X: A Novel

Winner of the 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teens
A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book

Cowritten by Malcolm X's daughter, this riveting and revealing novel follows the formative years of the man whose words and actions shook the world.

Malcolm Little's parents have always told him that he can achieve anything, but from what he can tell, that's a pack of lies — after all, his father's been murdered, his mother's been taken away, and his dreams of becoming a lawyer have gotten him laughed out of school. There's no point in trying, he figures, and lured by the nightlife of Boston and New York, he escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer. But Malcolm's efforts to leave the past behind lead him into increasingly dangerous territory. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he's found is only an illusion — and that he can't run forever.

X follows Malcolm from his childhood to his imprisonment for theft at age twenty, when he found the faith that would lead him to forge a new path and command a voice that still resonates today.

“This fictionalized account of the boy who became Malcolm X maintains a suspenseful, poetic grip as it shifts among moments in his life between the years 1930 and 1948....A compelling coming-of-age story.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“A completely absorbing novel...Readers for whom pre-civil rights America is ancient history will find this poetic interpretation eye-opening and riveting.” Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

“Shabazz and Magoon expertly guide the reader by presenting loaded scene after loaded scene....The result is a satisfying (and appropriate) complexity.” The New York Times Book Review

Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, is an activist, motivational speaker, and author of the critically acclaimed Growing Up X. Ilyasah promotes higher education, interfaith dialogue, and building bridges between cultures for young leaders of the world. She produces the WAKE-UP Tour, her exclusive youth empowerment program, and participates on international humanitarian delegations. She is the founder of Malcolm X Enterprises and is a trustee for the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center as well as the Malcolm X Foundation. Ilyasah serves on the board for the Harlem Symphony Orchestra, is a member of the art committee for the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center, and is a project advisor for the documentary Prince Among Slaves. She holds a master of science in education and human resource development. Ilyasah lives in New Rochelle, NY. For further information, please visit IlyasahShabazz.com.

Kekla Magoon is the author of Camo Girl and The Rock and the River, winner of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award. She is a New York City-based editor, speaker, and educator. In addition to writing fiction, Kekla leads writing workshops for youth and adults, writes non-fiction titles for the education market, and is the co-editor of YA & Children's Literature for Hunger Mountain, the arts journal of Vermont College.