everything to try and save their lives. Stealing Candy by Allison Hobbs is a shocking novel about human sex trafficking.
Book
Do Not Blame the Devil
by Pat G'Orge-Walker
Singer Delilah Dupree Jewel, who is more concerned about keeping up appearances than anything else, must rely on her faith in God when her old flame, an ex-convict who has traded in his gangster ways for a Bible, threatens to expose Delilah's shocking past. Original.
Book
Left for Undead
by L. A. Banks
Secret government operative Sasha Trudeau earned a long vacation with her lover and fellow Shadow Wolf, Hunter, after the brutal wolf-like attacks that left New Orleans in an uproar. But when her team calls with news of vampire slayings, Sasha knows it’s only a matter of time before another war breaks out among the supernatural denizens of the world … The vampires are nobody’s ally, but the cold-hearted deaths of their own kind make them even more bloodthirsty than usual. But who is the culprit? With the Seelie and Unseelie courts claiming innocence and aligning together, Sasha’s team is at a loss. Until they discover that they’re facing ancient creatures from the depths of hell itself, bent on unleashing pure fury …
Book
Getting to Happy
by Terry McMillan
A sequel to the best-selling Waiting to Exhale picks up 15 years later to find Savannah contemplating divorce, Bernadine succumbing to painkiller addiction after a second husband's swindle, Robin falling into shopaholism and Gloria confronting profound change after a fateful event. By the NAACP Image Award-winning author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
Book
Smooth Operator
by Risque
A #1 "Essence"-bestselling author is back with a sensual new novel--the story of a single mother and part-time student who hosts a steamy Internet site to earn some extra cash.
Book
Welfare Wifeys
by K'wan
After the deaths and arrests of his entire crew and an informant-fueled investigation into his past, the man known on the streets as Animal relocates to Texas and finds fame and stardom as the newest act signed to the notorious Big Dawg Entertainment. His girlfriend, Gucci, is thrilled when she gets the news that he's coming back to New York on a promotional tour, but when she discovers the hidden agenda behind his homecoming nothing can prepare her for the life-altering consequences that will come of it. There goes the neighborhood . . . again.
Book
'Til Death
by Miasha
“ I couldn’t care less what anybody thinks of me. They don’t pay my bills. And there’s nothing wrong with using what your mama gave you to get exactly what you want . . .” Celess knew she had to stop living the fast life and settle down, maybe even start a family—if she could find a man who could get past her secret. But you know what they say: Once you go bad, you can never go back. And if beauty is pain, Celess has suffered more than most and she knows how to use her looks to her advantage. She hooks up with well-connected Miami bad girl Sienna, and together they move with one purpose—get money. When modeling and bit parts in movies aren’t enough, Celess and Sienna leave L.A. and head to Italy to open what quickly becomes the fastest-growing escort service in the world. They have it all—looks, style, and a six-months-long waiting list. Life is good, but they know the deal—there are always haters on the way to the top. Celess and Sienna are ready for the backstabbing and drama that come with money, power, and sex, but they’ll be surprised by just who will turn on them. Be careful who you trust . . .
Book
Natural Born Hustler
by Nikki Turner
The reigning Queen of Hip-Hop Lit, Nikki Turner returns with a fresh and fierce tale sure to satisfy longtime fans and create new ones. Desember Day is beautiful, confident, and smart. She has more game in the streets than a basketball player does on the court, and her boyfriend, Fame, loves every single inch of her. But unlike her mother, who has been in one bad relationship after another, Desember is not going to wait on a knight in shining armor to save her, and even her love for Fame can’t stand in the way of Desember selling anything and everything—legal or illegal—that can turn a profit, so that she never has to depend on a man. The only thing Desember feels she’s lacking is a father to call her own. And her mother refuses to tell Desember who he is. When Fame finds himself at the wrong end of a gun, fighting for his life, Desember wants nothing more than to stand by her man, but Fame warns her from his hospital bed that she isn’t safe. Desember wonders if she was the real target. Her mother, concerned for Desember’s safety, arranges for her daughter to travel to Richmond, Virginia, to live with Desember’s father and his wife.And when her father’s identity is finally revealed, Desember learns that she is a Natural Born Hustler. But are her troubles really over? Or is the worst yet to come?
Book
The Golden Hustla
by Wahida Clark
"Nina Coles makes a home in Atlanta hoping to turn her life around. But she'll learn that you can't run from trouble"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Love, Honor, and Betray
by Kimberla Lawson Roby
After the Reverend Curtis Black and his wife, Charlotte, must take in the illegitimate child he fathered with a mistress, who is now deceased, the 2-year-old's arrival puts stress on their marriage, and soon each begins to stray, all the while suspecting the other of infidelities. By the best-selling author of The Best of Everything.