Black Love is Beautiful

The human race is wired for connection and we spend most of our lives seeking out good relationships. Everyone has the desire to know and be known by those we love. The movies we watch, music we listen to, and books we read all help shape our concept of love. We read romances earnestly hoping to catch a glimmer of ourselves in a love story. Romance readers often seek validation of their own worthiness of love in these titles. Black teens who are fans of romance mainly find books with the lived experiences of white characters and may conclude that there isn’t space for their love stories to exist. This sentiment is further solidified when the black characters included in these narratives often play the role of supportive best friend or sidekick with minimally fleshed out back stories. The lack of romances centered on the experiences of black teens can lead to a false assumption that these stories are unimportant. However, the love stories of black teens are vitally important to creating an inclusive literary community where black love is visible and celebrated. Stories about black love highlight the wholeness, beauty, and humanity in black people. They also recognize the ways the external pressures of living in a sometimes-inhospitable society can affect a love relationship. These stories are not just built from commonalities in experiences but also from the ability to see past the harmful labels attached to being black. The friendships and mutual affection in the following titles celebrates the beautiful and timeless complexities in black love. Bryant, Elise. One True Loves. Balzer & Bray/Harperteen, January 4th 2022. 9780062982865. Lenore Bennet is tired of playing the role of effervescent supportive friend, hidden girlfriend, and undecided college student. Her parents have given her the task of picking a sensible major she can commit too during their short family cruise. Lenore is avoiding her family and experiencing sea sickness when she meets Alex Lee at a teen mixer. Things get off to a rocky start when Alex asks Lenore to reprise her role of unknown girlfriend so his ex-girlfriend will see that he has moved on. Lenore quickly exits stage left only to meet Alex again when their families are seated together at dinner. Their family’s mutual adoration creates the necessary space for a simmering hatred to mellow out into a slow blooming love story. Clayton, Dhionne. Blackout: Even Love Stories can glow when the lights go out. Quill Tree Books. June 22nd 2021. 9780063088092 A couple that has recently broken up marks the beginning of a collection of stories about black love. They showed up for the same internship but a blackout in New York forces them to work together to try to get home. Readers are introduced to the love stories of other couples as the uncouple makes their way through New York. The theme of friendship turning into a sincere connection resonates in all of the stories in this collection. Colbert, Brandy. Voting Booth. Disney-Hyperion. July 7th 2020. 9781368053297 Duke has just turned 18 and is trying to vote in his first election. He meets Marva when he learns he’s at the wrong polling place. The two set off on a madcap adventure to help Duke vote and Marva to find a beloved missing feline. Over the course of a day the two bond over voting snags, trips to the beach, and new perspectives. This title also deals with loss in a self-affirming way. Miles, Shanna. For All Time. Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers. September 28th 2021. 9781534485976 Fayad and Tamar have a love built on commitment and friendship. However, serious health concerns and college ambiguity are starting to dig at the foundation of their relationship. A trip to a psychic pushes Tamar and Fayad into a series of dreamscapes where their connection remains the same but the timeline of the romance shifts. Now Fayad and Tamar are running out of time and need to solve the riddle of their complicated romance. The swoon worthy interactions and time jumps in this title will have readers on the edge of their seats. Pink, Randi. Angel of Greenwood. Feiwel & Friends. January 12th 2021. 9781250768476 Angel and Isaiah live in the prosperous black part of Greenwood, a suburb of Tulsa Oklahoma. They get to know each other when they start working together on the neighborhood bookmobile. Isaiah has long had a crush on Angel but is shocked to find that she is a devotee of Booker T. Washington. Isaiah is firmly in the camp of W.E.B. Dubois continues to have engaging conversations with Angel that only deepens his affection for her. When a horrible riot breaks out in Greenwood, they put aside their ideologies and attempt to save their community. The courage to hold on to love in the midst of a toxic storm of racial violence is brilliantly portrayed in this novel. Richardson, Rhiannon. The Meet Cute Project. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Reader. January 12th 2021. 9781534473522 Mia is a dedicated swimmer and mathlete who wants nothing more than to shave a few minutes off her swim times. Unfortunately, her sister Sam’s wedding is putting a kink in her plans and now she has to find a date for the wedding. She’s also now being pressured to volunteer with the local gardening club with her mother. Her friends come up with the meet cute project in an attempt to find her that coveted date. The only person who seems to understand her dilemma is fellow gardening volunteer Gavin. This story is a delightful blend of cosplay, love, and friendship. Rigaud, Debbie. Simone Breaks All the Rules. Scholastic Press. June 1st 2021. 9781338681727 Simone has never had the freedom to do the things normal teenagers do. Her over protective Haitian American parents have planned everything for her including her date for the prom. While Ben is a nice guy, he’s not Simone’s first choice. Simone is planning her own prom coup when she learns that she has more in common with Ben than she thought. This is a sweet romance that centers on friendship and a love for the Mets. Watson, Renee. Love is a Revolution. Bloomsbury YA. February 2nd 2021. 9781547600601 Nala is trying to support her cousin’s activism when she goes to an open mic night and meets Tye. She is immediately drawn to Tye and tries to conform into an image that fits the profile of an activist. However, Nala isn’t an activist, vegetarian, or part of an anti plastic crusade. She’s just Nala and soon learns that being true to yourself is real self-love. The characters in this story learn to look past assumptions and create space for a more nuanced view of each other. Yoon, Nicola. Instructions for Dancing. Delacorte Press. June 1st 2021. 9781524718961 Evie Thomas’s faith in happily ever after's ghosted when her father decided to marry another woman. Evie is getting rid of her romances at a free library when a chance meeting with a new neighbor gives her the strange ability to know how every romance around her is going to end. Evie is hoping to avoid any more disastrous love visions when she meets Xavier at his grandparent's dance studio. The two enter a dancing competition to drum up business for the studio. Their time together starts out as a friendship begins to morph into the romance Evie is trying to avoid. Evie must decide if love is worth the risk even if she thinks she knows the outcome.