Noelle Gray Creative

My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by @ibizoboi was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019. I mean, just look at the cover. 😍😍😍 Simply stunning. Thankful that @penguinrandomhouse (#partner) was able to gift me an advanced copy. This gem set to release 8/27/2019. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Book Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace Norfleet has lived with her beloved grandfather Jeremiah in Huntsville, Alabama ever since she was little. As one of the first black engineers to integrate NASA, Jeremiah has nurtured Ebony-Grace’s love for all things outer space and science fiction—especially Star Wars and Star Trek. But in the summer of 1984, when trouble arises with Jeremiah, it’s decided she’ll spend a few weeks with her father in Harlem. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Harlem is an exciting and terrifying place for a sheltered girl from Hunstville, and Ebony-Grace’s first instinct is to retreat into her imagination. But soon 126th Street begins to reveal that it has more in common with her beloved sci-fi adventures than she ever thought possible, and by summer's end, Ebony-Grace discovers that Harlem has a place for a girl whose eyes are always on the stars. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What one of your most anticipated reads of 2019? https://ift.tt/2MlOeAK

Super excited about this stack of ARCs sent to me by the lovely peeps over at @penguinteen! The coolest part about this stack is that each book came with a special note from the author! I cannot decide which one I’m most excited about! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ — Obviously: Stories from My Timeline by @akilahh — A River of Royal Blood by @amandajoywrites — The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by @junauda and — War Girls by @treize64 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Which of these are on your radar? . #WarGirls #thestarsandtheblacknessbetweenthem #ariverofroyalblood #obviously https://ift.tt/2Z0nebL

Happy Book Birthday to @ibramxk’s How to Be an Antiracist! Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse and @oneworldbooks for gifting me a copy! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Book Synopsis: Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At it's core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilites—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their posionous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society. https://ift.tt/2KwxCEo

no one is you and that is your power. happy Monday! https://ift.tt/2YIKEHq

When I saw this Redesigning Happiness by @authornitab on it’s release date a couple of weeks ago, I just knew I had to have it. A story about a single mom, living in Atlanta....it was really a no brainer for me! Many thanks to the generous @never_withouta_book for gifting me her copy! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Book Synopsis: It wasn’t easy for Yvonne Cable to get over a heartbreaking relationship and revamp her life. But now the once-broke single mom is Atlanta’s most sought-after interior designer—and one-half of the media’s hottest power couple. She and her celebrity fiancé, Nathan, are a perfect, practical match, on—and off—camera. And with their new home improvement reality show the object of a fierce network bidding war, there’s no limit to how far they can go . . . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But Yvonne is stunned when mogul Richard Barrington III unexpectedly makes an offer for their program. He’s the man she thought left her for a more successful woman. And he’s the father of her son—though he didn’t know it until now. Richard wants to get to know their boy, and Yvonne agrees, though she’s wary. Yet little by little, she’s finding it hard to resist the responsible, caring man Richard has become. But when a scandalous leak puts everything Yvonne’s worked for at risk, she’ll have to look beyond surfaces to come to terms with who she is—and discover what she truly wants. https://ift.tt/2KICQLM

Happy Saturday, y’all! Started The Bride Test this week and so far I’m really enjoying it. I love how @hhoangwrites shines light on disabilities with her main characters. It’s brought a lot of awareness and a new perspective in which I’m thankful for. I’m just getting to the really steamy parts so I’m not sure which one I like more between this and The Kiss Quotient. lol ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What are you reading this weekend? https://ift.tt/2KH7Iwb

It’s Book Lovers Day and the perfect day to celebrate you all and 10k followers. I can’t begin to thank y’all for the love and support you’ve shown myself and @book_girl_magic over the past 19 months! Seems like I just created this page yesterday. This journey has blessed me in ways I couldn’t have ever imagined. From my bookish friends, trips to NYC, partnerships, meeting various authors and opportunities to represent the brand on various media platforms....this experience is beyond anything I’ve ever imagined. Thank you for following me, supporting me and embracing me on this journey to uplift and shine a light on black women and black women authors! It has been an honor. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ All My Love, ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Renée https://ift.tt/2YSckca

I was so disappointed when I couldn’t get my hands on Slay by @brittneymmorris at BookCon but the lovely people at @simonandschuster were able to get me a copy as soon as it was available and I could not be more excited. This gem is expected to release September 24, 2019. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Book Synopsis: By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process? https://ift.tt/2Mah7Q3

Funny, I created this stack for Traci’s (@thestackspod) #authorsistan challenge on Sunday and little did I know at the time that one of my favorites would soon be moving on! This one still hurts and I’m really amazed at how much she’s impacted me already, having read very little of her work. I look forward to continuing on in my #ToniMorrison reading journey and hope to incorporate some of her novels in our 2020 lineup! To honor our Queen, I’ll be using the hashtag #OurBelovedToni as I go through this journey and you are more than welcome to join in and show Toni some love too in your tributes and celebrations of her! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here’s the list of authors I’ve come to love and appreciate over the past year! Each one of them touches my heart with their writings. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What are some authors that you stan? https://ift.tt/2YUzkDu

Today is the day!! Tonight at 8pm EST, we’ll be going live to discuss #WaitingtoExhale by Terry McMillan! As a single woman, I have so many thoughts on how relatable this book was and also some comparisons with the book vs. the movie! This definitely will be a great girls chat discussing MEN (lol), so be sure to grab a glass of wine and join me at 8! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Which did you enjoy the best, the book or the movie? https://ift.tt/2YLDsVW

GIVEWAY Alert! You can win an advanced readers copy of Lorraine Avila’s Malcriada & Other Stories. Elizabeth Acevedo says "Malcriada & Other Stories is an uppercut to the senses. A powerful debut collection.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Book Synopsis: In sixteen stories we travel with a 12 year old who learns her name on a voyage from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico; a former cacao farmer finds a constellation on his lover’s thighs; best friends become strangers and find the essence of themselves in the face of deception; an old man exchanges his homeland for a New York City bodega storefront; preteen boys grapple with authority; female cousins come to terms with their first shared sexual experience; an alcoholic woman finds serenity at the bottom of the sea; feminism is deconstructed by opposing views; on the back of a motorcycle, self awareness is found; and a woman discovers that healing is a series of choices. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here are the rules: —Hit the Like button —Follow me +@dominicanwriters —Tag a fellow bad ass bookstagrammer in the comments — Open to US residents only — Giveaway ends August 9, 2019 @ 11:59 pm EST. — Winner will be announced August 12, 2019. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Good luck! #malcriadaandotherstories https://ift.tt/2ODBA1U

💛 https://ift.tt/2LWFX5U

Happy August, y’all! New month means new reads and I’m excited!! I’m reading some really good ones this month! Here’s what I have lined up: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ — Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult — The Travelers (our BOTM) by @reginamporter — The Bride Test by @hhoangwrites AND — Royal Holiday by @jasminepics thanks to @netgalley. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What books do you have lined up for this month? https://ift.tt/333tVx5

July #WrapUp! Considering that I was on vacation for 12 days this month, I’m actually really stoked that I was able to squeeze 3 reads in. So hard to pick which one was a favorite as they were all 4-5 ⭐️ reads for me! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ How did your July in books turn out? https://ift.tt/2SS04mq

Last year I read a total of 54 books (an all time record for me), but I knew this year would be busier for me and reading that many books again was just unrealistic. I set a goal of 24 and have completed 26 so far. How many books have you read so far in 2019? And if you feel like sharing, what was your annual goal if you set one? https://ift.tt/313qx3q

Happy to be partnering with @flatiron_books to giveaway 2 advanced copies of #DominicanaTheNovel (publishing on September 3rd) by @writercruz!!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ To enter entrants must:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1) Like the post ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2) Follow myself (@book_girl_magic) and @Flatiron_Books⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3) Tag a friend in the comments ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 4) Live in the United States⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ —For an extra entry post this giveaway to your story and tag us both.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ —Giveaway closes Wednesday, July 31 @ 11:59 p.m. Good luck!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Book Synopsis: Dominicana by Angie Cruz is about a Dominican teenager’s arranged marriage and immigration to New York City, set in the 1960s and inspired by the author's mother. The story is captivating, beautifully written, and a must-read for anyone looking for a book that not only transports you to a different time but illuminates how pressing topics of today shaped a young girl’s destiny in the past. https://ift.tt/2OG93sL

I’m only about a quarter of the way through with this book and I am seriously side-eyeing and judging the many of you that read this in middle or high school. lol — These children/characters are a HOT mess already! 😂😂😂 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Happy Saturday, y’all! https://ift.tt/2MiWnFi