By Yolanda Marshall

Happy New Year, book lovers! I hope that 2023 manifests all you desire, pray for, and consistently work hard to attain. Cheers to a fresh year of more new book introductions.

My Fade Is Fresh

Written by the award-winning Canadian author Shauntay Grant and the freshest illustration by Kitt Thomas.

“When a little girl walks into her local barbershop, she knows she wants the flyest, freshest fade on the block! But there are so many beautiful hairstyles to choose from, and the clients and her mother suggest them all: parts, perms, frizzy fros, dye jobs, locs, and even cornrows! But this little girl stays true to herself and leaves the shop feeling on top with the look she picks! Author Shauntay Grant’s sweet,  rhyming story encourages young girls to be self-confident and celebrates the many shapes and forms Black hair can take. Through stunning illustrations, Kitt Thomas can bring life and movement to the versatile styles featured in this book.” – Penguin Workshop, 2022.

I Am Because We Are: An African Mother’s Fight for the Soul of a Nation

Written by a Nigerian Canadian author, Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr.

“In this innovative and intimate memoir, a daughter tells the story of her mother, a Pan-African hero who faced down misogyny and battled corruption in Nigeria. Inspired by the African philosophy of Ubuntu ― the importance of community over the individual ― and outraged by injustice, Dora Akunyili took on fraudulent drug manufacturers whose products killed millions, including her sister. A woman in a man’s world, she was elected and became a cabinet minister. Still, she had to deal with political manoeuvrings, death threats, and an assassination attempt to defend the voiceless. She suffered for it, as did her marriage and six children. I Am Because We Are illuminates the role of kinship, family, and the individual’s place in society while revealing a life of courage, how community shaped it, and the web of humanity that binds us all.” – House of Anansi Press, 2022.

A Is for Acholi

Written by the Canadian poet and scholar Otoniya J. Okot Bitek.

“A is for Acholi is a sweeping collection exploring diaspora, the marginalisation of the Acholi people, the dusty streets of Nairobi and the cold grey of Vancouver. Playfully upending English and scholarly notation Bitek rearranges the alphabet, hides poems in footnotes and slips stories into superscripts. With writing that is lyric, layered and deeply felt, the poems in A is for Acholi unfold maps of history, culture and identity, tracing a route to a present where the poet dreams of writing a world without empire.” – Buckrider Books, 2022.

Boys and Girls Screaming

Written by the Canadian poet and author Kern Carter.

“When Ever’s father passes away suddenly, she is devastated. Not long after that, her mom has a stroke, and Ever’s anguish becomes almost too much for her to handle. That’s when she gets the idea to form a group she calls Boys and Girls Screaming. Along with her brother, Jericho, and her best friend, Candace, Ever wants to bring together kids from their school who have suffered a trauma so they can share their stories and begin to heal. Although the other teens find solace in the group, Ever tumbles further into depression until she reaches a breaking point. As the group learns the true source of Ever’s pain, they jump into action to help her find a way out. Boys and Girls Screaming tells the story of a generation of teens finding the support they need to process their trauma in their ways.” – DCB/Cormorant Books, 2022.

Blood Scion

Written by a Nigerian Canadian young adult author Deborah Falaye

“Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods. Under Lucis’ brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training and destroy them from within. Following one girl’s journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, Deborah Faye’s debut novel, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of Children of Blood and Bone and An Ember in the Ashes.” – HarperTeen, 2022.

Please support your local bookstores, such as A Different Booklist, Nile Valley Books, Knowledge Bookstore and Manifest Bookstore.