Baldwin, James.  Go Tell it on the Mountain.  1953. 
The action in this classic novel takes place over a single day, but tells the history of a family.  It is John's 14th birthday, and he and his preacher father, Gabriel; mother, Elizabeth; and Aunt Florence go to the church for the Saturday night prayer meeting, leaving the second son, Roy, at home with wounds from a knife fight.  While the family is praying, we are given glimpses into their history, including Gabriel's wild youth, his conversion and subsequent sin and hypocrisy, Elizabeth's guilt, and Florence's bitterness.  The book examines racism, religion and the struggle of one teenager to figure out his place in the world.  Full of biblical allusions and written in a literary style, this character driven novel is not an easy read, but will leave the reader thinking about the story long after it is over.  Recommended for both teens and adults, especially for intelligent readers looking for something by a non-white author. 
Anna Dombrowski, Calumet City Public Library

Briscoe, Connie, Lolita Files and Anita Bunkley. You Only Get Better, 2007.
Three contemporary African American novellas by popular authors. All of the stories could have been better if a bit longer, but are quick, easy reads.

Maxine Davis in Connie Briscoe’s “The Perfect Life” thinks her husband is boring and her younger daughter bratty. Her mother encourages her to attend a family funeral and finally forgive her cousin who stole her fiancé right before college graduation. Maxine reluctantly reconnects with her cousin Tonya and Aaron, and learns to appreciate her husband.

Lolita Files’ “Three for the Road” tells about a road trip by a spoiled, rich divorcee, Lillibelle, and how she learns to take a change again on love and life. Her company on the road, player Chance and his dog Yancy, is quite unexpected and an unusual risky choice by Lillibelle.

Brenda O’Brien, Woodridge Public Library

Cleage, Pearl.  I Wish I Had a Red Dress.  2001.
Joyce is a widow in her early forties who has been wearing black since the death of her husband.  She works with a group of young mothers at a place called The Circus.  Joyce has a best friend who is married and also meets a new teacher from the high school, one tall good looking man.  She devotes herself to the young women and tries to protect them from abusive and deadbeat boyfriends.  This book was too idealized for me.  Each young mother is a perfect mother.  Each teenage girl is bright and eager to learn from Joyce.  Plus Joyce is endlessly lecturing her new potential guy and her best friend’s husband.  I wanted to tell her, “jeez! Just buy the dress!”  Too pat for my taste.
Debbie Wordinger, Indian Prairie Public Library

Dickey, Eric Jerome.  Sister, Sister.  1996
Two sisters, each close to 30, have trouble with their men.  The majority of the book takes place in just one weekend when the married sister has a blow-up with her husband and decides to leave him.  The divorced sister shows up at her boyfriend’s house at the same time girlfriend number two shows up and just in time to find him in bed with girlfriend number three.  Although all of the people in the book have responsible jobs, the book revolves solely around their emotional lives which revolve solely around with whom they are sleeping.  After everyone gets their head on straight, each one decides to move on with her life because now each realizes she doesn't need a man for validation, although that is pretty much how they spent the last 200 pages.  You like the characters and want life to turn out right for them, and the writing is lively and fast paced.  Just a dubiously conveyed message.
Debbie Wordinger, Indian Prairie Public Library.

Freeze.  Against the Grain.  2008.
The book opens with a robbery gone horribly wrong, in which our hero, Arkadian Frost, or Kay for short,  is not only arrested by the police, but allows his best friend to be shot, and is sentenced to ten years in prison.  While he is in prison he saves the life of a former member of the Taiwanese mafia, who teaches him from The Art of War and gives him a connection to the mafia.  When Kay is released, he finds that his old gang has moved on to drug dealing.  Soon he is living the rich life, with more money, women, and nice cars than he could have imagined.  Kay begins to have second thoughts about the effect of drugs on the community, and considers going straight just as the feds show up.  The ending definitely leaves room for a sequel.  Recommended for adults looking for a new street lit author.    
Anna Dombrowski, Calumet City Public Library

Gaines, Ernest J. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.  1971.
Miss Jane Pittman tells her life story, beginning in Reconstruction-era Louisiana. Follow her through hardships, oppression, and tragedy, as she grows from a precocious nine-year-old girl to a wizened 109-year-old matron. See how the South changed – and didn’t change – in the century from the Civil War to the Civil Rights era.
Jennifer Asimakopoulos, Indian Prairie Public Library

Gaines, Ernest J.  A Gathering of Old Men.  1983.
When a brutal Cajun farmer is shot and killed on a Louisiana plantation, a white woman and eighteen elderly black men all claim responsibility.  Mapes, the local sheriff, believes he knows who committed the murder, and that Candy, the young landowner, is protecting the old African-American man who helped raise her after the death of her parents.  Mathu neither denies nor accepts guilt for the shooting, but each of the other old men, each with a shot taken from his rifle and with plenty of reasons to want Beau Boutan dead, claims to have done it himself.  Meanwhile, the dead man’s father debates whether to form a lynching mob to deal with the situation while his college student son tries to convince him that “the old days are over.”  Told through the voices of various participants and bystanders, this is a fascinating story of class and racial tension in the second half of the 20th century, and of the need to finally take a stand.  For teens and adults.
Debbie Darwine, La Grange PL

Hamilton, Virginia.  The House of Dies Drear, 1968.
When Thomas and his family move to a new house in Ohio, he discovers that the house was an important stop on the Underground Railroad.  Built by old Dies Drear, an abolitionist, the house has tunnels and secret passageways where escaped slaves were hidden.   But it also seems to hide other secrets that Thomas finds both exciting and scary.  When he hears that the previous owner, along with two escaped slaves, had been murdered, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stay in the house – and then really strange things begin happening.  An ALA Notable Children’s Book and Mystery Writers of America “Edgar Winner” that will appeal to all ages.
Nancy Bent, Lagrange Public Library

K’wan.  Hoodlum.  2005.
Born into an African-American New York crime family, Shai Clark has always been known as the “good” brother.  While older brother Tommy has been groomed to inherit their crime empire from powerful Trinidadian immigrant Poppa Clark, Shai’s future was intended to include college and a pro basketball career.  When Shai loses his spot on the team because of betting and he returns home, he begins to hang around with old friend Swan who now works for Poppa and to be sucked into the lure of the streets.  When Poppa is murdered and Tommy gravely injured, Shai steps in to run the family “business” and to deal with the local Asian and Italian gangs who want to take control of the city.  For adults.
Debbie Darwine, La Grange PL

Monroe, Mary.  The Company We Keep, 2009.
Fairly mild urban fiction was still a challenging read. Los Angeles recording executive Teri Stewart and her assistant, Nicole Mason, are looking for love and success, but with very different approaches. Nicole is a divorced single mom who worries about money, her weight, and dealing with her ex while also enjoying casual relationships. Teri, well off and ambitious, hasn’t had a relationship in a year but can’t stop thinking about Harrison, who probably isn’t good enough for her. Everyone wishes Teri had a relationship, as she’s moody when not involved with a man. There are a lot of clichés in this book, and plenty of raunchy conversations, including one with Teri’s sweet grandmother. Most of the characters are connected through the recording business, and many scenes are set at meetings or parties.
Brenda O’Brien, Woodridge Public Library

Morrison, Toni.  Jazz. 1992.
This story revolves around a middle aged childless couple living in Harlem in the 1929s, the jazz age.  Their roots, like so many of their neighbors, lie in the rural south.  When the husband begins an affair with a teenage girl and then murders her, his wife enters into a time of craziness observed by her Harlem neighbors.  Beautifully written, but for me the writing gets in the way of a concrete understanding of what is actually happening.  Too ambiguous for most readers.
Debbie Wordinger, Indian Prairie Public Library

Reid, Maryann.  Marry Your Baby Daddy.  2005.
Sisters Giovanna, Fatima and Keyah are given the shock of their lives when the will of their beloved, recently deceased Grandma June is read and they learn that she has left each of them a million dollars—if they each marry the fathers of their children within six months.  If any of them fails to do so, the money will go to charity.  Each sister must decide how to go about convincing their baby daddies to marry them—and whether the men are worth marrying.  Many issues (alcoholism, infidelity, bisexuality) create challenges that endanger the women’s chances for love and riches, but they turn to each other for support and motivation.  For adults.
Debbie Darwine, La Grange PL

Roby, Kimberla Lawson.  The Best of Everything. 2009.
 Female Protagonist “Alicia” has fidelity issues and is a shopaholic. Spoiled by her rich & famous pastor father, she does not curb her excessive habits when married to the associate pastor at her father’s church. She does not think of anyone but herself and immediate gratification – to the extent that she rationalizes her infidelity as something she needs to do – since her love interest is a rich drug dealer who can pay off her charge accounts (some taken out in her unknowing husband’s name!) She tries to “have it all” and finds out that she has lost the trust and love of her husband, which should MATTER to Alicia, but she is so wrapped up in herself that she doesn’t see the picture at all, even when he moves out of town! Empty characters, and the story is lame. Part of the Rev. Curtis Black series. Perhaps the others are better than this one.
Sheila Hope, Westmont Public Library

Roby, Kimberla Lawson. Changing Faces. 2006.
Whitney, Taylor, and Charisse have been friends since college. Now approaching 40, the trio is encountering unexpected trials that will change their lives – and their friendship – forever. Fans of Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez may enjoy this novel.
Jennifer Asimakopoulos, Indian Prairie Public Library

Shakur, Sanyida.  T.H.I.G. L.I.F.E., 2008.
Lapeace is a gangsta, leader of the Eight Tray Crips in South Central L.A.  In a shootout with his main rival, Anyhow, eight civilians are killed and even more injured.  Anyhow is captured and gives Lapeace’s name to the police, sending Lapeace into hiding with his new girlfriend Tashima, a hip hop mogul.  A complex dance between rival gangs, the crooked cops after Lapeace, and the subtleties of the L.A. turf wars reveals the inner workings of gang culture.  Written by an ex-gang member.  Strong language and sex limits this to an adult audience.
Nancy Bent, Lagrange Public Library

Stringer, Vickie.  Dirty Red.  2006.
 Full of street language, names often shortened to letters. Explicit sex and crimes, committed by Red and others. The main character, “Red” is not likeable, and by her illegal and devious actions knowingly makes enemies of her previous boyfriend, “Bacon” (serving time in jail), and deceives a present love interest, “Q”, by faking a pregnancy. Everything starts to unravel as she cannot keep pace with her deceptions, and is a target to be killed when Bacon gets out of jail. “Q” tries to help Red at the conclusion of this novel, where they jet to the Cayman Islands…continued in “Still Dirty”.  A very convoluted story where there is no empathy for the character, “Red,” who will stop at nothing to get what she wants, at the expense of everyone around her.
Sheila Hope, Westmont Public Library

Swinson, Kiki. Playing Dirty. 2009.
Criminal defense attorney Yoshi Lomax is enjoying the finer things in life, thanks to her underhanded deals that get guilty clients acquitted (she has absolutely no scruples). But after taking the case of a Haitian mob boss, all her usual tricks fail to work. Judges, DAs, and cops can’t be bought, plus evidence won’t disappear. Then Yoshi gets arrested for drug possession and framed for murder. To save herself, she must figure out who’s gunning for her. Also look for the second novel in the series, Notorious.
Jennifer Asimakopoulos, Indian Prairie Public Library

Walker, Alice.  Now is the Time to Open Your Heart.  2004.
 The central protagonist, Kate, embarks on yet another journey (location and also a physical “purge” of her system), and tries to find more or different meaning in her life – a way to perhaps connect with all things/nature, “mother earth” and so forth. In typical flowing Walker style, she moves you along, and you’re not sure where she is leading you. The secondary character, her lover, Yolo, is on his own quest in Hawaii, and confronts a former lover. I find that there was not a lot to like or care about in this novel, and I wondered if the awakenings in both characters made any difference in their lives either. Other Walker novels must have more to offer than this; The Color Purple certainly does.
Sheila Hope Westmont Public Library

Welch, Donald.  In My Sister's House.  2010
Skylar Morrison owns and operates a successful nightclub, Legends, in Philadelphia.  Her twin sister, Storm, was recently released after spending three years in jail for a murder that she was only peripherally involved with.  The relationship between them is full of mistrust and bad feelings.  Storm gets involved with her ex-boyfriend, thug Duboy, who has a plan to take over Legends- but he needs Storm to betray her sister.  With hints of the biblical story of the prodigal son, this drama-filled story sends a positive message about the power of forgiveness.  Recommend to adults who like well-written African American general fiction or as an alternative to street lit.
Anna Dombrowski, Calumet City Public Library

 Zane.  Afterburn, 2005.
Yardley Brown, a chiropractor, and Rayne Waters, a bank officer, have both been burned in the romance game.  While both have had no problem finding bedroom partners they are looking for more, looking for a long term commitment, looking for love.  In between the interruptions of past lovers, friends, and Rayne’s strung-out mother (who refers to herself as a “good whore”), Yardley and Rayne manage to finally come together and begin to create a new life together.  An abundance of fairly graphic sex limits this one to an adult audience.
Nancy Bent, Lagrange Public Library