Remarkable Black Storytellers Devoted to Black Representation

The Bluford Series is a multi-series of books, written by many authors and is like none other. Read on for information about the series and its authors.

Kyla McClintock –
Author's Corner Diverse Voices
The background of the cover is tan with black designs on the top and sides. On the left is the cover of Brothers in Arms with two tall African American men and an African American girl who's hair is blowing in the wind. In the middle there is the cover of Blood is Thicker and has three African American students standing in front of a large building all facing each other, but you can only see half of their faces. There are two boys and one girl. On the right there is an African American girl looking upset in the direction of six other girls. They are outside of a school like building and the title says Pretty Ugly.

Introducing The Bluford Series! This collection of contemporary young adult novels is set in Southern California in the inner-city high school of Bluford High where student protagonists face difficult challenges in and out of school. The authors who wrote wonderfully in the series are Paul Langan, Tanya Savory, Ben Alirez, D.M. Blackwell, Karyn Langhorne Folan, Peggy Kern, John Langan, and Anne Schraff. 

The Authors

Paul Langan

Paul Langan is the editor of The Bluford Series, as well as one of the authors and coauthors. His writings and stories reflect some of his own experiences, including the difficulties of growing up without a father as well as the challenges of the students he had known to face in school.

This is a collection of all of The Bluford Series, containing all of the books on the side. There is a cover on the smaller side titled "Promises to Keep."
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Tanya Savory

Tanya Savory is a contributor to the biographical literature about one of history’s most inspiring figures, Helen Keller, and while this doesn’t have much to do with The Bluford Series, Savory has an immense amount of skill. From writing multiple novels about race regarding historical figures, she also wrote Girls Like Me; which is the series’ 21st novel.

This cover has a photo of the book "Girls Like Me" by Tanya Savory. It has half of a face of an African American girl withe black glasses. In the back there are two more girls laughing and sitting at a lunch table.
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Ben Alriez

Ben Alriez is the author of the series’ ninth book, Brothers in Arms. This is most definitely one of the most tragic novels in the series due to how many emotions the protagonist goes through. Alriez delivered the novel perfectly, creating a wonderful story and life-altering lessons for the reader. Alriez is now retired after working more than 30 years with the City of Los Angeles. He wrote correspondence, policies, procedures, and reports in his many years of working.

This cover has the title Brothers in Arms with two tall African American men and an African American girl who's hair is blowing in the wind.
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D.M. Blackwell

D.M. Blackwell wrote the eighth book in the series called Blood Is Thicker, where the protagonist’s father becomes very ill, causing his family to move away from Bluford High. Blackwell describes the protagonist’s emotions and trials perfectly to where you feel everything the character feels. The themes and topics of this novel include belonging, loss, and friendship.

This cover has the title Blood is Thicker and has three African American students standing in front of a large building all facing each other, but you can only see half of their faces. There are two boys and one girl.
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Karyn Langhorne Folan

Karyn Langhorne Folan is an African American graduate from Harvard Law School who later, after practicing and teaching law for several years, pursued her dream of becoming an author. She wrote the 18th novel in the series Pretty Ugly, which carries the theme and topics of bullying, social expectations, belonging, and peer pressure. This wonderful author produced such raw emotions in her writing and gave readers such a beautiful story of true friendship. 

There is an African American girl looking upset in the direction of six other girls. They are outside of a school like building and the title says Pretty Ugly.
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Peggy Kern

Peggy Kern is the author of The Test and No Way Out in the series. She has also published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters that are available to read in the Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education.

Kern is a professor at the Centre for Wellbeing Science in the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Education. She has received a BA in Psychology from Arizona State University, and minors in Spanish and Communication as well as a Masters and PhD in social/ personality psychology from the University of California, Riverside. She has also received additional postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania. 

There is an African American girl, with tears running down her face as she holds a positive pregnancy test. There is also an African American man in the back looking at the girl. The title says The Test.
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John Langan

John Langan has written in two of the series novels, Search for Saftey and Alone, along with Tanya Savory. Langan taught many students reading and writing at the Atlantic Cape Community College for more than 25 years. He is also the author of a popular series of college textbooks on both writing and reading. His writing in The Bluford Series is equally as enthralling and capturing as it is emotional and full of lessons.

There is two African American men in the back looking as if they are in an ally. They are looking towards another man who is eyeing them back. The title says Search for Safety.
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Anne Schraff

Anne Schraff is the author of five books in The Bluford Series books. She is a full-time writer born in Cleveland, Ohio. Scharff earned a B.A. and M.A. from California State University, Northridge, and also taught high school from 1967 to 1977 at the Academy of Our Lady of Peace in San Diego, California. All of her experience pours into her writing of the books in the series so beautifully and elegantly, conveying different aspects of high school difficulties. 

Running off the page, there is half of the face of an African American girl. In the background there is the ocean and also a man in a white shirt. In the sky there is the face of an older woman. The title says Until We Meet Again.
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As mentioned, this diverse series explores topics and themes such as bullying, birth, social expectations, race, identity, belonging, divorce, peer pressure, and substance abuse to appeal to different lifestyles and challenges in the world. Despite these difficult topics in YA books, the series earned positive reviews in Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. The series was created and published by Townsend Press and was co-distributed by Scholastic. As of 2018, over 11 million Bluford Series novels were in print.

One of the wonderful things about The Bluford Series is that the characters are all mostly African American. Race within this series is so unbelievably vital due to how many trials and tribulations each goes through. You can see how different races and backgrounds could respond to different situations. Tanya Savory and Karyn Langhorne Folan both add their own voice within their characters to make their stories flow and be heard loudly. In a YA series, this is so rare but vital in the world today.

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