The Book Voyagers: diversity

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!

~ The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

~ The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

~ When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

~ Tiger's Watch by Julia Ember

~ Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

~ It's Not Like It's a Secret by Mia Sugiura

~ Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

~ I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

~ Noteworthy by Riley Redgate

~ You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

~ The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

~ Shattered by Lee Winter

~ American Street by Ibi Zoboi

~ Want by Cindy Pon

~ The Inexplicable Logic of my Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

~ North of Happy by Adi Alsaid

~ The Ship Beyond Time (The Girl From Everywhere #2) by Heidi Heilig

~ The Takedown by Corrie Wang

~ Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

~ The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

~ Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

~ Girl in Between by Pintip Dunn

~ A Crown of Wishes (The Star-Touched Queen #2) by Roshani Chokshi

Books that don't have covers yet:

~ Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

~ 27 Hours by Tristina Wright

~ The Amaterasu Project by Axie Oh

~ Love Sugar Magic by Anna Meriano [Middle Grade]

~ Into the Black (Beyond the Red #2) by Ava Jae

~ Dear Martin by Nic Stone

~ Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

~ I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

~ They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

~ This Promise I Will Keep by Aisha Saeed

~ Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani *graphic novel

~ The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian

~ Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

~ The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi [Middle Grade]

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Naz at Read Diverse Books created this meme and we decided to give it a try because it is so frigging amazing. He is also the creator of #DiverseBookBloggers tag and dayum you can go on it on Twitter and find lots of recommendations + new book bloggers to meet!

Naz says:

"The Diverse Books Tag is a bit like a scavenger hunt. I will task you to find a book that fits a specific criteria and you will have to show us a book you have read or want to read.

If you can’t think of a book that fits the specific category, then I encourage you to go look for one. A quick Google search will provide you with many books that will fit the bill. (Also, Goodreads lists are your friends.) Find one you are genuinely interested in reading and move on to the next category.

Everyone can do this tag, even people who don’t own or haven’t read any books that fit the descriptions below. So there’s no excuse! The purpose of the tag is to promote the kinds of books that may not get a lot of attention in the book blogging community."

So without further ado, we're going to start it!

#1 Find a book starring a lesbian character

UNICORN TRACKS by Julia Ember

After a savage attack drives her from her home, sixteen-year-old Mnemba finds a place in her cousin Tumelo’s successful safari business, where she quickly excels as a guide. Surrounding herself with nature and the mystical animals inhabiting the savannah not only allows Mnemba’s tracking skills to shine, it helps her to hide from the terrible memories that haunt her.

Mnemba is employed to guide Mr. Harving and his daughter, Kara, through the wilderness as they study unicorns. The young women are drawn to each other, despite that fact that Kara is betrothed. During their research, they discover a conspiracy by a group of poachers to capture the Unicorns and exploit their supernatural strength to build a railway. Together, they must find a way to protect the creatures Kara adores while resisting the love they know they can never indulge.

#2 Find a book with a Muslim protagonist

MS. MARVEL by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona

Marvel Comics presents the new Ms. Marvel, the groundbreaking heroine that has become an international sensation!

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City — until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm! When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them, as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to bear? Kamala has no idea, either. But she's comin' for you, Jersey!

*Haven't read!

#3 Find a book set in Latin America

EVENFALL: Volume 2 (In the Company of Shadows #1) by Ais and Santino

In a post-apocalyptic future, the Agency works behind the scenes to take down opposition groups that threaten the current government. Their goals justify all means, even when it comes to their own agents.

In the newly revised Director's Cut of Evenfall, the second volume follows Sin and Boyd through a long-term undercover mission in Mexico. They think the hardest part will be maintaining their covers and handling their attraction while living in close quarters, but that's only the beginning of their newest trials.

When hard and fast decisions lead to catastrophic consequences, the two agents realize getting out of Mexico alive may be their biggest challenge yet.

Warnings: Explicit violence, sex, physical and psychological abuse.

#4 Find a book about a person with disability

SECOND POSITION by Katherine Locke

Four years ago, a car accident ended Zedekiah Harrow’s ballet career and sent Philadelphia Ballet principal dancer Alyona Miller spinning toward the breakdown that suspended her own. What they lost on the side of the road that day can never be replaced, and grief is always harshest under a spotlight...

Now twenty-three, Zed teaches music and theatre at a private school in Washington, D.C. and regularly attends AA meetings to keep the pain at bay. Aly has returned to D.C. to live with her mother while trying to recover from the mental and physical breakdown that forced her to take a leave of absence from the ballet world, and her adoring fans.

When Zed and Aly run into each other in a coffee shop, it’s as if no time has passed at all. But without the buffer and escape of dance—and with so much lust, anger and heartbreak hanging between them—their renewed connection will either allow them to build the together they never had... or destroy the fragile recoveries they've only started to make.

Book One of the District Ballet Company

THE YEAR WE FELL DOWN by Sarina Bowen

The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else. What now?

She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.

Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He’s way out of Corey’s league.

Also, he’s taken. Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the “gimp ghetto” of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands.

They’re just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she’s falling. Hard.

But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won’t, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness — one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who’s afraid to love her back.

#5 Find a Science-Fiction or Fantasy book with a POC protagonist

THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US by Emily Skrutskie

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water.

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea.

But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she's not about to stop.

#6 Find a book set in (or about) any country in Africa

HIS TREASURE by Kiru Taye

In a time when men ruled their households with firm hands, can a quiet man tame his rebellious wife with persevering love?

Angry at being forced to marry a man not of her choosing, Adaku stubbornly shuns her new husband on their wedding night. However, she soon discovers there are worse things than giving into a man whose touch awakens her deep desires. In a land where fruitfulness is celebrated, she could soon be labeled a barren woman.

Obinna knows there are several ways to tame a rebellious woman. Patience and perseverance are two of them. Adaku is his treasure and he will never let her go. When her fears push her into his arms, will he be able to convince her to stay with him forever by unleashing the passion within her?

*Haven't read!

#7 Find a book written by an Indigenous or Native author

RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The next day was my fourteenth birthday, and I'd never kissed a boy -- domestic style or French. Right then, I decided to get myself a teen life.

Cassidy Rain Berghoff didn't know that the very night she decided to get a life would be the night that Galen would lose his.

It's been six months since her best friend died, and up until now Rain has succeeded in shutting herself off from the world. But when controversy arises around her aunt Georgia's Indian Camp in their mostly white midwestern community, Rain decides to face the outside world again -- at least through the lens of her camera.

Hired by her town newspaper to photograph the campers, Rain soon finds that she has to decide how involved She wants to become in Indian Camp. Does she want to keep a professional distance from the intertribal community she belongs to? And just how willing is she to connect with the campers after her great loss?

In a voice that resonates with insight and humor, Cynthia Leitich Smith tells of heartbreak, recovery, and reclaiming one's place in the world.

*Haven't read!

#8 Find a book set in South Asia

A TIME TO DANCE by Padma Venkatraman

Padma Venkatraman’s inspiring story of a young girl’s struggle to regain her passion and find a new peace is told lyrically through verse that captures the beauty and mystery of India and the ancient bharatanatyam dance form. This is a stunning novel about spiritual awakening, the power of art, and above all, the courage and resilience of the human spirit.

Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.

#9 Find a book with a biracial protagonist

ON THE EDGE OF GONE by Corinne Duyvis

January 29, 2035.

That’s the day the comet is scheduled to hit—the big one. Denise and her mother and sister, Iris, have been assigned to a temporary shelter near their hometown of Amsterdam to wait out the blast, but Iris is nowhere to be found, and at the rate Denise’s drug-addicted mother is going, they’ll never reach the shelter in time.

Then a last-minute encounter leads them to something better than a temporary shelter: a generation ship that’s scheduled to leave Earth behind and colonize new worlds after the comet hits. But each passenger must have a practical skill to contribute. Denise is autistic and fears that she’ll never be allowed to stay. Can she obtain a spot before the ship takes flight? What about her mother and sister?

When the future of the human race is at stake, whose lives matter most?

#10 Find a book starring a transgender character or about transgender issues

ROLLER GIRL by Vanessa North

Recently divorced Tina Durham is trying to be self-sufficient, but her personal-training career is floundering, her closest friends are swept up in new relationships, and her washing machine has just flooded her kitchen. It’s enough to make a girl cry.

Instead, she calls a plumbing service, and Joanne “Joe Mama” Delario comes to the rescue. Joe is sweet, funny, and good at fixing things. She also sees something special in Tina and invites her to try out for the roller derby team she coaches.

Derby offers Tina an outlet for her frustrations, a chance to excel, and the female friendships she’s never had before. And as Tina starts to thrive at derby, the tension between her and Joe cranks up. Despite their player/coach relationship, they give in to their mutual attraction. Sex in secret is hot, but Tina can’t help but want more.

With work still on the rocks and her relationship in the closet, Tina is forced to reevaluate her life. Can she be content with a secret lover? Or with being dependent on someone else again? It’s time for Tina to tackle her fears, both on and off the track.

We tag:
- Aila @ One Way or an Author
- Olivia @ Olivia Chanel
- Julia Ember
- Karina @ 24hr YA Book Blog
- But really anyone who wants to do it, DO IT!

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Hey guys, it's me, Mana! You're probably thinking, "Who?" well it's probably because I've been semi-absent for a good portion of this year. College takes up a lot of my time, but here I am, back, with a post I wrote on tumblr and I thought to share. So in some preface, please if you have anything to add let me know and if i did get something wrong, tell me!! I will correct it 100%.

In a simple world, I could read books that are about me, about my aspirations, has my culture, and I wouldn’t even have to bat an eyelash because it’s well researched and correct and wonderfully done.

Sadly, that is not the case.

I recently asked myself (and a group of friends who share my frustrations), “idk what’s worst: token diversity or no rep at all”. Verbatim. And I thought about this question because, no really, which is worse?

Is there even a competition because frankly both kind of fucking suck?

I bring this up because in the span of however many months, over and over, there has been these slight microaggressions, racism, and an absolute disregard of the feelings and understanding of a character of color.

Adding characters of color to fill a quota is not representation. It does not equate to the seemingly flawless well-rounded white characters and apparently, adding random characters to be flat and one dimensional is how we are using our platform to promote more ~diversity~. I use the term diversity lightly, because it is much more than just adding a person of color to a story and being done with it.

In understanding what exactly I mean by these recent YA novels, I’ll list out common tropes that seem to never leave.

1. Asian being a the common descriptor for any “Asian” character. I’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, in all your favorite books. Not many are exempt and it’s irritating how authors don’t see the issue on lumping all of Asia together. Saying, “This Asian girl came up to me” gives me nothing. First, it’s lazy and second, still it perpetrates that every single Asian person is the same. We are not, fyi.

2. We are all exotic! Isn’t that great? Othering is so in right now. No matter what, someone has to say “you are so exotic” thinking it’s a synonym to “sexy” when really, it’s further alienating us and reinforcing that all people of color are these ~strange creatures of the night~. We are not. lmfao.

3. Stereotypes, stereotypes, stereotypes! There is always going to be stereotypes that many authors will play on because they obviously don’t know how to write their character. Relying on stereotypes to construct your character isn’t “development”, we are supposed to be deconstructing them, actually. We are supposed to take these stereotypes and say, “fuck this, you are so much more than this”.

4. Poorly done research on a culture outside of your own. I am no expert, but when someone is writing a culture that they are not part of, you immediately start researching extensively. You talk to various people from that culture , you treat the material you are using in an appropriate matter. When you write a story and it’s published, it’s forever. Do not consider writing a story outside your own experiences if you cannot do it appropriately. (this is not a discouragement on doing it, but please remember you are respectfully writing not appropriating.) But, please, remember that the best way is to read books who are OF that culture: i.e Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed is an example, it’s far more accurate and they need/deserve the support more.

5. Mocha, caramel, but never white chocolate. It seems that the trend of equating skin color with random foods is only reserved for brown characters. Alternatives: brown, dark skinned. Wow, yeah, it’s that easy. Making it so that our skin color is like a food further implies that we are ~exotic~ and alienates us into “otherism”. Being called a food isn’t quirky or cute.

YA can be wonderful, but when there are constant little things: that is not progression, that’s carelessness. If you truly wanted to dispel all these negative connotations, these microaggressions, you would realize in your writing. You would ask beta readers who are not white or part of that culture you are writing of. You would use your tools, because you care, not because you are filling the token diversity quota.

Maybe no representation means there is no disappointment of having “diversity” issues but I want to say we could all do better, way better than what we have been doing.

Resources:

#Whitewashedout: a place to read about first hand experiences that many people have dealt with in their entire life (this is from people who are from Asia, specifically)

Writing With Color: Offers help and resources to help research and understand writing characters of color.

Intentionally vague because my experiences come from as a South Asian and I cannot speak for other cultures at all, as it is not my place!<3