Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme, created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is diversity, so I’ll be featuring 10 books that celebrate diverse characters.
1. Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: This is probably my favourite LGBTQ book of the year. It’s adorable and just the ultimate feel-good read.
2. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz: Another one of my favourite LGBTQ books. This is a coming of age story, set in the 1980s, featuring two Mexican-American boys and their families. See my full review here.
3. The Flywheel by Erin Gough: This book features a lesbian relationship, which I don’t think we see enough of in YA. It is also set in Sydney, Australia (where I’m from) and that makes it even more unique to me. Full review here.
4. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han: Lara-Jean, the main character in this book is a Korean-American. We definitely don’t see enough Asian protagonists in YA books. This is the first book in a duology and both books are amazing. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before review. PS. I Still Love You review.
5. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: This book is about a quadriplegic and his carer. It was an emotional experience, reading about disability and its effects on everyone involved, but completely worth it. Review here.
6. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: Set in 17th century Amsterdam, this book features a gay character and a dark-skinned character, both shunned by society.
7. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh: A re-telling of One Thousand and One Nights, this story features Arabic culture throughout the book that is very interesting to read about. Full review here.
8. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler: This is a re-telling of The Little Mermaid. Elyse, the protagonist, is from Trinidad and Tobago and the story makes frequent references to the culture of the islands. I have written a review.
9. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera: This is a recently released LGBTQ book (with some sci-fi elements) that I’m currently reading.
10. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (and any of the other books set in the Shadowhunter world): Almost every book by Cassandra Clare features a diverse character. The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices have such unique characters. I really applaud Cassie Clare on how well she is able to incorporate current issues of society into her books.
Amazing list! I can’t believe I didn’t put Me Before You on my list. It’s one of my favourite books! I want to read so many of the books on your list! Great choices. 🙂
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I love that book too! I’m excited for the movie to come out but I’m scared that it might ruin the book for me if it’s not done properly.
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Great list Jenna, I definitely have to check out Simon and Homo Sapiens Agenda!
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Yes! Definitely one of my go-to YA contemporary recommendations!
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I’m trying to imagine what a diverse list would have looked like when I was a girl….pretty small, I think. Glad there are so many to choose from now.
Here’s my Top Ten!
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You have a very interesting and (kind of) mainstream list. I heard great things about the books in your list and I really want to read all those books. (I’ve read 2/10 books, the others are on my TBR haha)
My TTT
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You are totally right to point out city of bones as a book with diverse characters. I hadn’t thought of that before!
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It’s definitely not one that comes to mind first but there are so many diverse characters! You’ve got LGBT characters, but there are also characters like Raphael who is Hispanic.
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before are on my TBR. I’m looking forward to reading them.
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Flywheel sounds great and you definitely dont see enough lesbian relationships. Awesome Post. Check out my Top Ten Tuesday
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I can’t wait to read The Summer of Chasing Mermaids! I love Sarah Ockler. And More Happy Than Not is on my shelf, so I gotta get to that. I’ve heard the best things about it, so it’s definitely a high priority! Cool list 🙂
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I finished More Happy Than Not two days ago and it’s very very good! I’m still thinking about it two days later. You should read More Happy Than Not, and follow it up with a cute contemporary like The Summer of Chasing Mermaids!
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I didn’t realize that The Miniaturist has diverse characters. Cool! Now I want to read it even more. Great list!
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I definitely recommend that book! The first quarter of it is a little bit slow but I still ended up giving it 5/5 on Goodreads.
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Good to know. I can get turned off of a book if the beginning is too slow. I’ll have to keep that in mind when I get around to reading it. 🙂
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