Catalog Search Results
Author
Language
English
Description
It's 2008, and the rise of Barack Obama ushers in a new kind of hope. In Chicago, Ruth Tuttle, an Ivy-League educated black engineer, is married to a kind and successful man. He's eager to start a family, but Ruth is uncertain. She has never gotten over the baby she gave birth to, and abandoned, when she was a teenager. She had promised her family she'd never look back, but Ruth knows that to move forward, she must make peace with the past. Returning...
Author
Series
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 5.7 - AR Pts: 15
Language
English
Description
Set in South Carolina during the summer of 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three racists in town, they escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily finds refuge...
Series
Publisher
Distributed by Kensington Pub., Corp
Pub. Date
2013
Language
English
Description
"Black widow: Big, bold, and beautiful are three adjectives that describe Erika to a tee. Named after her mother's favorite soap opera vixen, Erika Kane, she is self-assured, headstrong, and opinionated. But Erika is also unlucky in love. Whenever she thinks she's found everlasting love, it always ends up being short-lived--literally. She has three dead husbands to prove that point and she has been dubbed the black widow. Just when Erika is about...
Author
Publisher
DAFINA/Kensington Publishing Corp
Pub. Date
[2021]
Language
English
Description
"Kimberly. Hahna. Twila. Three successful forty-somethings who broke all their dating rules. They found more straight-up satisfaction -- and commitment -- than they ever believed possible. But with their bold choices have come unexpected challenges... At last, shy Kimberly has the love she's longed for -- complete with a lavish destination wedding. But her fiancé's past relationships, and her own personal baggage, are about to turn their special...
Author
Series
Wife extraordinaire volume 2
Publisher
Kensington Publishing Corp
Pub. Date
2014.
Language
English
Description
Trice is recovering from a gunshot wound and harboring a life-changing secret. Leon is behind bars, Troy is out for blood, and two marriages are broken. Leon's only hope of gaining his freedom from prison and from Charlene is to lay on the charm and make sure to juggle both women's visiting schedules so they never run into each other. But Charlene has a plan of her own, a scheme that will bring everyone to their knees, one by one.
Author
Series
Payback novels volume 1
Publisher
Kensington Publishing Corp
Pub. Date
2006
Language
English
Author
Language
English
Description
"An arresting memoir about what it means to come of age at the center of exultant bloodlines and harrowing bloodshed. Written in a distinctive voice and filled with personality, humor, and pathos, Fruit Punch is a memoir unlike any other, from a one-of-a-kind millennial talent. Growing up in Dallas, Texas, in the 1990s and early 2000s, Kendra Allen had a complicated, loving, and intense family life filled with desire and community but also undercurrents...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
"As the lead singer of Grammy-winning supergroup TLC, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins has seen phenomenal fame, success, and critical acclaim. But backstage, she has lived a dual life. In addition to the balancing act of juggling an all-consuming music career and her family, Tionne has struggled since she was a young girl with sickle-cell disease?a debilitating and incurable condition that can render her unable to perform, walk, or even breathe. A Sick Life...
Author
Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
Born and raised in Atlanta, Lucinda, LaMeka, Charice, and Trinity are best friends who all have suffered the perils of teen pregnancy. With their dreams and ambitions on hold, they struggle to find themselves and survive this game called life. Despite their efforts, the decisions they make create more trouble, and the consequences prove to be costlier than they ever could have imagined.
Author
Publisher
WordSong, an imprint of Highlights
Pub. Date
[2019]
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 5.5 - AR Pts: 4
Language
English
Description
"Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring...
92) Beloved
Author
Language
Español
Formats
Description
Una madre: Sethe, la esclava que mata a su propia hija para salvarla del horror, para que la indignidad del presente no tenga futuro posible. Una hija: Beloved, la niña que desde su nacimiento se alimentó de leche mezclada con sangre, y poco a poco fue perdiendo contacto con la realidad por la voluntad de un cariño demasiado denso. Una experiencia: el crimen como única arma contra el dolor ajeno, el amor como única justificación ante el delito,...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The author's first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when her parents told her they named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. She grew up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, and has spent her life navigating America's racial divide as a writer, a speaker, and an expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion. While so many institutions claim to value diversity...
94) Amanda Gorman
Author
Series
Little people big dreams volume 75
Publisher
Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Pub. Date
2021.
Language
English
Description
"From an early age, Little Amanda read everything she could get her hands on, from books to cereal boxes. Growing up with an auditory processing disorder and a speech impediment, Amanda had to work hard, but ultimately she took great strength from her experiences. After hearing her teacher read aloud to the class, she knew that she wanted to become a poet, and nothing would stand in her way. At the age of 19, she became America's first-ever National...
Author
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Pub. Date
2018.
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 7.1 - AR Pts: 12
Language
English
Description
"A poetic and powerful memoir about what it means to be a Black woman in America--and the founding of a movement that demands restorative justice for all in the land at the tree Raised by a single mother in an impoverished neighborhood In Los Angeles, Patrisse KhanCullors experienced firsthand the prejudice and persecution Black Americans endure at the hands of law enforcement. For Patrisse, the most vulnerable people in the country are Black people....
Author
Publisher
Yesyes Books
Pub. Date
[2017]
Language
English
Description
"Part 1980s and 1990s nostalgia, part exuberant storytelling, I'm So Fine: A List of Famous Men & What I Had On turns a sharply humorous magnifying glass onto gendered interactions in daily life, framed primarily by random celebrity encounters in Los Angeles. Far from a narrative of fame-chasing or conceit, however, I'm So Fine breathlessly addresses what it means for a woman to fight for dignity and survival in an often hostile environment, to come...
97) Ericka Kane
Author
Publisher
K.S. Publications
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Ericka Kane was the only child of a multi-millionaire with ties to some very powerful men from his native country, Nigeria. Ericka never knew exactly how her father made his riches except through various investment deals but that would all change after her best friend Tia Cassidy comes up missing. While the local missing persons investigators form a search team to find the whereabouts of Ericka's best friend Tia. Ericka forms her own search. -- book...
Author
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Formats
Description
A story based on true events recreates a female slave's struggle for freedom in the decades before the Civil War as she is freed by her owner, kidnapped by slave catchers and returned to Virginia, and brings criminal charges against her kidnappers.
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
"Shayla Lawson is major. You don't know who she is, yet, but that's okay. She is on a mission to move black girls like herself from best supporting actress to a starring roles in the major narrative. With a unique mix of personal stories, pop culture observations, and insights into politics and history, Lawson sheds light on the many ways black femininity has influenced mainstream culture. Timely, enlightening, and wickedly sharp, This Is Major shows...
Interlibrary Loan Request
Didn't find what you need? Items not owned by Des Moines Public Library can be requested from other libraries to be delivered to your local library for pickup.
Didn't find it?
Can't find what you are looking for? If the item was published recently, submit a purchase suggestion. Submit Request