Recommendations based on Shadowshaperby Daniel José Older

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Sorcerer to the Crown

    by Zen Cho
    Zacharias, the first African Sorcerer Royal, and his assistant Prunella navigate a magical world of politics and prejudice in Regency England.

    Magic and mayhem collide with the British elite in this whimsical and sparkling debut. At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the ... (Goodreads)

  2. Homegoing

    by Yaa Gyasi
    Spanning centuries, the intertwining stories of two African sisters, their descendants, and the legacy of slavery.

    Effia is raised by her mother, Baaba, who is cruel to her. Nevertheless she works hard to please her mother. Known as a beauty, Effia is intended to be married to the future chief of her village, but ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Binti

    by Nnedi Okorafor
    A journey of self-discovery for a young African girl as she confronts xenophobia, racism, and alien cultures.

    A young woman named Binti is the first member of the Himba ethnic group on Earth (closely modeled on the Himba people ) , to be accepted into the prestigious intergalactic university Oomza Uni. Upon ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Children of Blood and Bone

    by Tomi Adeyemi
    In a world where magic has been suppressed, a young girl fights to bring it back and overthrow the oppressive monarchy.

    The novel takes place in the fictional land of Orïsha, inhabited by two distinct people: divîners, who have the capability to become magical maji and are marked by white hair, and non-magical ... (Wikipedia)

  5. An Unkindness of Ghosts

    by Rivers Solomon
    A powerful story of survival, set on a generational spaceship, as a young woman fights to free herself from oppressive social structures.

    Odd-mannered, obsessive, withdrawn, Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Killing Moon

    by N.K. Jemisin
    In a land where dreams are currency, a priestess and a prince must stop a corrupt ruler from sacrificing innocent lives.

    THE CITY BURNED BENEATH THE DREAMING MOON In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and among the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers - the keepers ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Broken Kingdoms

    by N.K. Jemisin
    A blind artist discovers her godly powers and must navigate the politics of the gods in a world where magic is forbidden.

    A decade after the events of, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, comes the story of Oree Shoth, a young street artist who lives in the city of Sky, which has been unofficially renamed "Shadow" after the ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Akata Witch

    by Nnedi Okorafor
    A magical journey of self-discovery, learning to use powers to help save the world.

    Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue was born in America yet lives in Nigeria. She is Black and albino. She's a great athlete, yet she can't go out in the sun to play soccer. Sunny then discovers that she ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Labyrinth Lost

    by Zoraida Córdova
    A young bruja must journey through a dangerous realm to rescue her family from an ancient curse.

    I was chosen by the Deos. Even gods make mistakes. Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of ... (Goodreads)

  10. Under a Painted Sky

    by Stacey Lee
    Two girls, a Chinese-American and a runaway slave, flee westward on the Oregon Trail in 1849. A story of friendship, adventure, and self-discovery.

    Missouri, 1849: Samantha dreams of moving back to New York to be a professional musician—not an easy thing if you’re a girl, and harder still if you’re Chinese. But a tragic accident dashes any hopes ... (Goodreads)

  11. Gabi, a Girl in Pieces

    by Isabel Quintero
    Gabi, a Mexican-American teenager, navigates through her senior year of high school while dealing with family drama, body image issues, and discovering her own identity.

    Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy's pregnancy, Sebastian's coming out, the cute boys, her father's meth habit, and the food she craves. ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

    by N.K. Jemisin
    Yeine Darr is summoned to the city of Sky, where she must compete for the throne against two powerful cousins.

    Yeine Darr was born to Kinneth Arameri, who was heir to the Arameri throne but abdicated twenty years before the start of the story to marry Yeine's father, a Darre man. Kinneth was disowned by ... (Wikipedia)

  13. American Street

    by Ibi Zoboi
    A Haitian immigrant struggles to navigate life in Detroit while her mother is detained by immigration. She finds solace in a new friendship and romance.

    A National Book Award Finalist with five starred reviews and multiple awards!, American Street, is an evocative and powerful coming-of-age story perfect for fans of, Everything, Everything,;, Bone ... (Barnes & Noble)

  14. Piecing Me Together

    by Renée Watson
    An African-American teen's journey to self-discovery and personal empowerment.

    Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner, New York Times, bestseller, "Timely and timeless." —Jacqueline Woodson,"Important and deeply moving." —John Green Acclaimed author Renee ... (Barnes & Noble)

  15. Americanah

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    An exploration of race, identity, and belonging as two Nigerian immigrants experience life in America and beyond.

    Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to ... (Goodreads)

  16. Ancillary Sword

    by Ann Leckie
    Space opera about a starship captain's struggle to survive a hostile imperial government.

    Seeking atonement for past crimes, Breq takes on a mission as captain of a troublesome new crew of Radchai soldiers, in the sequel to Ann Leckie's NYT bestselling, award-winning Ancillary Justice. A ... (Goodreads)

  17. Sing, Unburied, Sing

    by Jesmyn Ward
    A family's journey through the Mississippi Delta, confronting a traumatic past.

    It is Jojo's thirteenth birthday. To step into his new role as a man, Jojo tries to bravely help his grandfather, Pop, kill a goat. Jojo ends up throwing up at the sight although Pop is sympathetic. ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Beloved

    by Toni Morrison
    A haunting story of loss and resilience in the aftermath of slavery.

    Beloved begins in 1873 in Cincinnati, Ohio , where the protagonist Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman, has been living with her eighteen-year-old daughter Denver at 124 Bluestone Road. The book ... (Wikipedia)

  19. What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

    by Lesley Nneka Arimah
    A collection of stories exploring the struggles of modern life, dealing with loss, identity, and belonging.

    A dazzlingly accomplished debut collection explores the ties that bind parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the places they call home. In “Who Will Greet ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Grace of Kings

    by Ken Liu
    Epic fantasy saga of rebellion and redemption that spans generations in an imagined world.

    Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet, in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of ... (Goodreads)

  21. Kushiel's Avatar

    by Jacqueline Carey
    A gripping fantasy saga of political intrigue, magic, and forbidden love.

    The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. It's inhabited by the race that rose from the seed of angels, and they live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt. Phèdre nó ... (Goodreads)

  22. Howl’s Moving Castle

    by Diana Wynne Jones
    A young woman embarks on an adventure to break a curse and reclaim her identity in a magical world.

    18-year-old Sophie Hatter is the eldest of three sisters living in Market Chipping, a town in the magical kingdom of Ingary, where fairytale tropes are accepted ways of life, including that the ... (Wikipedia)

  23. More Happy Than Not

    by Adam Silvera
    Aaron Soto struggles with his identity and turns to a memory-alteration procedure to forget his past.

    A special Deluxe Edition of Adam Silvera’s groundbreaking debut featuring an introduction by Angie Thomas,, New York Times, bestselling author of, The Hate U Give,; a new final chapter, "More Happy ... (Barnes & Noble)

  24. The Mothers

    by Brit Bennett
    An exploration of motherhood, faith, and identity in a close-knit Black community.

    Living in Southern California, 17-year-old Nadia, grieving her mother's suicide, becomes pregnant by her boyfriend Luke, a local pastor's son. She has an abortion and leaves her hometown to attend ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Kindred

    by Octavia E. Butler
    A modern woman is thrown back in time, forced to confront the harsh realities of slavery.

    Kindred scholars have noted that the novel's chapter headings suggest something "elemental, apocalyptic, archetypal about the events in the narrative," thus giving the impression that the main ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Saga, Volume 1

    by Brian K. Vaughan
    A young family from opposite sides of a galactic war fight to survive and protect their newborn child.

    Each issue of Saga is titled with a numerical Chapter, such as "Chapter 1" for the debut issue. Every six chapters comprise a story arc designated as a "Volume" and are reprinted as trade paperbacks. ... (Wikipedia)

  27. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act

    by Kieron Gillen
    A group of gods incarnated as humans must choose between creating a utopia or facing destruction.

    The narrative focuses on a group of people with superhuman powers known as "The Pantheon". Each member of The Pantheon was at one point a normal person before being chosen to merge with the spirit of ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Home

    by Nnedi Okorafor
    A Nigerian-American girl with magical abilities returns to Nigeria to discover her roots and confront a dangerous family legacy.

    It’s been a year since Binti and Okwu enrolled at Oomza University. A year since Binti was declared a hero for uniting two warring planets. A year since she abandoned her family in the dawn of a new ... (Goodreads)

  29. Haroun and the Sea of Stories

    by Salman Rushdie
    A fantastical journey to the depths of the imagination, reclaiming the power of storytelling.

    At the beginning of the story, protagonist Haroun Khalifa lives with his father Rashid, a famous storyteller and doctor, and his mother Soraya, until the latter is seduced by their neighbor 'Mr. ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Parable of the Sower

    by Octavia E. Butler
    A post-apocalyptic story of survival, hope, and the power of community.

    This highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from award-winning author Octavia E. Butler "pairs well with, 1984, or, The Handmaid's Tale," (John Green,, New York Times,)–now with a ... (Barnes & Noble)