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Black Girls Day Off
What if skipping school dropped you into history itself?
Maya, Kendra, and Destiny are three best friends ready to celebrate Black Girls Day Off. But when they stumble into a strange bookstore, one ancient book pulls them into the past—literally.
Suddenly, they’re walking through moments that shaped the
Claudette Colvin refusing to give up her seat before Rosa Parks.
NASA’s Hidden Figures calculating a path to the stars.
Greenwood’s thriving Black Wall Street before the flames.
Motown’s recording studios, alive with music and magic.
Each chapter of history feels real, dangerous, and unforgettable. And each moment challenges the girls with a bigger Now that you know this history, what will you do with it?
Blending magical realism, time-travel adventure, and Black history, Black Girls Day Off is perfect for fans of YA fiction that’s powerful, fun, and empowering.
✔️ A celebration of heritage
✔️ A story of friendship and courage
✔️ A reminder that history lives in you
This isn’t just their story—it’s yours.
Maya, Kendra, and Destiny are three best friends ready to celebrate Black Girls Day Off. But when they stumble into a strange bookstore, one ancient book pulls them into the past—literally.
Suddenly, they’re walking through moments that shaped the
Claudette Colvin refusing to give up her seat before Rosa Parks.
NASA’s Hidden Figures calculating a path to the stars.
Greenwood’s thriving Black Wall Street before the flames.
Motown’s recording studios, alive with music and magic.
Each chapter of history feels real, dangerous, and unforgettable. And each moment challenges the girls with a bigger Now that you know this history, what will you do with it?
Blending magical realism, time-travel adventure, and Black history, Black Girls Day Off is perfect for fans of YA fiction that’s powerful, fun, and empowering.
✔️ A celebration of heritage
✔️ A story of friendship and courage
✔️ A reminder that history lives in you
This isn’t just their story—it’s yours.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 29, 2025
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 28, 2025
When Maya, Kendra, and Destiny decided to take some time and celebrate Black Girls Day Off, I don’t think they anticipated entering a magical bookstore, allowing them to travel through time and witness some of the most historical events that have taken place in Black history. I was immediately intrigued with this storyline & and it was definitely an emotional rollercoaster reliving some of those heinous acts that have occurred throughout history. However it was every refreshing during the times they witness history in the making, such as when they went to Motown & when they met the brilliant minds behind Hidden Figures. This young group of friends were extremely frustrated since they could not change any of these events, but to simply bear witness. I love how these young ladies received this information and was determined to take what they learned and apply it to their future. Overall, a very enjoyable read and perfect for all ages.
One of my favorite scenes from the story:
"You can't save Emmett Till," Malcolm continued as the scene dissolved. "But you can understand what his death meant—what it launched. His mother's courage in showing the world what they did to her son broke open the conscience of a nation."
One of my favorite scenes from the story:
"You can't save Emmett Till," Malcolm continued as the scene dissolved. "But you can understand what his death meant—what it launched. His mother's courage in showing the world what they did to her son broke open the conscience of a nation."
November 24, 2025
(My rating is based on my reading experience with the portion of the book I completed.)
I was immediately drawn by the book cover and blurb of this novel. And I liked the magical, bookish launching of Maya, Kendra, and Destiny's adventure. But then I ran into some early bumps in the reading.
When it comes to the girls' first stop back in time—at the first of the Greensboro Sit-Ins—the story seems unclear about the site of that event. It refers to the location as "a diner" and as "a crowded restaurant" with "Black patrons…[sitting] at tables and booths," eating.
But that historic sit-in of four young Black men, the Greensboro Four, actually happened at the lunch counter inside of a Woolworth's five-and-dime department store. If I'm not mistaken, Black customers stopping for food in that store would have to go to the stand-up snack bar and order take-out; they wouldn't be sitting and eating at tables and booths. Moreover, were there actually any places to sit and eat there besides the lunch counter itself? I don't know, but I've seen that long counter and the famous photograph of the Greensboro Four sitting there by themselves. And in a student newspaper from the Four's college at that time, in a photograph of one of the sit-ins at the same Woolworth's that week, visible behind the lunch counter are aisles and shelves of the store's merchandise, I believe. Not tables and booths that you'd see in a diner.
So, during that scene in the novel, I was thrown off when a man "in a nearby booth [stands] up abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor" before he tells the young men sitting over at the lunch counter, "We don't want your kind in here." It seems inconsistent not only because a booth and a chair aren't the same thing, but again, I'm not sure if there were booths in the real-life setting. It also seems strange for the man to complain about the four young Black men who've just come "in here" when, again, the novel mentions that other Black people are in there already, seated and eating at tables.
Granted, a few minor inconsistencies or details about, say, restaurants or furniture wouldn't normally be too big of a deal to me. But if a novel's major theme is specifically about the great importance of history, the reading becomes iffy to me if I'm not altogether sure that the details of past events in the novel will be historically accurate.
Then, at another stop back in time for the three girls, I'll admit I just don't feel right about the creative license the story takes in regard to a young victim of a horrific murder in history. I imagined what it might be like if that murder victim were a loved one of mine, and if I came across a story where girls from the future meet my loved one face to face, look him in his "bright eyes," and try to save him by telling him not to go where he's headed. (The place where he's soon to be murdered.)
The story does point out that the girls can't tell him exactly what's going to go down, and they can't stop it. But their warnings scare the expected murder victim (he even says they're scaring him), and he hurries away from them in "confusion and alarm." Even though that ominous meeting between him and the girls is, yes, entirely fictional, what happens in that scene seems off-base to me—especially for a novel the book blurb describes as a "fun" adventure. Perhaps because I have indeed lost an actual loved one of mine to a wrongful death, I wouldn't care for a scenario in a book where he's frightened in advance of his death by fictional people giving him fictional warnings. Warnings he wouldn't/couldn't heed anyway before he would inevitably be killed.
I wish I could explain it better. But even for me as a lifelong lover of historical fiction, the creative license of that scene feels to me like an encroachment on a grave, painful piece of history rather than a more tactful observance of it.
Now, I in no way believe it was the author's intention to use that real-life person insensitively. Yet, even if I were to enjoy the rest of the novel, I wouldn't feel right recommending it on a personal basis, due to that particular part in an early chapter. So, after running into the bumps that were iffy and probably off-base, I decided not to continue reading the book. (Except for the Author's Note at the end. I did read that.)
Nonetheless, I'm not sorry that I gave this novel a try. While I think it's possible that the writing could use some revising in the execution of its overall idea, I do appreciate the idea.
I received a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.
I was immediately drawn by the book cover and blurb of this novel. And I liked the magical, bookish launching of Maya, Kendra, and Destiny's adventure. But then I ran into some early bumps in the reading.
When it comes to the girls' first stop back in time—at the first of the Greensboro Sit-Ins—the story seems unclear about the site of that event. It refers to the location as "a diner" and as "a crowded restaurant" with "Black patrons…[sitting] at tables and booths," eating.
But that historic sit-in of four young Black men, the Greensboro Four, actually happened at the lunch counter inside of a Woolworth's five-and-dime department store. If I'm not mistaken, Black customers stopping for food in that store would have to go to the stand-up snack bar and order take-out; they wouldn't be sitting and eating at tables and booths. Moreover, were there actually any places to sit and eat there besides the lunch counter itself? I don't know, but I've seen that long counter and the famous photograph of the Greensboro Four sitting there by themselves. And in a student newspaper from the Four's college at that time, in a photograph of one of the sit-ins at the same Woolworth's that week, visible behind the lunch counter are aisles and shelves of the store's merchandise, I believe. Not tables and booths that you'd see in a diner.
So, during that scene in the novel, I was thrown off when a man "in a nearby booth [stands] up abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor" before he tells the young men sitting over at the lunch counter, "We don't want your kind in here." It seems inconsistent not only because a booth and a chair aren't the same thing, but again, I'm not sure if there were booths in the real-life setting. It also seems strange for the man to complain about the four young Black men who've just come "in here" when, again, the novel mentions that other Black people are in there already, seated and eating at tables.
Granted, a few minor inconsistencies or details about, say, restaurants or furniture wouldn't normally be too big of a deal to me. But if a novel's major theme is specifically about the great importance of history, the reading becomes iffy to me if I'm not altogether sure that the details of past events in the novel will be historically accurate.
Then, at another stop back in time for the three girls, I'll admit I just don't feel right about the creative license the story takes in regard to a young victim of a horrific murder in history. I imagined what it might be like if that murder victim were a loved one of mine, and if I came across a story where girls from the future meet my loved one face to face, look him in his "bright eyes," and try to save him by telling him not to go where he's headed. (The place where he's soon to be murdered.)
The story does point out that the girls can't tell him exactly what's going to go down, and they can't stop it. But their warnings scare the expected murder victim (he even says they're scaring him), and he hurries away from them in "confusion and alarm." Even though that ominous meeting between him and the girls is, yes, entirely fictional, what happens in that scene seems off-base to me—especially for a novel the book blurb describes as a "fun" adventure. Perhaps because I have indeed lost an actual loved one of mine to a wrongful death, I wouldn't care for a scenario in a book where he's frightened in advance of his death by fictional people giving him fictional warnings. Warnings he wouldn't/couldn't heed anyway before he would inevitably be killed.
I wish I could explain it better. But even for me as a lifelong lover of historical fiction, the creative license of that scene feels to me like an encroachment on a grave, painful piece of history rather than a more tactful observance of it.
Now, I in no way believe it was the author's intention to use that real-life person insensitively. Yet, even if I were to enjoy the rest of the novel, I wouldn't feel right recommending it on a personal basis, due to that particular part in an early chapter. So, after running into the bumps that were iffy and probably off-base, I decided not to continue reading the book. (Except for the Author's Note at the end. I did read that.)
Nonetheless, I'm not sorry that I gave this novel a try. While I think it's possible that the writing could use some revising in the execution of its overall idea, I do appreciate the idea.
I received a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.
November 10, 2025
This book was written for teens, and was fast-paced and entertaining, yet informative. Full of magical realism, the story starts with a friendship among three girls taking a day off of school. (Apparently 'Black girls day off' is an actual day on October 11, probably not an official school holiday though.)
They visit a magical bookstore, and are transported in time to various historical times relevent to Black history. There were myriad settings highlighted, but among these were the Selma to Montgomery march, Madam CJ Walker's hair salon, the Harlem Renaissance, Lyndon Johnson's signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill, and Motown. The author included enlightening statements by the girls throughout, along with vivid descriptions of the setting. At some points the friends worried for their safety, and at other times, they expressed their thrill and gratitude at meeting such leaders. (Other times, being typical teens, they were focused on their clothing and hair!) I feel the this book can be read independently by a teen, or this could be used in a book group at a school or home setting. Further research by a teen on the civil rights events would enrich the reading (the book can act as a springboard for such activities). The language, syntax, and writing craft were superb, and I liked how the author developed each girl's personality. I also really appreciated the humor inserted frequently throughout the book. I highly recommend "Black Girls Day Off" for all students, and hope this author continues her writing.
They visit a magical bookstore, and are transported in time to various historical times relevent to Black history. There were myriad settings highlighted, but among these were the Selma to Montgomery march, Madam CJ Walker's hair salon, the Harlem Renaissance, Lyndon Johnson's signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill, and Motown. The author included enlightening statements by the girls throughout, along with vivid descriptions of the setting. At some points the friends worried for their safety, and at other times, they expressed their thrill and gratitude at meeting such leaders. (Other times, being typical teens, they were focused on their clothing and hair!) I feel the this book can be read independently by a teen, or this could be used in a book group at a school or home setting. Further research by a teen on the civil rights events would enrich the reading (the book can act as a springboard for such activities). The language, syntax, and writing craft were superb, and I liked how the author developed each girl's personality. I also really appreciated the humor inserted frequently throughout the book. I highly recommend "Black Girls Day Off" for all students, and hope this author continues her writing.
January 8, 2026
I got chills reading this.
It was not perfect. There were some setting inconsistencies and a bit of repeated dialogue toward the end, but I still enjoyed it. I do think more sensitivity could have been considered when portraying recent and tragic moments in history, especially as some family members are still alive. At the same time, avoiding these moments altogether would feel like erasing history. We learn from both the good and the bad, as these three teenagers discovered.
The idea of revisiting and witnessing key moments in history would be an incredible experience. I also appreciated that the book highlighted some lesser known figures from Black history.
It was not perfect. There were some setting inconsistencies and a bit of repeated dialogue toward the end, but I still enjoyed it. I do think more sensitivity could have been considered when portraying recent and tragic moments in history, especially as some family members are still alive. At the same time, avoiding these moments altogether would feel like erasing history. We learn from both the good and the bad, as these three teenagers discovered.
The idea of revisiting and witnessing key moments in history would be an incredible experience. I also appreciated that the book highlighted some lesser known figures from Black history.
January 17, 2026
I loved this story, very well done and insightful to the many different pieces of black history. From perspectives that we might now have thought of. I also learned a lot of things I had never known from this story, which sent me to google and add some books to my library list. Thank you for this story, and thank you for helping bring history to life.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews