Kalisha Buckhanon Books In Order

Novels

  1. Upstate (2004)
  2. Conception (2008)
  3. Solemn (2016)
  4. Speaking of Summer (2019)

Novellas

  1. Pick Me (2015)

Novels Book Covers

Novellas Book Covers

Kalisha Buckhanon Books Overview

Upstate

‘Baby, the first thing I need to know from you is do you believe I killed my father?’

So begins Upstate, a powerful story told through letters between seventeen year old Antonio and his sixteen year old girlfriend, Natasha, set in the 1990’s in New York. Antonio and Natasha’s world is turned upside down, and their young love is put to the test, when Antonio finds himself in jail, accused of a shocking crime. Antonio fights to stay alive on the inside, while on the outside, Natasha faces choices that will change her life. Over the course of a decade, they share a desperate correspondence. Often, they have only each other to turn to as life takes them down separate paths and leaves them wondering if they will ever find their way back together.

Startling, real, and filled with raw emotion, Upstate is an unforgettable coming of age story with a message of undeniable hope. Brilliant and profoundly felt, it is destined to speak to a new generation of readers.

Conception

In the same vein as her critically acclaimed debut novel, Upstate, Kalisha Buckhanon again shares an emotionally beautiful story about today’s youth that magnifies the unforgettable power of hope and the human spirit.

Buckhanon takes us to Chicago, 1992, and into the life of fifteen year old Shivana Golding, who believes most Black women wind up the same: single and raising children alone, like her mother. Until the sudden visit of her charismatic and free spirited Aunt Jewel, Shivana spends her days desperately struggling to understand life and confront the challenges she faces growing up in a tough environment. When she accidentally becomes pregnant by an older man and must decide what to do, she begins a journey toward adulthood with only a mysterious voice inside to guide her. Then, when she falls in love with Rasul, a teenager with problems of his own, together they fight to rise above their circumstances and move toward a more positive future.

Through a narrative that sweeps from slavery onward, Buckhanon unveils Shivana s connection to a past filled with tragedy, courage, and wisdom.

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