“On the Come Up,” by Angie Thomas (HarperCollins)

Thomas’s debut, “The Hate U Give,” rocketed to the top of best-seller lists and was made into an equally acclaimed movie. Now, in her hotly anticipated second novel, she explores a different side of black life, with the story of a young girl who aspires to be a rapper and faces the difficulties of making her voice heard.

[ Read our review. ]

“Black Leopard, Red Wolf,” by Marlon James (Riverhead)

In James’s epic new novel, the hunt is underway for a missing child, who may be the heir to the throne of an ancient African empire. The book, the first in a projected trilogy, has been compared to an African “Game of Thrones.” References to everything from Marvel Comics to Gabriel García Márquez abound in this genre-bending story from a Man Booker Prize-winning writer.

[ Read our review. ]