Rhythm & Booze
The Essential Etheridge Knight

The American Daughters

Ady, a curious, sharp-witted girl, and her fierce mother, Sanite, are inseparable. Enslaved to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the pair spend their days reminiscing about their family’s rebellious and storied history and dreaming of a loving future. When mother and daughter are separated, Ady is left hopeless and directionless until she stumbles into the Mockingbird Inn and meets Lenore, a free Black woman with whom she becomes fast friends. Lenore invites Ady to join a clandestine society of spies called the Daughters. With the courage instilled in her by Sanite—and with help from these strong women—Ady learns how to put herself first. So begins her journey toward liberation and imagining a new future.

The American Daughters is a novel of hope and triumph that reminds us what is possible when a community bands together to fight for their freedom.

More Adult, Non-Juvenile Books

  • My Cousin Momo tells the story of a flying squirrel who visits his excited cousins. Despite his quirky games and reluctance to fly, they learn to embrace Momo's unique ways, discovering that differences can lead to fun and friendship.
  • A national bestseller, Derf Backderf’s Alex Award winner My Friend Dahmer is the bone-chilling graphic novel that inspired the major motion picture. You only think you know this story. In 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer–the most notorious serial killer since Jack the Ripper–seared himself into the American consciousness. To the public, Dahmer was a monster who committed unthinkable atrocities. To Derf Backderf, “Jeff” was a more complex figure: a high school friend with whom he had shared classrooms, hallways, and car rides. In My Friend Dahmer, a haunting and original graphic novel, writer-artist Derf Backderf creates a portrait of a disturbed young man [...]
  • The title of this milestone collection acknowledges Kane's place in the tradition of women confessional poets, evokes the nickname of a common Louisiana flower, and nods to the honesty and frankness that characterize her poems' speakers.
  • In New From Here, ten-year-old Knox Wei-Evans faces the challenges of being the new kid in California after a sudden move from Hong Kong due to the coronavirus. As he navigates racism and the emotional turmoil of family separation, Knox learns the importance of embracing his unique identity while trying to protect his family from afar.