Staff Picks: Staci Bryant’s Favorites
Oh my gosh, hi! I’m Staci, and I am an administrative assistant at Random House Children’s Books. I’m a Michigan native who has relocated to New York. Middle grade books with BIPOC points of view, romantic comedies, and suspense/horror novels are my go-to reads. It’s all about balance! Follow along as I navigate this new city and new books one moment at a time.
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Add to BookshelfBlood at the Root
by LaDarrion Williams
This was the first manuscript I read at RHCB, and it has stayed in my heart ever since. It was pitched as if Harry Potter went to an HBCU, and it lived up to every piece of that claim. You’ll journey through Malik’s traumatic history, brotherhood, and new found belonging in a magical society. When I read this book, I could smell incense and coconut oil as my heart grew for Malik as he discovered a sense of belonging to a special society and found the power to emit his own black boy magic.
Add to BookshelfHardcover
$20.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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My Father, the Panda Killer
by Jamie Jo Hoang
Teenage years are difficult enough without having to navigate being part of immigrant family and the child of a now single parent. This title goes back and forth between Jane’s and her father’s childhood: Both completely different, and yet both experience equally traumatizing experiences. Jane tries her best to fill in the pieces in her father’s silence, while also navigating being a teenager.
Add to BookshelfHardcover
$18.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Black Queen
by Jumata Emill
Heavy is the head that wears the coveted homecoming queen crown, especially now that she is dead. Tinsley, the girl who coveted the crown the most is the prime suspect. Random House Children’s Books are the champions of helping any reader find themselves in a book. As a former homecoming queen (who thankfully wasn’t murdered!) I found the threats, student divisions, and newly-discovered partnerships all too familiar. Jumata Emill did a great job with this title.
Add to BookshelfPaperback
$12.99Buy from Other Retailers:
