Giving Back Reading Recs: Haiti

With a population of 11.5 million people and 52.3% live at or below the poverty line ($3.20 USD), Haiti is the poorest country in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Haiti continues to struggle with corruption, high unemployment rates, poor infrastructure, and inaccessible and ineffective education. BUT, they're empowering origin as the first Independent Black nation is what's always been awe-inspiring for me.

With our "Giving Back Reading Recs: Haiti" bundle, I'm offering several titles for all ages to help us see Haiti and Haitians as they deserve to be seen--from a place of strength and resilience, instead of poverty and destitution. The world needs to know that Haitians are bad-a**!

Every month, 20% of all sales of these titles will be donated to Haitian Health Foundation, an organization that promises to work continuously towards the wellbeing of children, women, and families to promote good health in their communities in the areas of healthcare, education, community development, and emergency relief.

You can purchase the bundle, build your own, or purchase titles separately. Free shipping on orders over $35.

Titles about Haiti and/or by Haitians

1. Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa Riley (Historical Fiction, Paperback) - Acclaimed author of Island Queen Vanessa Riley brings readers a vivid, sweeping novel of the Haitian Revolution based on the true-life stories of two extraordinary women: the first Empress of Haiti, Marie-Claire Bonheur, and Gran Toya, a West African-born warrior who helped lead the rebellion that drove out the French and freed the enslaved people of Haiti.
2. A Girl's Guide to Love & Magic by Debbie Riguad (Young Adult Romance, Hardcover) - Fifteen-year-old Haitian American Cicely is excited to celebrate the West Indian Day Parade with her aunt, and voodoo dabbler, Mimose, but when Mimose's dabbling goes awry and she becomes possessed by a spirit, Cicely, Renee, and Kwame, her crush, must find a way to set things right.
3. The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold (Middle Grade Fiction, Hardcover) - In this magical middle-grade novel, ten-year-old Gabrielle finds out that America isn't the perfect place she imagined when she moves from Haiti to Brooklyn. With the help of a clever witch, Gabrielle becomes the perfect American -- but will she lose herself in the process? 
4. Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Danticat (Juvenile Fiction, Paperback) - A lyrical and poignant coming-of-age story about one girl's immigration experience, as she moves from Haiti to New York City after she and her mother are almost killed by bombs during election time in Haiti.

5. Ayiti by Roxane Gay (Stories, Paperback) - Clever and haunting by turns, Ayiti explores the Haitian diaspora experience through stories that are wise, fanciful, and daring.