Parenting Teens

It can be difficult to find books for teens that hold their interest and, at the same time, deal with real life. The Kimani TRU line from Harlequin is a line of books aimed specifically at African-American teenagers. They feature strong characters, and deal with today’s teen issues in sensitive and down-to-earth ways that teens can relate to, and yet still hold their reading interest. And one bit of good news is that some of these books have male lead characters which can hold a guy’s interest as well! There’s a new book from this imprint on the first of each month. Here are descriptions from the August, September, and October releases.

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James “JDâ€? Dawson grew up in the hood, but left a life of violence three thousand miles behind to make something of himself at Clark Atlanta University. But when the freshman got off to a fool’s start–kicking it with his new homeboys, showing up late to class, not studying and checking out the shorties–JD was assigned a tutor, the luscious Katrina Turner. She made studying real fun. But if JD wanted to get with a girl like Katrina, he’d also have to learn to grow up.
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Three girls. Three high schools. Three gotta-read stories.

How To Be Down by Felicia Pride

When Nina Parker decides to straighten her Afro, lose her valley-girl accent and get a total makeover for her new school in the hood, the cutest guy notices — yes! But so does the meanest girl, Vivica, queen bee of her crew, who wants Jeffrey for herself.

Double Act by Debbie Rigaud

In the hood, Mia Chambers is ‘the smart girl,’ but at her prestigious new prep school she hardly stands out. So Mia does what it takes — only to be accused of selling out by her old friends!

The Summer She Learned To Dance by Karen Valentin

At first, Giselle Johnson hates spending the summer with her cousin from the Dominican Republic. But she soon starts loving the island and even learns to dance to her own rhythm. That is, until her cousin attracts Giselle’s high school crush…
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Fifteen-year-old Kenisha Lewis has it all: good friends who also live to dance, a hot boyfriend headed for the NBA, loving parents and a bling-filled home in the burbs.

But all that changes when her dad drops a bomb: he wants a divorce–and his pregnant girlfriend is moving in. Suddenly, Kenisha and her mom are squeezed into her grandmother’s small house in the city, and Kenisha’s sharing a bedroom with a cousin she barely knows. Could she hate her life any more? Yeah. Because her boyfriend dumps her, her friends are acting weird and her mother is getting more and more depressed. Time for Kenisha to push the pause button on her life and take a long, deep breath…
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For more on books for teens, visit Jackie at
Tiny Treasury

teens, teenagers, teen reading, teen books, Kimani TRU, Harlequin, Pushing Pause, Hallway Diaries, First Semester