The Book Voyagers: November 2016

Hello guys! I'm here today/tonight to give you a list of 2017 releases that have POC as main characters. Front and center. The heroes. The ones with HEAs. Not the villains. Not the sidekick/best friend who is stereotyped so much you can't even see the real character. Not the slave who falls in love with the white MC. Not the uncivilized compared to the modern white MC. I'm here today as well to discuss something.

It's very common, which pisses me off so much, to see POC mainly as the best friend or as the one who gets kill to make the white savior realize something about themselves. It's not uncommon to see POC being described with food, example: almond-shaped eyes, caramel skin. It's not uncommon for them to be described as "exotic" like they are aliens from another planet, like seeing them is out of the MCs' world. You describe a bird as "exotic," with it's colorful plumage. BUT NOT A PERSON. How can you say that about a person?

Almost always whenever they are called or described like that, the MC is white. Almost always these books get a spot in the Bestseller list...

It's hurtful. It's gross. It's disheartening. It's 2016 ~ ALMOST 2017. I am 1000% done of seeing the same thing over and over again and for these books to receive the praise and the joy and the tears of being the next best thing. The next Diversity Advocate Who Is Saving Us All. Spoiler? It's not. It will never be. And it's hurtful to see people we trust, people we thought as friends to support these kinds of books. Because we know it's badly representing cultures + people. If a POC tells you there is bad rep in a book, listen to them, don't question. Even worse if you question it and the person who tells you has the same culture as the bad rep they are speaking up about.

There are some amazing people speaking up about this issue right now on Twitter, their words are better than mine and I look up to them so much. Check @justinaireland, @mrjaycoles, @EllenOnWords, @TristinaWright, @heidiheilig. I recommend following them on Twitter, every social media platform.

Also authors: if a reader tells you your book is problematic af: listen and be better. Be better to represent minorities. Don't excuse yourself~ you know you did bad. You know you screwed up. Don't try to educate, to explain to POC why your book is not racist when clearly IT IS. When a book is out of the author's hands, the reader can interpret however they want the book. And if it is racist, you'll know for sure.

We can't go into 2017 and still have books that are being published that are hurtful for POC and that represent them badly. Because it's not only hurtful to them but it is awful for teens to pick up these books, THESE YOUNG ADULT BOOKS and read that they are the villains of the world. That they don't get a happy ending because it's *cue sarcasm* important for the white characters to get their HEA or else they get their feels hurt. Because of course our priority is for them to be okay. *rolls eyes*（￣^￣）凸 It's something wonderful right now that so many books are coming out and teens see themselves in it. They can go and say "Hey mom/dad/anyone, this character looks like me." And let me tell you: I think that's the best feeling in the world. While we might get some books like that, all the other times there appear books that use POC as plot devices. And nope, honey, POC are not for you to use for whatever your white MC wants or in real life as well. WE HAVE THREE SUPERHERO BOOKS THAT HAVE POC AS MCS THAT RELEASED IN 2016. And you know how happy that makes us? We are heroes of our own stories.

Ok, now I'm doing a list of 2017 releases that have POC MCs! Note: If you have read one and you think it has bad rep, it's racist ~ tell me and I'll delete it asap. I'll add #ownvoices mostly and books written by POC. And some white authors who I know get the rep right!