Good for the Soul

Fiction written by African Americans for African American teens

A Hero Ain't Nothing but a Sandwich by Alice Childress

The life of a thirteen-year-old Harlem boy on his way to becoming a confirmed heroin addict is seen from his viewpoint and from that of several people around him.

Babylon Boyz by Jess Mowry

Inner-city teenagers find a suitcase full of cocaine. They must decide whether to sell it and take the opportunities the money would provide or to destroy it to keep the drug from poisoning their community.

Blue Tights by Rita Williams-Garcia

Fifteen-year-old Joyce is growing up in a city neighborhood. Unsure of herself and not quite comfortable with her maturing body, she tries to find a place to belong and a way to express herself through dance.

Born in Sin by Evelyn Coleman

Despite serious obstacles and setbacks, fourteen-year-old Keisha pursues her dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer and medical doctor.

Dancer by Lorri Hewett

Sixteen-year-old Stephanie struggles to perfect her ballet dancing as her classes are complicated by the introduction of a new male dancer.

Darkness before Dawn by Sharon M. Draper

Recovering from the recent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, senior class president Keisha Montgomery finds herself attracted to a dangerous, older man.

The Disappearance by Rosa Guy

After he is acquitted of murdering a grocery storeowner, Imamu is released into the custody of the Aimsley family. Imamu believes that things are finally looking up, until the Aimsleys' daughter disappears and he becomes the prime suspect.

Edith Jackson by Rosa Guy

At seventeen, Edith's only wish is to get a job and make a home for her three younger sisters. When social services finally separates them, she must make a decision that will change the course of her life.

Every Time a Rainbow Dies by Rita Williams-Garcia

After seeing a girl raped and becoming obsessed with her, sixteen-year-old Thulani finds motivation to move beyond his interest in his pigeons and his grief over his mother's death.

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967. He spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam. Coretta Scott King Medal

Fast Talk on a Slow Track by Rita Williams-Garcia

Honors student Denzel Watson spends his last summer before college selling candy door-to-door in New York. He competes on many levels with the charismatic Mello, and discovers how to motivate and apply himself.

Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper

Gerald has spent years protecting his fragile half-sister from their abusive father. He faces the prospect of one final confrontation before the problem can be solved.

The Friends by Rosa Guy

Phyllisia eventually recognizes that her own selfish pride rather than her mother’s death and her father’s tyrannical behavior created the gulf between her and her best friend.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson

Fourteen-year-old Melanin Sun's comfortable, quiet life is shattered when his mother reveals she has fallen in love with a woman. Coretta Scott King Honor Book

The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers

The book follows a family's two hundred forty-one year history. It proceeds from the capture of an African boy in the 1750s through the lives of his descendants. Their dreams and circumstances lead them away from and back to the small plot of land in South Carolina that they call the Glory Field.

Heaven by Angela Johnson

Fourteen-year-old Marley's seemingly perfect life in the small town of Heaven is disrupted when she discovers that her father and mother are not her real parents. Coretta Scott King Medal

Hoops by Walter Dean Myers

A teenage basketball player from Harlem is befriended by a former professional player. After being forced to quit because of a point shaving scandal, the former professional hopes to prevent other young athletes from repeating his mistake.

Humming Whispers by Angela Johnson

Sophy fears that she will become like her older sister Nicole who has schizophrenia.

I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson

Marie, the only black girl in the eighth grade willing to befriend her white classmate Lena, discovers that Lena's father is doing horrible things to her in private. Coretta Scott King Honor Book

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

After meeting at their private school in New York, fifteen-year-old Jeremiah, who is black and whose parents are separated, and Ellie, who is white and whose mother has twice abandoned her, fall in love and then tries to cope with people's reactions.

Imani All Mine by Connie Rose Porter

The unwed mother of a baby girl narrates, in her lyrical, street-smart voice, her progress on her journey to adulthood in an increasingly violent world.

Jazmin's Notebook by Nikki Grimes

Jazmin lives with her older sister in a small Harlem apartment in the 1960s. She finds strength in writing poetry and keeping a record of the events in her sometimes-difficult life. Coretta Scott King Honor Book

Justice and Her Brothers (The Justice Cycle trilogy) by Virginia Hamilton

An eleven-year-old and her older twin brothers struggle to understand their supersensory powers. Coretta Scott King Honor Book. Followed by Dustland and The Gathering.

Like Sisters on the Homefront by Rita Williams-Garcia

Troubled fourteen-year-old Gayle is sent down South to live with her uncle and aunt. Her life begins to change as she experiences the healing power of the family. Coretta Scott King Honor Book

Lives of Our Own by Lorri Hewett

After her wealthy parents divorce, Shawna returns with her father to the small Georgia town where he grew up. There she experiences new attitudes toward race relations, learns something shocking about her father's past, and discovers a surprising link with one of the "popular" white girls at school.

McKendree by Sandra Belton

In 1948, Tilara spends the summer with her aunt in West Virginia to find her family roots. Tilara begins visiting the "colored" old folks' home called McKendree, makes new friends, and learns to love herself.

Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson

Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie changes after Charlie is released from a detention home and blames Lafayette for the death of their mother. Coretta Scott King Medal

Money Hungry by Sharon Flake

All thirteen-year-old Raspberry can think of is making money so that she and her mother never have to worry about living on the streets again.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken. Coretta Scott King Honor Book and Michael L. Printz Award

The Music of Summer by Rosa Guy

The attractive, sophisticated young African-Americans gathered at Cape Cod have their own set of economic and color prejudices. But Sarah, the darkest-skinned, begins to see more clearly the duties and hope of her ancestry.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

In a futuristic America the gap between the haves and have-nots spawns anarchy. Lauren Olamina, an empath crippled by the pain she feels in others, becomes the leader of a band of seekers after her world is shattered by random violence. Followed by Parable of the Talents.

Rainbow Jordan by Alice Childress

Her mother, her foster guardian, and 14-year-old Rainbow comment on the state of things as she prepares to return to a foster home for yet another stay.  

Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers

After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun—until a tragedy occurs.

Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues by Lori Aurelia Williams

Thirteen-year-old Shayla is upset when her estranged father's new baby is born on her birthday. But she learns that her problems are nothing compared to those faced by her friends Kambia and Lemm. Sequel to When Kambia Elaine flew in from Neptune.

The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake

Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark, meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face. Maleeka makes some discoveries about how to love that she is and what she looks like. Coretta Scott King Medal

Slam! by Walter Dean Myers

Sixteen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life. But his coach sees things differently. Coretta Scott King Medal

Somewhere in the Darkness by Walter Dean Myers

A teenage boy accompanies his father, who has recently escaped from prison, on a trip that turns out to be an often painful time of discovery for them both. Coretta Scott King Honor Book and Newbery Honor Book

Songs of Faith by Angela Johnson

Living in a small town in Ohio in 1975 and desperately missing her divorced father, thirteen-year-old Doreen comes to terms with disturbing changes in her family life.

Spellbound by Janet McDonald

Raven, a teenage mother and high school dropout lives in a housing project. She decides, with the help and sometime interference of her best friend Aisha, to study for a spelling bee. The spelling bee could lead to a college preparatory program and four-year scholarship.

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper

The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school.

Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson

On a visit to her grandmother Ola, who is dying of cancer in her house in the desert, fourteen-year-old Emmie hears many stories about the past and her family history. She comes to a better understanding of relatives both dead and living. Coretta Scott King Medal

The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. Coretta Scott King Honor Book and Newbery Honor Book

When Dad Killed Mom by Julius Lester

When Jenna and Jeremy's father shoots and kills their artist mother, they struggle to slowly rebuild a functioning family.

When Kambia Elaine flew in from Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams

Shayla, an aspiring writer growing up in a poor section of Houston, can't figure out the new girl next door, Kambia Elaine, who tells fantastic stories.  She slowly realizes that Kambia Elaine needs help, but Shayla doesn't know where to find it. Followed by Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues.

 Researched and compiled by L. Baldwin  1/2002