16 Must-Reads for Summer '16

Here's our top picks for you this season.

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So Many Books, so Little Time!  - Whether you're headed to the beach, your stoop, or your next vacation destination, a good read is always a necessity. Summer 16' is a good time to add some pages to your Rolodex of great reads. Check out our cool list of books you should dive into now. —Brianna Holt   (Photo: Hero Images/Getty Images)

The Wait: A Powerful Practice for Finding the Love of Your Life and the Life You Love By DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good - Get insight on the power of abstinence from the actress and her pastor husband. They give you all the answers to questions you've been asking since Ciara and Russell Wilson decide to do it. (Well, you know what we mean!) Find their new book at any major book retailer now.(Photo: Howard Books)

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The Wait by Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin   - TV power couple DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good share how waiting to have sex after marriage has led to major life changes and success in their relationship and careers. The book includes Biblical references and scriptures as a way to explain the foundation of the practice. This book is perfect for couples as well as singles trying to find their better halves. (Photo: Howard Books)

Finding Sameul Lowe by Paula Williams Madison  - Told by Paula Williams Madison, three siblings from Harlem unwrap their heritage while searching for their grandfather, Samuel Lowe. Nell, one of the siblings, is separated from her Chinese father at birth and decides to find his family once she is old enough. The journey takes them from Toronto to Jamaica to China and connects them with Chinese relatives that are very happy to meet them. (Photo: Amistad Publishing)

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Finding Sameul Lowe by Paula Williams Madison  - Told by Paula Williams Madison, three siblings from Harlem unwrap their heritage while searching for their grandfather, Samuel Lowe. Nell, one of the siblings, is separated from her Chinese father at birth and decides to find his family once she is old enough. The journey takes them from Toronto to Jamaica to China and connects them with Chinese relatives that are very happy to meet them. (Photo: Amistad Publishing)

Where Everybody Looks Like Me: At the Crossroads of America’s Black Colleges and Culture by Ron Stodghil - Ron Stodghil invites his readers to understand the struggle of keeping Black history alive in historically Black colleges. With Ivy League schools attracting top Black high school students and Republican state legislators looking to shut down HBCU’s, what can be done to preserve the history of education that produced some of our greatest leaders? (Photo: Amistad Publishing)

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Where Everybody Looks Like Me: At the Crossroads of America’s Black Colleges and Culture by Ron Stodghil - Ron Stodghil invites his readers to understand the struggle of keeping Black history alive in historically Black colleges. With Ivy League schools attracting top Black high school students and Republican state legislators looking to shut down HBCU’s, what can be done to preserve the history of education that produced some of our greatest leaders? (Photo: Amistad Publishing)

Self Made: Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way by Nely Galán - Nely Galán is an entrepreneur, TV producer, and real estate tycoon who challenges her readers to become self-made and achieve on their own. In her book she offers mentorship and advice on the path to becoming a self-made individual while also sharing her personal experiences from her own path. (Photo: Spiegel & Grau Publishing)

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Self Made: Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way by Nely Galán - Nely Galán is an entrepreneur, TV producer, and real estate tycoon who challenges her readers to become self-made and achieve on their own. In her book she offers mentorship and advice on the path to becoming a self-made individual while also sharing her personal experiences from her own path. (Photo: Spiegel & Grau Publishing)

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Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities by Craig Steven Wilder - In this novel Craig Steven Wilder reveals the horrific pasts of top colleges that are guilty of involvement in slavery. Prestigious university campuses like Harvard, Yale, Princeton and many others were funded by and built on slavery. Enslaved Americans were forced to wait on faculty and students while their labor paid wages of professors. (Photo: Bloomsbury Press)

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Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities by Craig Steven Wilder - In this novel Craig Steven Wilder reveals the horrific pasts of top colleges that are guilty of involvement in slavery. Prestigious university campuses like Harvard, Yale, Princeton and many others were funded by and built on slavery. Enslaved Americans were forced to wait on faculty and students while their labor paid wages of professors. (Photo: Bloomsbury Press)

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison   - This Toni Morrison novel reveals how the sufferings of childhood can shape the life of the future adult. Bride, a very dark Black woman, faces denial of love from her lighter-tone mother throughout her childhood because of their shade difference. It takes her mother years before she understands that her actions have taken an emotional toll on her daughter's life. (Photo: Vintage Publishing)

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God Help the Child by Toni Morrison   - This Toni Morrison novel reveals how the sufferings of childhood can shape the life of the future adult. Bride, a very dark Black woman, faces denial of love from her lighter-tone mother throughout her childhood because of their shade difference. It takes her mother years before she understands that her actions have taken an emotional toll on her daughter's life. (Photo: Vintage Publishing)

Real Money Answers for Every Woman: How to Win the Money Game With or Without a Man by Patrice C. Washington - Patrice C. Washington is back and this time with advice that will keep any woman financially stable, with or without a man. Based on some of her own life lessons, this book is bound to get you out of debt, keep you on top of your finances, and build your savings. (Photo: Seek Wisdom Find Wealth)

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Real Money Answers for Every Woman: How to Win the Money Game With or Without a Man by Patrice C. Washington - Patrice C. Washington is back and this time with advice that will keep any woman financially stable, with or without a man. Based on some of her own life lessons, this book is bound to get you out of debt, keep you on top of your finances, and build your savings. (Photo: Seek Wisdom Find Wealth)

Best Friends Forever by Kimberla Lawson Roby   - Kimberla Lawson Roby tells a story of the importance of having a best friend when life hits you hard. When one woman begins to face life-threatening issues, her best friend is there to comfort her through the storm. (Photo: Grand Central Publishing)

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Best Friends Forever by Kimberla Lawson Roby   - Kimberla Lawson Roby tells a story of the importance of having a best friend when life hits you hard. When one woman begins to face life-threatening issues, her best friend is there to comfort her through the storm. (Photo: Grand Central Publishing)

Best Friends Forever by Kimberla Lawson Roby   - Kimberla Lawson Roby tells a story of the importance of having a best friend when life hits you hard. When one woman begins to face life-threatening issues, her best friend is there to comfort her through the storm. (Photo: Grand Central Publishing)

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Best Friends Forever by Kimberla Lawson Roby   - Kimberla Lawson Roby tells a story of the importance of having a best friend when life hits you hard. When one woman begins to face life-threatening issues, her best friend is there to comfort her through the storm. (Photo: Grand Central Publishing)

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An Untamed State by Roxane Gay - In An Untamed State, Roxane Gay tells the story of a woman who seems to have it all going for her until the night she is kidnapped. While her father refuses to pay the ransom cost, her husband spends 13 days fighting for her release. This novel is about a woman who has to learn to cope with a tragedy that leaves her depressed and far from her normal self. (Photo: Grove Press, Black Cat)

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An Untamed State by Roxane Gay - In An Untamed State, Roxane Gay tells the story of a woman who seems to have it all going for her until the night she is kidnapped. While her father refuses to pay the ransom cost, her husband spends 13 days fighting for her release. This novel is about a woman who has to learn to cope with a tragedy that leaves her depressed and far from her normal self. (Photo: Grove Press, Black Cat)

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride   - Written by James McBride, The Good Lord Bird, is a story about a young boy who is born into slavery and must pass as a girl to survive. The boy joins John Brown’s anti-slavery crusade and finds himself struggling to hide his true identity for the sake of his freedom. (Photo: Riverhead Books)

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The Good Lord Bird by James McBride   - Written by James McBride, The Good Lord Bird, is a story about a young boy who is born into slavery and must pass as a girl to survive. The boy joins John Brown’s anti-slavery crusade and finds himself struggling to hide his true identity for the sake of his freedom. (Photo: Riverhead Books)

Perfect Peace by Daniel Black   - Author Daniel Black unravels a peculiar story about a mother who chooses to raise her son as a girl during the Jim Crow era. After having six boys, Emma Jeans decides to raise her seventh son as a girl to make up for the want of a daughter. When the child turns 8, Emma Jean decides to let him know that he is actually a boy and has to change the way he acts, despite how he was raised. (Photo: St. Martin's Griffin)

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Perfect Peace by Daniel Black   - Author Daniel Black unravels a peculiar story about a mother who chooses to raise her son as a girl during the Jim Crow era. After having six boys, Emma Jeans decides to raise her seventh son as a girl to make up for the want of a daughter. When the child turns 8, Emma Jean decides to let him know that he is actually a boy and has to change the way he acts, despite how he was raised. (Photo: St. Martin's Griffin)

A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story by Elaine Brown  - In this memoir, Elaine Brown reflects on the trials she faced during her time as a Black Panther. As the first and only female leader of the Black Panther Party, Brown takes us back to her childhood as she grew up in an impoverished neighborhood leading up to her political awakening as a female in a male-dominated activist group. (Photo: Anchor Publishing)

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A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story by Elaine Brown  - In this memoir, Elaine Brown reflects on the trials she faced during her time as a Black Panther. As the first and only female leader of the Black Panther Party, Brown takes us back to her childhood as she grew up in an impoverished neighborhood leading up to her political awakening as a female in a male-dominated activist group. (Photo: Anchor Publishing)

Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy, M.D.  - Damon Tweedy, M.D., reflects on his experience as a Black male med student and the racism and bias he encounters along the way. When Tweedy first attends medical school, he assumes that his journey will be filled with positive experiences and relationships but instead begins to realize that his race is more important to his colleagues than his abilities. (Photo: Picador Publishing)

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Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy, M.D.  - Damon Tweedy, M.D., reflects on his experience as a Black male med student and the racism and bias he encounters along the way. When Tweedy first attends medical school, he assumes that his journey will be filled with positive experiences and relationships but instead begins to realize that his race is more important to his colleagues than his abilities. (Photo: Picador Publishing)

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Your Past Can Propel You - In her bestselling book, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, Misty shares stories from her unstable childhood. Rather than use a life spent moving from motel to motel with her family as an excuse, she used it as a reason to work extra hard at school and propel herself beyond her rough start.  (Photo: Touchstone)

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Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland - When Misty Copeland first stepped foot on the dance floor, no one expected an underprivileged African-American girl to become one of America’s greatest dancers. As the first African-American principal ballerina at American Ballet Theatre, Copleland shares her story on chasing her dreams and winning her title. (Photo: Touchstone)

Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir by Dexter Scott King - Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King, reveals his memories of his traumatized childhood following the assassination of his father. King shares views influenced by his father about race and the future of the U.S. as well as memories of the civil rights activist himself. (Photo: Warner Books)

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Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir by Dexter Scott King - Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King, reveals his memories of his traumatized childhood following the assassination of his father. King shares views influenced by his father about race and the future of the U.S. as well as memories of the civil rights activist himself. (Photo: Warner Books)

Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison by Shaka Senghor - After being sent to prison for second-degree murder, Shaka Senghor is now a lecturer at universities and is a prominent voice on criminal justice reform. Through journaling during his time being locked away, Senghor was able to get to the root of his anger and learn how to turn his bad experiences into positive inspiration for others. (Photo: Convergent Books)

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Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison by Shaka Senghor - After being sent to prison for second-degree murder, Shaka Senghor is now a lecturer at universities and is a prominent voice on criminal justice reform. Through journaling during his time being locked away, Senghor was able to get to the root of his anger and learn how to turn his bad experiences into positive inspiration for others. (Photo: Convergent Books)