loudlysilent:
fuckyeahyoungadultlit:
citizen-zero:
YA literature? You mean books about Super Special White Girl and Her Mysterious Brooding Boyfriend?
Here’s a list of black YA leads! And ten Native American protagonists! And a list of ladies who love ladies in YA! And genderqueer / transgender YA leads! And more queer titles! And 2015 / 2016 YA books with Asian / East Asian leads! And bisexual YA leads! And Muslim YA leads! And asexual YA leads! And YA Interrobang’s entire section on diverse YA fiction!
*confetti*
PLEASE REBLOG THIS
y’all, this makes me so sad!
There is a huge disparity in the YA fiction. It’s white as fuck. But there are some great authors of color who are writing awesome books! Here’s a list, because A: they never get recognition, and B: for people who never got to read books that include POC. Now, I haven’t read all of these books. I am searching based on the author’s race and whether it features a person of color. I am also looking for books with other marginalized experiences including queer fic and protagonists with disabilities I can’t vouch for content but please share this because everyone deserves YA that they can connect with! All links lead to the book’s Goodreads page. The lists above contain way more books than I can list, but hopefully this is helpful for people who don’t have the time to sort through all that.
BLACK YA
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
It’s 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud’s got a few things going for him:
He has his own suitcase full of special things.
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper
Like Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed lovers, Romiette Cappelle and Julio Montague face strong opposition to their budding romance. In their case, a dangerous gang’s disapproval of their interracial relationship puts the two in mortal peril
The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
Miss Saunders, whose skin is blotched with a rare skin condition, serves as a mirror to Maleeka Madison’s struggle against the burden of low self-esteem that many black girls face when they’re darker skinned. Miss Saunders is tough and through this, Maleeka learns to stand up to tough-talking Charlese.
Black Deutschland by Darryl Pinkney
ed–young, gay, black, out of rehab and out of prospects in his hometown of Chicago–flees to the city of his fantasies, a museum of modernism and decadence: Berlin. The paradise that tyranny created, the subsidized city isolated behind the Berlin Wall, is where he’s chosen to become the figure that he so admires, the black American expatriate. Newly sober and nostalgic for the Weimar days of Isherwood and Auden, Jed arrives to chase boys and to escape from what it means to be a black male in America.
LATINX YA
Esperanza Rising by
Pam Muñoz Ryan
Esperanza thought she’d always live with her family on their
ranch in Mexico–she’d always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and
servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California
during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers.
Esperanza isn’t ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of
acceptance she now faces.
The
House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking,
sometimes deeply joyous–it is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in
Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become.
More
Happy than Not by Adam Silvera
The Leteo Institute’s revolutionary memory-relief procedure
seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto – miracle cure-alls don’t tend to pop
up in the Bronx projects. But Aaron can’t forget how he’s grown up poor or how
his friends aren’t always there for him. Like after his father committed
suicide in their one bedroom apartment. Aaron has the support of his patient
girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but
it’s not enough.
Then Thomas shows up. He has a sweet movie-watching setup on his roof, and he
doesn’t mind Aaron’s obsession with a popular fantasy series. There are
nicknames, inside jokes.
Shadowshaper
by Daniel José Older
Sierra Santiago was looking forward to a fun summer of
making art, hanging out with her friends, and skating around Brooklyn. But then
a weird zombie guy crashes the first party of the season. Sierra’s
near-comatose abuelo begins to say “Lo siento” over and over. And
when the graffiti murals in Bed-Stuy start to weep…. Well, something stranger
than the usual New York mayhem is going on.
They
Both Die at the End by by Adam Silvera
On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls
Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to
die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons,
they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news:
There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and
Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure and to live a lifetime
in a single day.
NATIVE YA
Killer
of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac
A post-Apocalyptic YA novel with a steampunk twist, based on
an Apache legend.
Feral
Nights by Cynthia Leitich Smith
When Yoshi, a sexy, free-spirited werecat, tracks his big
sister, Ruby, to Austin, he discovers that she’s not only MIA; she’s also the
key suspect in a murder investigation. Meanwhile, sarcastic werepossum Clyde
and his human pal Aimee have set out to do a little detective work of their
own, sworn to avenge the brutal killing of a friend.
House
of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle
Skullyville, a once-thriving Choctaw community, was
destroyed by land-grabbers, culminating in the arson on New Year’s Eve, 1896,
of New Hope Academy for Girls. Twenty Choctaw girls died, but Rose escaped. She
is blessed by the presence of her grandmother Pokoni and her grandfather Amafo,
both respected elders who understand the old ways.
Pukawiss
The Outcast (The Two-spirit Chronicles #1) by Jay Jordan Hawke
When family complications take Joshua away from his
fundamentalist Christian mother and leave him with his grandfather, he finds
himself immersed in a mysterious and magical world. Joshua’s grandfather is a
Wisconsin Ojibwe Indian who, along with an array of quirky characters, runs a
recreated sixteenth-century village for the tourists who visit the reservation.
Joshua’s mother kept him from his Ojibwe heritage, so living on the reservation
is liberating for him. The more he learns about Ojibwe traditions, the more he
feels at home.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of
Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled
school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only
other Indian is the school mascot. (not mentioned in the summary but the protag
has hydrocephalus and therefore is small for
his age and suffers from seizures, poor eyesight, stuttering, and lisping)
ASIAN YA
Ash
by Malinda Lo
In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left at the mercy
of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light
of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her.
In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do.
When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish
may be granted.
The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change.
Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their
friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash’s capacity for
love-and her desire to live.
Under
a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
Missouri, 1849: Samantha dreams of moving back to New York
to be a professional musician—not an easy thing if you’re a girl, and harder
still if you’re Chinese. But a tragic accident dashes any hopes of fulfilling
her dream, and instead, leaves her fearing for her life. With the help of a
runaway slave named Annamae, Samantha flees town for the unknown frontier. But
life on the Oregon Trail is unsafe for two girls, so they disguise themselves
as Sammy and Andy, two boys headed for the California gold rush. Sammy and
Andy forge a powerful bond as they each search for a link to their past, and
struggle to avoid any unwanted attention.
Legend
by Marie Lu
What was once the western United States is now home to the
Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite
family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is
a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles.
Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted
criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to
cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes
the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a
race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death.
Prophecy
by Ellen Oh
Kira is the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s
bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her
home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope…
Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira
on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon
King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only
the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil
shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a
prince into a king.
A
Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
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.
I could keep going for days but I think this is a good start. Hit me up if you have requests!
Blenderbender1811 on wordpress 