Cree Myles, Belletrist, Out of Print and Penguin Random House have teamed up to launch the “Black Like We Never Left” read-a-thon celebrating Black fiction. During the week-long event, Cree will be sharing fun daily challenges and hosting IG Live events. This year’s theme is all about Toni Morrion’s works, so we’ve rounded up 7 of our favorite Toni Morrison books to kick off your reading list. Be sure to check out all the details on Cree’s account and find out how you can read along and participate!

Sula by Toni Morrison

Nel and Sula can endure childhood issues like bullies through the power and strength of their devotion. Their devotion endures a dreadful secret too and lasts until the two are grown up. Nel is now a pillar of the Black community but Sula is a pariah. Can their freindship withstand inevitable betrayal?

Beloved by Toni Morrison

After escaping slavery 18 years ago, Sethe is still not free. She is plagued by the memories of her past and haunted by the ghost of her baby. The baby died nameless and was buried with a tombstone engraved with the singular word Beloved and is a symbol for all the trauma and torture Sethe cannot forget. 

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Milkman Dead was born in a rustbelt town following the attempt of a neighbor who jumped off a roof in an attempt to fly. Milkman will spend the rest of his life also trying to fly. Morrison follows Milkman from his hometown to the places of his family origins and shares characters who are assassins, dreamers, liars and believers in a fully realized Black world. 

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Morrison’s first novel is about the tragic tale of an 11-year-old Black girl who will do anything to fit in. Pecola Breedlove prays desperately for blue eyes so she can match the beauty expectations of a blonde-hair and blue-eyed America. Her story is a nightmare of yearning and tragic fullfillment. 

Tar Baby by Toni Morrison

Jadine Childs is a rich and beautiful Black fashion model with a white boyfriend. On the contrary, Son is a Black fugitive who represents all that Jadine simultaneously hates and wants. Morrison’s book follows the obligations and betrayals between humans of all races and the nuances these relationships take on. 

Jazz by Toni Morrison

Joe Trace is a seemingly average door-to-door beauty product salesman in an optimistic world. That is until he shoots his teenage lover to death. At her funeral, Joe’s wife attack’s the corpse. Readers will be brought back and forth in time to follow a story of love and obsession.

Love by Toni Morrison

A wife, daughter, granddaughter, employee, and msitress are the female protagonists desperate to stake their claim on the late Bill Cosey’s estate. In his life, Cosey enjoyed the affections of many women yet after his death his hold on them has been doubled. The results are both heartwrenching and funny, violent and erotic.