Set in West Africa - Extreme Reader 2026Like this list

28 items

• The Asiri. Volume One

  Okupe, Roye,

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  The first volume in an epic science fantasy about an ancient, advanced West African civilization of space explorers that once colonized Mars.

• Akata Witch

  Okorafor, Nnedi

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  Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.

• American Spy

  Wilkinson, Lauren, 1984-

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  1986, the heart of the Cold War. A young black woman working in an old boys' club, Marie Mitchell's FBI career has stalled out and her days are filled with monotonous paperwork. Given the opportunity to join a task force aimed at undermining Thomas…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• And So I Roar

  Daré, Abi,

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  A stunning, heartwrenching new novel from Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice. When Tia accidentally overhears a whispered conversation between her mother--terminally ill and lying in a hospital bed in Port…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Asylum

  a Memoir & Manifesto

  Okporo, Edafe,

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  Asylum is Edafe's eye-opening, thought-provoking memoir and manifesto, which documents his experiences growing up gay in Nigeria, fleeing to America, navigating the immigration system, and making a life for himself as a Black, gay immigrant.

• Blessings

  Ibeh, Chukwuebuka,

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  Moonlight meets Purple Hibiscus in this gay coming-of-age novel from an astonishing young talent, set in post-military Nigeria and culminating in the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2014.

• The Deep Blue Between

  Attah, Ayesha Harruna,

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  In 1890s West Africa, when a brutal raid leaves their home in ruins, twin sisters Hassana and Husseina are kidnapped, sold into slavery, and separated, remaining connected through shared dreams of water, but will their fates ever draw them back…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Dragons, the Giant, the Women

  a Memoir

  Moore, Wayétu,

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  When Wayétu Moore turns five years old, her father and grandmother throw her a big birthday party at their home in Monrovia, Liberia, but all she can think about is how much she misses her mother, who is working and studying in faraway New York.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Edge of Water

  Bankole, Olufunke Grace,

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  In Ibadan, Nigeria, a mother receives a divination that foretells danger for her daughter in America. In spite of this warning, she allows her to forge her own path, and Amina arrives in New Orleans filled with hope. But just as Amina begins to find…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ghana to the World

  Recipes and Stories That Look Forward While Honoring the Past

  Adjepong, Eric,

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  A transportive, highly personal cookbook of 100 West African-influenced recipes and stories from Top Chef finalist Eric Adjepong Sankofa is a Ghanaian Twi word that roughly translates to the idea that we must look back to move forward. In his moving…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Great Kingdoms of Africa

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  Each chapter is written by a leading historian, interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including oral histories and recent archaeological findings. Great Kingdoms of Africa is a timely and vital book for…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Growing Mangos in the Desert

  a Memoir of Life in a Mauritanian Village

  Baird, Katherine, 1958-

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  Growing Mangos in the Desert transports readers to a profoundly different culture to leave a message about human experience and the deep inequalities that mark all of our lives. Having joined the Peace Corps in 1984, the author winds up in a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Half of a Yellow Sun

  Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977-

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  Re-creates the 1960s struggle of Biafra to establish an independent republic in Nigeria, following the intertwined lives of the characters through a military coup, the Biafran secession, and the resulting civil war.

• Harmattan Season

  Onyebuchi, Tochi,

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  Award-winning author Tochi Onyebuchi's new standalone novel is hard-boiled fantasy noir: Raymond Chandler meets P. Djèlí Clark in a postcolonial West Africa.

• Homegoing

  Gyasi, Yaa,

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  Stretching from the tribal wars of Ghana to slavery and Civil War in America, from the coal mines in the north to the Great Migration to the streets of 20th century Harlem, Yaa Gyasi's has written a modern masterpiece, a novel that moves through…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Will Scream to the World

  Dukureh, Jaha, 1989 or 1990-

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  This extraordinary memoir details the monumental journey of one young Gambian woman from survivor of FGM and forced child marriage, to global activist and political leader who became UN Women's first Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, one of Time…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Like Thunder

  Okorafor, Nnedi,

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  This book begins with Dikéogu Obidimkpa slowly losing his mind. Yes, that boy who can bring rain just by thinking about it is having some... issues. Years ago, Dikéogu went on an epic journey to save Earth with the shadow speaker girl, Ejii Ubaid,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lion's Game

  Brown, Kevin W. (Kevin Wesley), 1995-

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  In the wake of the assassination of one of Mali's greatest kings, the sole survivor of the royal family makes a vow to eradicate the traitors who massacred their family. Over a century later, Diata - the heir to a forgotten royal name, now carries…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Masquerade

  Sangoyomi, O. O.,

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  Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman's fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she'll go to secure her future.

• My Country, Africa

  Autobiography of the Black Pasionaria

  Blouin, Andrée, 1921-1986,

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  Blouin offers a sweeping survey of pan-African nationalism, capturing the intricacies of revolutionary diplomacy, comradeship, and betrayal. Alongside intimate portraits of the movement's leaders, Blouin provides insights into the often-overlooked…Read moreRead more of this annotation