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Black Girls Don't Cry
Not yet published
Expected 28 Jul 26When a Black teen decides to run for prom queen at her predominantly white high school, the competition takes a deadly turn when the fight for the crown becomes a matter of life or death. A gripping YA thriller for readers of Jumata Emill's The Black Queen and Tiffany D. Jackson's The Weight of Blood.
Ida and JJ could have been the ultimate power couple of Banneker High. As the VP and President of their Black Student Union, the two seemed destined to be yearbook legends. But that was before JJ learned Ida was equally attracted to girls. JJ is already deep in a new relationship, which infuriates Ida—almost as much as when a sexist "hot list' starts circulating the school. It's bad enough anyone rated the girls on their looks, but the list has only white students. Seriously?
There has never been any racial diversity among the prom queen candidates at Banneker, so the BSU decides to make their own statement on beauty and run a candidate. Now Ida and JJ's new girlfriend are both competing for the title. Ida wants to make a point more than win the crown, but having smart, savvy Amayah as her campaign manager might just win her both and a new crush.
Ida and JJ could have been the ultimate power couple of Banneker High. As the VP and President of their Black Student Union, the two seemed destined to be yearbook legends. But that was before JJ learned Ida was equally attracted to girls. JJ is already deep in a new relationship, which infuriates Ida—almost as much as when a sexist "hot list' starts circulating the school. It's bad enough anyone rated the girls on their looks, but the list has only white students. Seriously?
There has never been any racial diversity among the prom queen candidates at Banneker, so the BSU decides to make their own statement on beauty and run a candidate. Now Ida and JJ's new girlfriend are both competing for the title. Ida wants to make a point more than win the crown, but having smart, savvy Amayah as her campaign manager might just win her both and a new crush.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 28, 2026
4 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Alex Travis
3 books55 followersAlex Travis was born in New York and made her way to Northern Virginia to begin her daytime career as a full-time school psychologist. She has a BA in psychology from University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of Maryland. Alex wrote her first book at the age of 11, and has been losing herself in fictional worlds of her own creation since then. Alex makes her home in Virginia with her husband, an outrageous collection of Funkos, and too many books to count.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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February 14, 2026I think this is gonna be my first rant for 2026. This book didn’t really grip me and I almost DNFed but I wanted to stay because the mystery was interesting but then IT NEVER GETS SOLVED!!! NOBODY IS PUNISHED!!! All the boys making AI photos just go about their days. This was so frustrating. I actually screamed at the end. What was the point?? They find out who was hurting everyone…and it just goes nowhere. Who killed Cassidy?? Guess it doesn’t matter anymore after you thought you put your life on the line for it. I also barely liked anyone here. I give a bit of grace for high schoolers, but it was very dramatic. JJ was such a stereotype I was rolling my eyes. Ashley as well. I just couldn’t take them seriously. I hate that I didn’t like this because the premise was so interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2026
Review of Advanced Copy From NetGalley. All Opinions are my own
Okay so listen… this was messy YA drama and I was locked in.
We’re following a bisexual Black teen just trying to exist, figure herself out, and survive friendships that may or may not be fake, a shady ex, a “is she my girlfriend or my enemy?” situation, and a whole town full of side-eyes. Everybody felt suspicious. I’m talking every single character had me like 🤨 because the mystery element really had me trying to piece it together.
What I loved? The characters felt like actual teenagers. Emotional. Reactive. Dramatic. The supportive parents? Chef’s kiss. We don’t get that enough. And the way racism, homophobia, beauty standards, and misogyny were woven into the story felt real (not preachy, just real) The back and forth between Amayah and Ida had me stressed, and don’t even get me started on Simone because whew.
Now let’s talk about the ending. I’m not mad… but I am side-eyeing it a little. It felt unfinished. The mystery doesn’t fully wrap up, consequences feel light, and I wanted just a little more depth. BUT — it honestly reads like it’s setting up for a sequel. And if that’s the case? Okay then. I see you. I’ll be back.
Overall, it was engaging, dramatic, and definitely kept me turning pages.
3.5 stars!!!
Okay so listen… this was messy YA drama and I was locked in.
We’re following a bisexual Black teen just trying to exist, figure herself out, and survive friendships that may or may not be fake, a shady ex, a “is she my girlfriend or my enemy?” situation, and a whole town full of side-eyes. Everybody felt suspicious. I’m talking every single character had me like 🤨 because the mystery element really had me trying to piece it together.
What I loved? The characters felt like actual teenagers. Emotional. Reactive. Dramatic. The supportive parents? Chef’s kiss. We don’t get that enough. And the way racism, homophobia, beauty standards, and misogyny were woven into the story felt real (not preachy, just real) The back and forth between Amayah and Ida had me stressed, and don’t even get me started on Simone because whew.
Now let’s talk about the ending. I’m not mad… but I am side-eyeing it a little. It felt unfinished. The mystery doesn’t fully wrap up, consequences feel light, and I wanted just a little more depth. BUT — it honestly reads like it’s setting up for a sequel. And if that’s the case? Okay then. I see you. I’ll be back.
Overall, it was engaging, dramatic, and definitely kept me turning pages.
3.5 stars!!!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“Black Girls Don't Cry” by Alex Travis is a drama-heavy YA story that is centered around a unique mystery that is complicated by social commentary and messy teenage emotions, which creates a very engaging (if sometimes overwhelming) read.
The story follows Iva, a Black bisexual teen navigating life in a small, not-so-diverse town where she’s constantly dealing with racism, beauty standards, homophobia, and complicated friendships. Between a shady ex-boyfriend, shifting relationships, and a school environment full of tension, she already has a lot on her plate; and things get even more intense when girls connected to a problematic “hottest girls” list start getting attacked, kicking off the book’s thriller element.
One of the strongest parts of this book is how real the characters feel. The teens are emotional, dramatic, messy, and still figuring themselves out in ways that feel authentic. Iva is easy to root for, and her journey of identity and self-discovery is compelling. Her developing relationship with Amayah is especially sweet, and the supportive parents were a refreshing highlight. The friendships and romantic dynamics are complicated, sometimes frustrating, but believable.
The book also tackles a lot of serious topics. It explores racism in schools and small communities, misogyny, homophobia, and harmful beauty standards. There’s also a strong focus on issues like AI being used to generate degrading images of girls, which adds a timely and unsettling layer to the story. These themes feel grounded and realistic, and the book raises important conversations about how girls, especially Black girls, are treated and perceived.
That said, the story sometimes struggles under the weight of everything it tries to address. It takes on so many heavy topics that some don’t get fully explored, and the balance between teen drama, social commentary, and mystery can feel uneven. The first half reads more like a high school drama than a thriller, and while the mystery becomes more central later, it can feel overshadowed by everything else happening. I think if the main focus had been on the misogyny (especially with the AI pictures), the story would have been more developed.
The suspense itself is entertaining, though; there are plenty of suspects, lots of tension, and a constant sense that anyone could be involved. The story keeps you guessing and turning pages, even if the resolution doesn’t fully deliver. The ending feels subtle and somewhat anticlimactic, with loose threads and limited consequences, which was a bit frustrating as I was expecting more of a dramatic reveal, which would have fit the drama throughout the entire book.
Overall, “Black Girls Don’t Cry” is an engaging and thought-provoking YA novel that shines most as a character-driven teen drama exploring identity, race, and social pressures. While the mystery and resolution may not completely satisfy, the compelling characters, emotional intensity, and relevant themes make it a fast-paced and discussion-worthy read.
“Black Girls Don't Cry” by Alex Travis is a drama-heavy YA story that is centered around a unique mystery that is complicated by social commentary and messy teenage emotions, which creates a very engaging (if sometimes overwhelming) read.
The story follows Iva, a Black bisexual teen navigating life in a small, not-so-diverse town where she’s constantly dealing with racism, beauty standards, homophobia, and complicated friendships. Between a shady ex-boyfriend, shifting relationships, and a school environment full of tension, she already has a lot on her plate; and things get even more intense when girls connected to a problematic “hottest girls” list start getting attacked, kicking off the book’s thriller element.
One of the strongest parts of this book is how real the characters feel. The teens are emotional, dramatic, messy, and still figuring themselves out in ways that feel authentic. Iva is easy to root for, and her journey of identity and self-discovery is compelling. Her developing relationship with Amayah is especially sweet, and the supportive parents were a refreshing highlight. The friendships and romantic dynamics are complicated, sometimes frustrating, but believable.
The book also tackles a lot of serious topics. It explores racism in schools and small communities, misogyny, homophobia, and harmful beauty standards. There’s also a strong focus on issues like AI being used to generate degrading images of girls, which adds a timely and unsettling layer to the story. These themes feel grounded and realistic, and the book raises important conversations about how girls, especially Black girls, are treated and perceived.
That said, the story sometimes struggles under the weight of everything it tries to address. It takes on so many heavy topics that some don’t get fully explored, and the balance between teen drama, social commentary, and mystery can feel uneven. The first half reads more like a high school drama than a thriller, and while the mystery becomes more central later, it can feel overshadowed by everything else happening. I think if the main focus had been on the misogyny (especially with the AI pictures), the story would have been more developed.
The suspense itself is entertaining, though; there are plenty of suspects, lots of tension, and a constant sense that anyone could be involved. The story keeps you guessing and turning pages, even if the resolution doesn’t fully deliver. The ending feels subtle and somewhat anticlimactic, with loose threads and limited consequences, which was a bit frustrating as I was expecting more of a dramatic reveal, which would have fit the drama throughout the entire book.
Overall, “Black Girls Don’t Cry” is an engaging and thought-provoking YA novel that shines most as a character-driven teen drama exploring identity, race, and social pressures. While the mystery and resolution may not completely satisfy, the compelling characters, emotional intensity, and relevant themes make it a fast-paced and discussion-worthy read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒: ʏᴏᴜɴɢ ᴀᴅᴜʟᴛ. ʙɪꜱᴇxᴜᴀʟ ʀᴇᴘ. ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ʙᴀʙɪᴇꜱ. ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ/ᴀɴɢꜱᴛ. ᴍʏꜱᴛᴇʀʏ/ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ. ɴᴀꜱᴛʏ ʙᴏʏ/ᴍᴀɴ-ᴀᴛᴛɪᴛᴜᴅᴇ.
- 📖𝘼𝙍𝘾📚
𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬:
Bisexual black teen with very beautiful and supportive parents (wow). She also has good friends, best friend- oops, does she though? Ex-boyfriend, he was something shady. And then a girlfriend, but is she a girl-friend or girl-foe. And another Black teen Queen (crown) but also there were rednecks and Karen-teachers everywhere, Jesus. But we made it, HEA, yes.
𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:
I love stories like this one. The intensity of trying to find out who the bad guy is, was rather thrilling. And here, there were many options because everyone seemed shady. The back and forth between Amayah and Ida was got a little bit saddening but don't even start on me with Simone. Girl was crazy. I loved Ida's parents, they had very many good moments and them rooting for Amayah, just sweet. The plot, the pace, the emotions, I loved all that. The ending though, I am not judging but someone did die. That was someone's daughter.
𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2026
When a hot or not list is spread around school you get embarrassed, when there are only white students on the list Ida decided to run a campaign for a black prom queen.
When prom queen candidates begin to get assaulted and even murdered Ida takes it upon herself to find out who the culprit is.
This is a whodunit mystery thriller with red herrings, and a teen detective trope.
This book is for those that enjoy YA high school drama, queer representation and underdogs.
I loved this book, I felt as a queer black woman I could really relate to and understand Ida. Her motivations were sometimes questionable but I still related to her wanting to be accepted by her peers as well as wanting to be her true self.
I really enjoyed reading how supportive her parents were. I found it cliche and unsurprising to see the dad be less aggressive with the schools racist and sexist policies.
As I read this book I found myself wondering how I’d react in the situations these teens were put in and I think Ida is much braver than I can claim to be.
This book is an absolute reread for me. I want to see which (if any) clues I missed.
When prom queen candidates begin to get assaulted and even murdered Ida takes it upon herself to find out who the culprit is.
This is a whodunit mystery thriller with red herrings, and a teen detective trope.
This book is for those that enjoy YA high school drama, queer representation and underdogs.
I loved this book, I felt as a queer black woman I could really relate to and understand Ida. Her motivations were sometimes questionable but I still related to her wanting to be accepted by her peers as well as wanting to be her true self.
I really enjoyed reading how supportive her parents were. I found it cliche and unsurprising to see the dad be less aggressive with the schools racist and sexist policies.
As I read this book I found myself wondering how I’d react in the situations these teens were put in and I think Ida is much braver than I can claim to be.
This book is an absolute reread for me. I want to see which (if any) clues I missed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a hard one because the first maybe 20% I was so tempted to DNF it however I’m so glad I stuck with it.
Pacing was one of my main issues with this book, the start was so slow and i was just bored however it did pick up and the ending everything happened at once. I truly feel if a few chapters were cut out of this book I would have enjoyed it more but some of the information during the slow parts were needed to understand the story.
I did enjoy the plot, it’s very much a who did it book and I was so conflicted on who I thought was the culprit every time I thought I’d worked it out I was wrong.
Overall a good read.
* full disclosure i was given this book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley*
Pacing was one of my main issues with this book, the start was so slow and i was just bored however it did pick up and the ending everything happened at once. I truly feel if a few chapters were cut out of this book I would have enjoyed it more but some of the information during the slow parts were needed to understand the story.
I did enjoy the plot, it’s very much a who did it book and I was so conflicted on who I thought was the culprit every time I thought I’d worked it out I was wrong.
Overall a good read.
* full disclosure i was given this book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley*
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Overall this was an interesting teen drama that tackled so many themes. The characters were super engaging and felt like real teenagers trying to find themselves. My biggest complaint with this book is it felt unfinished. The mystery never really wrapped up and no one face repercussions for their actions. I think this was intentional, but if it was I think it could've dug into it more. But ultimately it was an engaging read.
Tropes:
* Bisexual Representation
* Teenage Drama
* Themes of racism, homophobia, beauty standards, and misogyny
3.5 stars
Tropes:
* Bisexual Representation
* Teenage Drama
* Themes of racism, homophobia, beauty standards, and misogyny
3.5 stars
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
So disappointing.
What this book promises is a total exaggeration..
"Suddenly the prom queen candidates start getting picked off one by one…dropping out and dropping dead."
The death count says otherwise.
This is more a teen drama than a slasher or mystery.
This book is trying to be impactful, but it doesn't hit like it should. Had it focused on the list, racism and sexism, it could have been epic. Trying to also do the slasher/mystery element, I think, was a mistake. As it stands, it's just a book trying to be too many things and the impact is lost.
What this book promises is a total exaggeration..
"Suddenly the prom queen candidates start getting picked off one by one…dropping out and dropping dead."
The death count says otherwise.
This is more a teen drama than a slasher or mystery.
This book is trying to be impactful, but it doesn't hit like it should. Had it focused on the list, racism and sexism, it could have been epic. Trying to also do the slasher/mystery element, I think, was a mistake. As it stands, it's just a book trying to be too many things and the impact is lost.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really wanted to like this but it just didn't work for me. It's YA so of course there is a lot of teenage drama, which isn't an issue. I knew what I was getting into. But it's just trying to do soooo much. And all of it valid. The social issues are important. But you throw in a mystery and a slasher and then nothing really gets resolved in the end. Just not for me but I know plenty of others will love this.
Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, for providing the copy of Black Girls Don’t Cry by Alex Travis. This would be a great, diverse read for high school libraries. The characters were engaging and true teens, with issues like Prom, boyfriends/girlfriends, popularity, and parents. I loved Ida’s relationship with her mother! The story felt a bit unfinished, which was disappointing. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Review of an advanced copy from Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
The story is compelling and the author does a great job in centering a strong cast of female leads in an overall difficult situation. I loved some of the queer focus on the story but overall wasn't impressed with the resolution - however realistic - for the "mystery", it felt flat and not conclusive. Up until the very last chapter I found the book very enjoyable, a fast paced read fairly well written.
The story is compelling and the author does a great job in centering a strong cast of female leads in an overall difficult situation. I loved some of the queer focus on the story but overall wasn't impressed with the resolution - however realistic - for the "mystery", it felt flat and not conclusive. Up until the very last chapter I found the book very enjoyable, a fast paced read fairly well written.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley for this Arc
I don’t usually read young adult books due sometimes being repeated the same stories but I thought to try it out with this book. However this book captured my interest from the first page. The concept, the writing and blends of topics that we are facing in our current society. I will definitely be reading more books from Alex Travis.
I don’t usually read young adult books due sometimes being repeated the same stories but I thought to try it out with this book. However this book captured my interest from the first page. The concept, the writing and blends of topics that we are facing in our current society. I will definitely be reading more books from Alex Travis.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Total teen drama and I mean that in a good way. Messy friendships, romance, tension. I was hooked. The mystery wasn’t perfect, but the story was fun, emotional, and hard to stop reading.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews