I understand your concern, but I’d also be worried about the opposite problem, that you would not want to come across as suggesting, “I got this for you because it’s about black people.”
That said, you might consider The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Here’s another idea: Ana of California: A Novel. It’s a contemporary book based on Anne of Green Gables, and has some pretty good reviews on Amazon. It would probably be easier for a modern teenager to relate to it than to the original.
You could also give both Ana of California and Anne of Green Gables.
Black girls are into the same kind of stuff that other kids are into. When I was 16, I was all about Stephen King. I was well into my 20s before I discovered stuff like Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and Octavia Butler’s “Xenogenesis” trilogy. By the way, I’d recommend both of these to anyone, not to just a 16-year-old black girl Both have romantic elements (especially the former). The latter is wonderful sci-fi.
I say a gift card is the way to go in this situation. I always feel weird when someone gives me a book (and I admit I might be the only person who feels like this, so please don’t bash me). I’m not particularly picky; it’s just that people often get my tastes wrong. They give me a book I don’t feel excited about, but because it is a gift I feel obligated to keep it. And then I feel compelled to read it, just in case the person wants to talk about it. And if they want to talk about it, I feel like I can’t badmouth it too much because it was a gift. I only trust a couple of people to guess what kind of books I like.
But bonding over books is a wonderful thing. Maybe one day you can leave out Anne of Green Gables, and see if she shows interest. If so, you can lend it to her.
I’ll second this – if you want to bond over books, loan her some of your favorites. Doesn’t matter what genre, and with a book loan there’s less obligation to pretend to like it – she can say “that wasn’t really my thing”, and you take it back and say “okay, how about trying this totally different one”.
definitely. I was just thinking “Anne of Green Gables” might be too white because it might be hard for her to imagine herself in Anne’s shoes…i.e. a black girl on Prince Edward Island in the late 19th century might find her experience really different from a white girl.
where if she’s reading something about a farm girl in an imaginary colony on a moon of Jupiter it might be easier to picture herself in the heroine’s place.
Gotta check out “Ana of California”! (for myself if no one else!). Thanks** Jeff Lichtman**!
and all you Connie Willis fans, I am with you, she is the best and I actually even thought of “To Say Nothing of the Dog”. Definitely looking for something on the lighthearted side. Maybe “Bellwether”…
I figure a black teenager now is just about as far from orphans on PEI at the turn of the last century as a white teenager is. (That being said, representation MATTERS, absolutely.)
Agree with Monstro that Their Eyes Were Watching God is the sort of uber-romantic sob story a sixteen-year-old girl will just die over. Might be an extremely powerful thing for her to read at this age (though imo it’s powerful at any age).
The most unabashedly romantic story I can think of is The Scarlet Pimpernel. Adventure, thrills, romance in another time and place – what’s not to like! /swoon
Great book, but note that it often shows up on high school reading lists.
IMHO, AoGH is pretty young for a sixteen year old, and getting a “young” book from a boyfriend’s mom would feel pretty weird.
We had to read Their Eyes Were Watching God for AP English in 11th grade, I just could not get into the book. I would describe myself as a romantic, black, 16 year old girl then (it wasn’t too long ago). So, I think a gift card to B&N/Amazon or whatever local bookstore is the way to go. I would’ve killed for a gift card to buy graphic novels or manga with at the time. You never know what kids are into.
One of my favorite books would be “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”. I read that when I was in high school, and it’s set in the early 1900s. She might get into that.
Maybe your son knows what she’s into and could give you some suggestions. She may have discussed some favorite author with him or maybe they’re both into scifi or whatever.
A set of the Earthsea books? They’re classics, the protagonist in the first isn’t White (but male) and in the second is female (but is White).