Book Club Discussion Guides for Books by Black Authors

Some of the best books are enhanced by discussion; ideas are expanded and exchanged, transformed and evolved. We’ve pulled together a list of Underlined Discussion Guides for books by Black authors. Pick a title, and use the discussion questions to guide your next book club or conversation with friends.

Have you used one of these discussion guides? Let us know in the comments below or tag us at @getunderlined!

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

Check out the official book club guide for Skin of the Sea here.

Skin of the Sea

By Natasha Bowen

Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata—a mermaid—collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.

Check out the official book club guide for Chlorine Sky here.

Chlorine Sky

By Mahogany L. Browne

From the first ever poet-in-residence at Lincoln Center comes a bold coming-of-age story told in verse about a young woman who loses a best friend, but finds herself in the process. The joys of basketball, the tumult of high school, and the bonds of family are lyrically woven together in this must-read novel.

Check out the official book club guide for PET here.

Pet

By Akwaeke Emezi

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by The New York Times • Time • Buzzfeed • NPR • New York Public Library • Publishers Weekly • Schoo...

Check out the official book club guide for Just Mercy here.

Just Mercy (Movie Tie-In Edition, Adapted for Young Adults)

By Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson’s incredible fight to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality comes to life in this young adult adaptation of the acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestseller that was adapted into a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan, Jaime Foxx, and Brie Larson.

Check out the official guide for Walk Toward the Rising Sun here.

Walk Toward the Rising Sun

By Ger Duany, Garen Thomas

The amazing autobiography of a young Sudanese boy who went from a child soldier and struggling refugee to international peace activist and Hollywood actor.

Sudan, 1980s: Ger Duany knew what he wanted out of life--make his family proud, play with his brothers and sisters, maybe get an education like his brother Oder suggested, ...

Check out the official guide for This Is My America here.

This Is My America

By Kim Johnson

"Incredible and searing." --Nic Stone, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin

The Hate U Give meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting first novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system.

Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont wri...