This issue, we’ll be discussing the most exciting new books by BIPOC authors publishing in 2024! From fiction filled with fantasy and intrigue to mind-boggling thrillers, these are books that must be added to your reading list for 2024.
Thriller
Out of Body by Nia Davenport
Publication date: 6 February
This novel tells the story of seventeen-year-old Megan, struggling as she moves from friend group to friend group in school. At this rate, she feels like she’s changing her personality as much as she does her outfits for school. But all changes when she meets the mysterious, enigmatic LC, and she finds just who she aspires to be like. But, on the anniversary of their friendship, something strange happens, and Megan is no longer Megan, whilst learning that LC has some secrets too. Propelled into a whole other person’s body and life, she must figure out what to do to be herself again.
Fantasy
All this Twisted Glory by Tahreh Mafi
Publication date: 31 January
The much anticipated third novel in Mafi’s This Woven Kingdom series, this book is full of passion, betrayal, and the quest for power. The bestselling author of the Shatter Me series, depicts protagonist Alizeh, finally having found her people, as the long-lost heir to the Jinn throne. On the other hand, the merciless king of Tulan, Cyrus has given her an attractive yet confusing offer. His kingdom, in a trade that begins with their marriage and ends with his death. With twists and turns at every angle, this book shows why Mafi is an award-winning author.
Empire of Gods and Beasts by Joyce Chua
Publication date: 27 February
In this final instalment of Joyce Chua’s Children of the Desert trilogy, readers will return to an Oasis Kingdom newly flooded with magic. With one final battle still looming on the horizon, Desert Rose and Windshadow must find the last Elemental. However, rampant instability, in the form of a rebel prince and an ancient power, continues to threaten their quest. As the power of the Immortal Spring hangs in the balance, each Elemental must battle to secure their place in the new world to come. Be sure to read our previous interviews with Joyce Chua discussing the Land of Sand and Song and the Kingdom of Blood and Gold.
Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin
Publication date: 23 April
This new fantastical adventure from New York Times bestselling author Judy I. Lin follows Xue, a gifted musician with no recollection of her past. Xue’s future is controlled by a suffocating indenture contract, that is until she is offered a deal she cannot refuse: to play the qin for the mysterious Duke Meng in exchange for freedom. But when she is attacked, Xue discovers that Meng is a divine ruler seeking to end demonic incursions into the Six Realms, and the answer he needs is locked in Xue’s forgotten memories.
Literary Fiction
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
Publication date: 27 February
From Pulitzer Prize-finalist Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars brings the past and future together to reflect Indigenous American stories. In Colorado 1864, Star is a survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, but his freedoms are erased in the Fort Marion Prison Castle. His son, Charles, will be sent to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School where he and fellow student, Opal Viola, desperately hope for a future unlike theirs or their parents. In Oakland 2018, Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield fights to protect her family against new threats all while searching for a connection to the wandering stars of her heritage.
Non-Fiction
Everything I Learned About Racism I Learned in School by Tiffany Jewell
Publication date: 27 February
From the very beginning in kindergarten to the end of higher education, this book explores the systemic racism within schools in the United States of America, that Black and Brown students are subject to. Recounting her own experiences through her scholastic life, integrating the history of institutional racism in America, Jewell writes a detailed narrative. Including contributors such as New York Times bestselling author Johanna Ho, this novel is key today.
YA Contemporary Mystery
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Publication date: 14 March
Published by Usborne Publishing, this is an authentic depiction of the rage of teenage girls and the liberation found subsequently. At the respectable Alfred Nobel Academy, Sade is beginning her third year of high school, after being home-schooled all her life. Suffering from a continuous strain of bad luck, Sade is eager for a new beginning. But this isn’t helped when her roommate Elizabeth is deemed missing, and Sade is accused of being the perpetrator. After catching the attention of the most popular girls in school, she is now grappling with rumours about what really happened, her own personal grievances and a dead student.
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