Continuously making headlines, Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge was the most anticipated novel of 2021, and has not disappointed.

The critically acclaimed and Whiting Award–winning author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman returned with Libertie, an unforgettable story about one young Black girl’s attempt to find a place where she can be fully, and only, herself.

A long list of accolades surrounds this memorable novel in its first year of publication:

• Los Angeles Times 5 Best Novels of 2021
• New York Times 100 Must-Read Books of 2021
• NY Post 35 Best Books to Give as a Gift this Year
• NY Times Book Review’s Best Historical Fiction of 2021
• Christian Science Monitor Best Reads of the Year
• Longlisted for the Open Book award
• An honorable mention on Vulture’s Best Books of 2021
• AV Club’s 15 Favorite Books of 2021
• Electric Lit’s Favorite Novels of 2021
• Washington Post 50 Notable Works of Fiction
• NAIBA Award for Fiction
• NEIBA-New England Book Award for Fiction
• Shortlisted for the Ernest J Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
• Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize
• Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize
• Finalist for the Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize for Fiction

Coming of age in a free Black community in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson is all too aware that her purposeful mother, a practicing physician, has a vision for their future together: Libertie is to go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie, drawn more to music than science, feels stifled by her mother’s choices and is hungry for something else—is there really only one way to have an autonomous life? And she is constantly reminded that, unlike her light-skinned mother, Libertie will not be able to pass for white. When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it—for herself and for generations to come.

Inspired by the life of one of the first Black female doctors in the United States and rich with historical detail, Kaitlyn Greenidge immersive novel will resonate with readers eager to understand our present through a deep, moving, and lyrical dive into our past.

Libertie was released as a hardcover in March and comes out in paperback in March 2022! Order your copy here.