Year 12
November 2025 Jessica’s Pick
New Nigeria County by Clare Brown
New Nigeria is a good, clean, all-American town. The husbands are smiling and handsome, the wives are strong, rich, and powerful, and Nat Turner High is the best public school in the state. Yet, the citizens of this idyllic community find themselves in a rapidly changing country and, to be perfectly honest, some of them are a teeny bit uncomfortable with it all.
When a New Nigeria community leader Carèn makes a frantic phone call to the local police about a “potential gang member” roaming her cushy Malcolm X Estates neighborhood, it turns out the boy is her new European American neighbor, Jake Smith, and the misunderstanding quickly becomes the talk of the town. While Jake’s mom, Meghan, is hurt by her new neighbor’s behavior, Carèn works tirelessly to preserve the safety (and the property values) of her beloved community. As the two women work toward their own version of equity, their conflict continues to escalate, setting off a chain of cringe-worthy confrontations that send the good citizens of New Nigeria into a tailspin.
December 2025
Shanti's Pick
Hold You Down by Tracy Brown
New York City. Late 1980s to early 1990s.
Mercy and Lenox Howard have always only had each other. Growing up on the mean streets of Harlem with an absentee mother meant that they had to have each other's backs. Now young, smart mothers they are determined to survive in New York City while raising their two sons, who have bright futures ahead of them.
Mercy is the quiet, straight laced hospital administrator, struggling to make ends meet. At night and on weekends, she pours her heart into her cooking and her dream of owning her own restaurant. Lenox is the diva, the wild child, looking for excitement and her big come up in life and love. Their boys, Deon and Judah, have been raised more like brothers than cousins, forging a bond that is unbreakable.
When Lenox heads down a path that she believes will bring success and power, it changes the entire course of her life and her family’s life forever. As a result of their mother’s choices, cousins Deon and Judah soon find themselves in uncharted territory.
January 2026 Jessica's Pick
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
“Heartbreaking, yet beautiful” (Jamie Blynn, Us Weekly), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is “Tinseltown drama at its finest” (Redbook): a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it costs—to face the truth.
February 2026 Tracey’s Pick
March 2026 Quandra's Pick
April 2026 Kelly's pick
The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson
Out from under her overprotective parents, Jordyn is ready to kill it in prelaw at a prestigious, historically Black university in Washington DC. When her new roommate’s brother is released from prison, the last thing Jordyn expects is to come home and find the ex-convict on their dorm room sofa. But Devonte needs a place to stay while he gets back on his feet—and how could she say no to one of her new best friends?
Devonte is older, as charming as he is intelligent, pushing every student he meets to make better choices about their young lives. But Jordyn senses something sinister beneath his friendly advice and growing group of followers. When one of Jordyn’s roommates goes missing, she must enlist the help of the university’s lone white student to uncover the mystery—or become trapped at the center of a web of lies more tangled than she can imagine.
May 2026 Ms. Debra
June 2026 Shanti's pick
July 2026 Quandra's pick
August 2026 Tracey’s Pick
September 2026 Kelly’s Pick
Boom Town by Nic Stone
When Damaris “Charm” Wilburn, a new daytime dancer, is missing for her shift at Boom Town, former headliner Michah “Lyriq” Johanssen suspects something more than a “no call, no show.” As Lyriq’s former headline partner and lover—Felice “Lucky” Carothers—also vanished under similar circumstances, Lyriq decides she’s going to find them.
Delving deeper into Charm and Lucky’s disappearances, Lyriq uncovers a tangled web of deceit, privilege, and power. The line between friend and foe blurs, forcing Lyriq to confront the question: Is finding for these women worth the threat to her own life?
This tantalizing thriller will take you on a heart-pounding journey through the peaks and valleys of Atlanta’s underworld.
October 2026 Chibuzo's pick