11 Fiction Books About Black Joy You Need To Read Now

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Artwork by Anna Jay.

The last year has been particularly taxing for Black folk. Not only have we been dealing with coronavirus disproportionately impacting our community, we've also been reliving racial trauma following the death of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests.

Black people have suffered but as 22-year-old inaugural poet Amanda Gorman notes, "even as we hurt, we grew." As we settle into a new year, 'joy' is the word we're focusing on and that means reading stories which uplift, inspire and make us feel proud of being Black.

There are plenty of novels that delve into the effects of systemic and historic racism on people's lives and which are important for us all to read and learn from – but it's also imperative to read stories that uplift Black people and show us winning.

Ahead is a collection of fiction books which focus on joy so that wherever you are, you can feel comfort in the fact that we, too, have happy endings.

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