Top Ten Diverse Books
Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 

Um. I may have posted next week’s Top Ten Tuesday today instead of this week’s. My bad! But here’s the correct one this time!

1) Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan.
I mean…obviously there’s going to be a Sarah Rees Brennan book on this list. Who do you think I am? (I had to stop myself from including all of her books. This time.) (Though The Demon’s Lexicon and Team Human and The Turn of the Story are also all wonderful and diverse JUST SAYING). Anyway, in addition to being hilarious and heartbreaking and brilliant, this book has a part-Japanese protagonist, and two more important characters are a lesbian and a bisexual girl.

2) Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz
This book made me cry at rehearsal and is one of my favorites of the year. The main character is a black bisexual girl with an eating disorder. She has one of the most real-sounding voices I’ve ever seen and the book’s exploration of labels and identity is amazing.

3) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
If you’re one of the few people out there who hasn’t read this series, I’m not even sure what you’ve been doing with your life. Racially diverse fairy tale retellings with a fast pace and some amazing female characters and the ability to destroy your life.

4) The Engelsfors Trilogy by Sara B. Elfgren and Mats Strandberg
I haven’t talked about this series on here nearly enough considering it, you know, ruined my life. A group of teenage girls from different backgrounds find out that they’re witches and have to work together to save the world–what part of that DOESN’T sound amazing to you? Includes several bisexual characters, a fat character, a half-Iranian character, and characters who deal with mental illnesses.

5) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Every bit as great as the Internet has led me to believe. Beautiful writing, beautiful character growth, beautiful relationship development, beautiful everything.

6) The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth
The coming of age story of a lesbian growing up in a conservative town in the 1980s. Definitely not what I’d expected upon picking it up, but a wonderful and honest story.

7) Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
Queer WOC superhero in small-town Texas! Lots of family feelings, both related and found families! Boxing! Adorable romance! Pervasive optimism despite the dystopian setting! Honestly, what don’t I love about this book?

8) Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
Told from the alternating points of view of Sarah, a black girl attending a historically white school in 1959, and Linda, the daughter of a newswriter who is firmly against integration. Eventually, Sarah and Linda develop feelings for each other. A difficult book to read, one that often left me angry and frustrated, but one that I ended up loving.

9) The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Another one of my favorites from this year! This book takes place in a small town where fairies live alongside humans, and where a sleeping prince is about to be woken. Gorgeous writing and characters and relationships, and multiple moments that made me tear up. Includes characters of color and gay characters.

10) Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
The cutest book in the entire world. THAT IS ALL.