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Articles by Lala Thomas
16 & PREGNANT | Kirkus Reviews
by LaLa Thomas ‧ Two high school friends in Nevada face tough decisions when one of them discovers she’s pregnant. Since learning she’s pregnant, 16-year-old Erykah Smith has been having the worst birthday of her life. Instead of worrying about college test scores and getting her driver’s license, she’s going to be battling morning sickness and the judgment of her peers. At least she has her best friend, Kelaya Lancaster.
16 & Pregnant
LaLa Thomas is a professor, scholar, combat Army veteran, English teacher, and an author of multiple genres. After her first years of teaching and mentoring in one of the most struggling school districts in the nation, she decided to use those experiences and create stories through characters who represent young Black voices. LaLa calls two places home: the fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, and Harlem, New York.
As You Walk On By
Julian Winters. Viking, $18.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-593-20650-8 After queer Black 17-year-old Theo’s public promposal goes sideways, he must reconsider his past actions, current relationships, and future goals in this earnest romance by Winters (Right Where I Left You).
Santiago! Santiago Ramón y Cajal! Artist, Scientist, Troublemaker
Jay Hosler. Holiday House/Ferguson, $22.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5036-7 Hosler (The Way of the Hive) energetically captures the early life and eventual success of Nobel Prize–winning Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934) in this buoyant graphic novel biography. In 19th-century Ayerbe, Spain, a rambunctious and persistent Ramón y Cajal relentlessly pursues a career in art, despite his doctor father’s wish he’d use his intellect to practice medicine.
Begin Again by Emma Lord
Emma Lord. Wednesday, $18.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-78336-3 Eighteen-year-old Andie always dreamed of studying psychology at Blue Ridge State, where her go-getter mother, who died seven years ago, pioneered the college’s radio program. After she’s rejected, though, she attends Little Fells Community College while her boyfriend, Connor, heads off to Blue Ridge. When she’s given the opportunity to transfer, she keeps the good news secret from Connor, hoping to surprise him.
Friday I’m in Love
Camryn Garrett. Knopf, $18.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-5934-3510-6 A queer Black 16-year-old plans an extravagant coming-out bash in this potent, character-driven drama by Garrett (Off the Record). Music enthusiast Mahalia Harris’s mother couldn’t afford the sweet 16 party she promised to throw her, but Mahalia is determined to make up for it by secretly saving up for an epic coming-out extravaganza. Despite Mahalia’s drive, however, her plan falters under the weight of interpersonal challenges.
16 & Pregnant by Lala Thomas
LaLa Thomas. MTV, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-66591-727-8 Black 16-year-old best friends Erykah and Kelaya, who live in Lynwood Heights, Nev., have big plans for their futures: Erykah wants to study business at Howard University, and Kelly, a talented basketball player, dreams of playing in the WNBA.
The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
Krystal Marquis. Dial, $19.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-593-46333-8 This stunningly wrought historical fiction debut follows a group of Black teens navigating classism, familial expectations, gender norms, and racism in 1910 Chicago. William Davenport is the formerly enslaved head of one of the city’s few wealthy Black families. As such, his children—Olivia, John, and Helen—and their associates are constantly in the public eye.
All the Beating Hearts
Julie Fogliano, illus. by Cátia Chien.
Sincerely Sicily
Tamika Burgess. HarperCollins, $17.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-315960-0 Sicily Jordan, who is Panamanian American, is excited to start sixth grade at Ravenswood Middle School with her three best friends, until new zoning results in her no longer being eligible to attend, and she’s forced to enroll at local Shirley Chisholm Middle School instead. On her first day of class, Sicily gets a flyer for the school’s magazine club, for which she hopes to channel her passion for writing.
16 & Pregnant
The bond between two best friends is put to the test when one of them gets pregnant in this contemporary teen novel inspired by MTV’s iconic reality show. Erykah was looking forward to junior year at East Prep High. She has a cute boyfriend, gets good grades, and has the best bestie. Money is tight, though that’s nothing new in her world. But everything changes when she gets pregnant. Having a baby at sixteen was definitely not part of the plan.
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