Reading various genres of Black literature is a great way to learn about the Black community and their experiences. Here are five novels written by Black authors. 

“Black Buck” by Mateo Askaripour (388 pages)

Mateo Askaripour’s debut novel “Black Buck” is a dark comedy. Askaripour was a writer for Rhode Island Writers Colony, and his writings have made an appearance in Entrepreneur, Catapult and more. 

According to BookBrowse, the novel follows Darren Vender, a young Black man, who is offered a job as a salesman for a successful startup company called Sumwun. The work environment there is toxic, his co-workers are racists and he is the only Black employee working for the company.

“Skin of the Sea” by Natasha Bowen (336 pages)

The debut novel “Skin of the Sea” is the first of a two-book series. According to the author’s bio on Goodreads, Bowen is of Nigerian and Welsh descent and is the mother of three children. The inspiration for her novel came from her knowledge of African history and her passion for mermaids. 

This fantasy novel is about Simidele, a Mami Wata, who is a water spirit that broke the law which threatened the existence of her kind. Now, she is on a journey across the sea to search for the supreme creator to make amends for her mistake, according to Goodreads.   

“Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (477 Pages)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has multiple translations for her works in thirty different languages. Some of her works are “Purple Hibiscus” and “Half of a Yellow Sun.” Adichie has appeared in multiple TED Talks and has been invited to speak all around the world.

According to Goodreads, “Americanah” is a novel about Ifemelu, a young woman from Nigeria who is in love with a young Nigerian man named Obinze Maduewesi. When they both depart from Nigeria, Ifemelu ends up in America where she attends college while Obinze arrives in London as an undocumented immigrant where life is dangerous for him. Later, fifteen years into the future the lovers reunite back in Nigeria. 

“The Sun Is Also a Star” by Nicola Yoon (384 Pages)

The National Book Award finalist, Nicola Yoon is the New York #1 bestselling author of “The Sun Is Also a Star” and “Everything, Everything.” Both of Yoon’s novels have been made into movies. 

According to Goodreads, Natasha Kingsley believes in science and facts, but doesn’t believe in fate until she meets a boy named Daniel Bae, a successful student and perfect son, who lives up to his parents’ expectations. Both Natasha and Daniel’s love story began on the day before she was deported to Jamaica.   

“Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky” by Kwame Mbalia (482 pages)

The New York bestselling author Kwame Mbalia is the author of the debut novel “Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in The Sky” and sequels, “Tristan Strong Destroys The World” and “Tristan Strong Keeps Punching.”

The story follows Tristan Strong, a teenage boy who is sent to heal at his grandmother’s farm due to a terrible tragedy. On his first night at the farm, he accidentally punches a hole in a bottle tree, tossing himself into another world filled with Black American gods such as John Henry and Brer Rabbit who are drained from battle. To return back to his world, Trisan must join forces with these gods to convince Anansi, the weaver, to help seal the hole caused by Tristan, according to Goodreads.