Literature & Fiction
![Jumata Emill - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_jumata_emill.jpg)
The Black Queen
Nova Albright was going to be the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High-but now she's dead. Murdered on coronation night. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Other Black Girl will love this unputdownable thriller.
Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.
Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it's her legacy-her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.
No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova's best friend. Duchess's father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova's crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won't face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova-and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess's father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.
Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley's guilt. And to do that, she'll have to get close to her.
But Tinsley has an agenda, too.
Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.
Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.
Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it's her legacy-her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.
No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova's best friend. Duchess's father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova's crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won't face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova-and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess's father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.
Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley's guilt. And to do that, she'll have to get close to her.
But Tinsley has an agenda, too.
Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.
Editorial Reviews
"This chilling narrative adeptly portrays the struggle with balancing competing loyalties, personal safety, and pursuit of justice while operating within oppressive systems." -Publishers Weekly
"Masterfully plotted and impossible to put down, The Black Queen is a searingly brilliant and bold exposé of the relationship between privilege, perspective, and justice." -J. Elle, New York Times bestselling author of Wings of Ebony
"At once incisive and chilling, The Black Queen folds hard-hitting truths into a propulsive murder mystery, delivering a story that both entertains and examines. This is Pretty Little Liars for a new generation." -Tahereh Mafi, New York Times bestselling author of the Shatter Me series
"A bold, fresh, small-town-secrets thriller with sharp teeth. Grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go." -Alexa Donne, author of The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens
"An addicting mystery and a razor-sharp social commentary that is as wickedly funny as it is twisty and surprising. Jumata Emill is one of the most exciting new voices I've encountered in a while. I couldn't put The Black Queen down." -Kara Thomas, author of That Weekend and The Cheerleaders
"Masterfully plotted and impossible to put down, The Black Queen is a searingly brilliant and bold exposé of the relationship between privilege, perspective, and justice." -J. Elle, New York Times bestselling author of Wings of Ebony
"At once incisive and chilling, The Black Queen folds hard-hitting truths into a propulsive murder mystery, delivering a story that both entertains and examines. This is Pretty Little Liars for a new generation." -Tahereh Mafi, New York Times bestselling author of the Shatter Me series
"A bold, fresh, small-town-secrets thriller with sharp teeth. Grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go." -Alexa Donne, author of The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens
"An addicting mystery and a razor-sharp social commentary that is as wickedly funny as it is twisty and surprising. Jumata Emill is one of the most exciting new voices I've encountered in a while. I couldn't put The Black Queen down." -Kara Thomas, author of That Weekend and The Cheerleaders
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter One
Duchess
October 5
9:46 a.m.
Nova and I are walking in unison, leading the crowd that followed us out of B-Building to witness for themselves what's about to go down. I don't know how word got out. I can only assume Nova told other people about the text Tinsley McArthur sent her last night. Tinsley asked Nova to meet her between first and second periods today by the courtyard--the middle point between our opposite worlds on this campus.
I can see Tinsley strutting toward us in the distance--the crisp breeze ruffling the hem of her plaid skirt and her shoulder-length chestnut hair. A crowd of people are following her as well. It's like that part in She's All That--the original one from the '90s that I pretend to hate every time my girlfriend wants to watch it--when Taylor Vaughn, that story's resident mean girl, meets face to face in the hallway with Laney Boggs, the frumpy-turned-semipopular pet project of Taylor's ex-boyfriend, as their heated contest for prom queen in the movie nears its climax. But it's not the prom queen crown fueling this little rivalry between Nova and Tinsley. It's homecoming queen, which Tinsley feels entitled to because three generations of her family have worn the crown before her. And she has no chance in hell of winning it this year unless Nova drops out of the race. Which is why she requested this meetup. To somehow convince my homegirl to step aside, because God forbid Tinsley doesn't get something she wants.
Spoiler alert: That ain't happening.
I inhale a deep breath that has me feeling taller and we all stop a few feet from meeting in the center of the covered breezeway. The racial undertone of what's happening could not be more evident. Pretty much all the kids behind us are Black, and Tinsley's crowd is predominately white. The chatter on both sides simmers to hushed whispers as Tinsley looks Nova up and down. I don't need to check to know Nova is glaring back at her.
"Tinsley," Nova says, fiddling with the silver, flower-shaped diamond pendant she's worn every day since getting it for her birthday last semester. It's fake, but it looks hella real. "What's this about?" she adds, sliding her hands into the pockets of her high-waisted jeans.
You could hear a pin drop.
"I won't belabor this," Tinsley says, tugging at the strap of the messenger bag hanging on her shoulder. "I'm pretty sure you have assumptions about why I summoned you."
"Summoned?" I hiss.
Nova laughs, shaking her head at this entitled trick.
Tinsley is literally a carbon copy of Taylor Vaughn, but with a Southern twang. She walks around here with her slender nose pointed in the air like she owns everything and everyone. And yeah, her family is one of the richest and most influential in this town, and her dad's construction company built our school, but that's beside the point. Tinsley is self-entitled and hella obnoxious. She can be cruel, and she knows she can get away with it. The white kids don't wanna cross her because they're either country club brats like her or they don't want to be excluded from her social circle. And lots of the Black kids' fathers, uncles, and older brothers work for her father in some capacity, so they're scared that pissing her off could mean unemployment checks for their families. It's mad annoying.
But I know at least one person besides me who isn't about to back down to the spoiled princess today: my girl Nova.
She might be the Laney Boggs in this scenario, but she ain't nothing like ol' girl in that movie. My girl isn't some awkward pretty girl who needs a makeover to realize her worth. Nova showed up here junior year already looking like a freaking goddess. Dudes were losing their minds, and girls were losing theirs in jealousy. A dark-skinned, statuesque Black girl with iridescent blue eyes. Everyone was gawking at her like she was a freaking unicorn.
Apparently, blue eyes are so rare in Black folks that our biology teacher taught a whole lesson on genetic coding to highlight the few instances when dark-skinned people like Nova are born with eyes like that. According to Mr. Holston, there were three possible ways Nova got her stunning eyes: (1) one of her immediate relatives is white; (2) she has some rare disease that makes her albino only in the eyes; or (3) there's some kind of mutation in her bloodline. We've always joked it has to be the latter. Having some sort of genetic mutation sounded too cool not to embrace.
"I would have preferred to do this one-on-one; you know, woman-to-woman," Tinsley says, looking more at me than Nova or the crowd behind us. "Did you really need an audience?"
"Did you?" I retort, nodding at the sea of white faces I h...
Duchess
October 5
9:46 a.m.
Nova and I are walking in unison, leading the crowd that followed us out of B-Building to witness for themselves what's about to go down. I don't know how word got out. I can only assume Nova told other people about the text Tinsley McArthur sent her last night. Tinsley asked Nova to meet her between first and second periods today by the courtyard--the middle point between our opposite worlds on this campus.
I can see Tinsley strutting toward us in the distance--the crisp breeze ruffling the hem of her plaid skirt and her shoulder-length chestnut hair. A crowd of people are following her as well. It's like that part in She's All That--the original one from the '90s that I pretend to hate every time my girlfriend wants to watch it--when Taylor Vaughn, that story's resident mean girl, meets face to face in the hallway with Laney Boggs, the frumpy-turned-semipopular pet project of Taylor's ex-boyfriend, as their heated contest for prom queen in the movie nears its climax. But it's not the prom queen crown fueling this little rivalry between Nova and Tinsley. It's homecoming queen, which Tinsley feels entitled to because three generations of her family have worn the crown before her. And she has no chance in hell of winning it this year unless Nova drops out of the race. Which is why she requested this meetup. To somehow convince my homegirl to step aside, because God forbid Tinsley doesn't get something she wants.
Spoiler alert: That ain't happening.
I inhale a deep breath that has me feeling taller and we all stop a few feet from meeting in the center of the covered breezeway. The racial undertone of what's happening could not be more evident. Pretty much all the kids behind us are Black, and Tinsley's crowd is predominately white. The chatter on both sides simmers to hushed whispers as Tinsley looks Nova up and down. I don't need to check to know Nova is glaring back at her.
"Tinsley," Nova says, fiddling with the silver, flower-shaped diamond pendant she's worn every day since getting it for her birthday last semester. It's fake, but it looks hella real. "What's this about?" she adds, sliding her hands into the pockets of her high-waisted jeans.
You could hear a pin drop.
"I won't belabor this," Tinsley says, tugging at the strap of the messenger bag hanging on her shoulder. "I'm pretty sure you have assumptions about why I summoned you."
"Summoned?" I hiss.
Nova laughs, shaking her head at this entitled trick.
Tinsley is literally a carbon copy of Taylor Vaughn, but with a Southern twang. She walks around here with her slender nose pointed in the air like she owns everything and everyone. And yeah, her family is one of the richest and most influential in this town, and her dad's construction company built our school, but that's beside the point. Tinsley is self-entitled and hella obnoxious. She can be cruel, and she knows she can get away with it. The white kids don't wanna cross her because they're either country club brats like her or they don't want to be excluded from her social circle. And lots of the Black kids' fathers, uncles, and older brothers work for her father in some capacity, so they're scared that pissing her off could mean unemployment checks for their families. It's mad annoying.
But I know at least one person besides me who isn't about to back down to the spoiled princess today: my girl Nova.
She might be the Laney Boggs in this scenario, but she ain't nothing like ol' girl in that movie. My girl isn't some awkward pretty girl who needs a makeover to realize her worth. Nova showed up here junior year already looking like a freaking goddess. Dudes were losing their minds, and girls were losing theirs in jealousy. A dark-skinned, statuesque Black girl with iridescent blue eyes. Everyone was gawking at her like she was a freaking unicorn.
Apparently, blue eyes are so rare in Black folks that our biology teacher taught a whole lesson on genetic coding to highlight the few instances when dark-skinned people like Nova are born with eyes like that. According to Mr. Holston, there were three possible ways Nova got her stunning eyes: (1) one of her immediate relatives is white; (2) she has some rare disease that makes her albino only in the eyes; or (3) there's some kind of mutation in her bloodline. We've always joked it has to be the latter. Having some sort of genetic mutation sounded too cool not to embrace.
"I would have preferred to do this one-on-one; you know, woman-to-woman," Tinsley says, looking more at me than Nova or the crowd behind us. "Did you really need an audience?"
"Did you?" I retort, nodding at the sea of white faces I h...
