Showing posts with label diversity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diversity. Show all posts

10 Diverse 2017 Books I'm Psyched About

So 2016 is coming to close, which in the bookish world means the time to get excited about next year's books is well underway. Like last year, I'd like to feature some diverse books releasing next year, but because there are so many to get excited about, I'm only covering the first half of 2017 for now. 

So! Here are ten diverse books releasing in the first half of 2017! Hope you have your TBR lists ready. ;)



Photo credit: Goodreads

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (January 17)
YA Contemporary

 Goodreads summary: 

"When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course. 
To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart. 
If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life."

Diversity note: The protagonist, Griffin, is a queer boy (#ownvoices) with OCD.



Photo credit: Goodreads


Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (January 24)
YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"Mary B. Addison killed a baby. 
Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A white baby had died while under the care of a church-going black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? She wouldn’t say. 
Mary survived five years in baby jail before being dumped in a group home. The house isn’t really “home”—no place where you fear for your life can be considered a home. Home is Ted, who she meets on assignment at a nursing home. 
There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary must find the voice to fight her past. And her fate lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But who really knows the real Mary? 
In this gritty and haunting debut, Tiffany D. Jackson explores the grey areas in our understanding of justice, family, and truth, and acknowledges the light and darkness alive in all of us."

Diversity note: Mary, the protagonist, is black (#ownvoices).


Photo credit: Goodreads

City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson (January 24)
YA Mystery/Thriller

Goodreads summary:

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo meets Gone Girl in this enthralling YA murder mystery set in Kenya. 
In the shadows of Sangui City, there lives a girl who doesn't exist. After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya looking for the chance to build a new life and home. Her mother quickly found work as a maid for a prominent family, headed by Roland Greyhill, one of the city’s most respected business leaders. But Tina soon learns that the Greyhill fortune was made from a life of corruption and crime. So when her mother is found shot to death in Mr. Greyhill's personal study, she knows exactly who’s behind it. 
With revenge always on her mind, Tina spends the next four years surviving on the streets alone, working as a master thief for the Goondas, Sangui City’s local gang. It’s a job for the Goondas that finally brings Tina back to the Greyhill estate, giving her the chance for vengeance she’s been waiting for. But as soon as she steps inside the lavish home, she’s overtaken by the pain of old wounds and the pull of past friendships, setting into motion a dangerous cascade of events that could, at any moment, cost Tina her life. But finally uncovering the incredible truth about who killed her mother—and why—keeps her holding on in this fast-paced nail-biting thriller."

Diversity note: The book takes place in Kenya, and the protagonist, Tina, (and probably other characters) is African.


Photo credit: Goodreads

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (February 28)
YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary: 

"Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice. Movie rights have been sold to Fox, with Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) to star."

 Diversity note: The protagonist, Starr, is black (#ownvoices). Also the whole premise is based off the Black Lives Matter movement.


Photo credit: Goodreads

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig (February 28)
YA Fantasy

Goodreads summary:


"The breathtaking sequel to the acclaimed The Girl from Everywhere. Nix has escaped her past, but when the person she loves most is at risk, even the daughter of a time traveler may not be able to outrun her fate—no matter where she goes. Fans of Rae Carson, Alexandra Bracken, and Outlander will fall hard for Heidi Heilig’s sweeping fantasy. 
Nix has spent her whole life journeying to places both real and imagined aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. And now it’s finally time for her to take the helm. Her father has given up his obsession to save her mother—and possibly erase Nix’s existence—and Nix’s future lies bright before her. Until she learns that she is destined to lose the one she loves. But her relationship with Kash—best friend, thief, charmer extraordinaire—is only just beginning. How can she bear to lose him? How can she bear to become as adrift and alone as her father?

Desperate to change her fate, Nix takes her crew to a mythical utopia to meet another Navigator who promises to teach her how to manipulate time. But everything in this utopia is constantly changing, and nothing is what it seems—not even her relationship with Kash. Nix must grapple with whether anyone can escape her destiny, her history, her choices. Heidi Heilig weaves fantasy, history, and romance together to tackle questions of free will, fate, and what it means to love another person. But at the center of this adventure are the extraordinary, multifaceted, and multicultural characters that leap off the page, and an intricate, recognizable world that has no bounds."

Diversity note: The protagonist, Nix, is hapa (#ownvoices), one of the love interests, Kash, is Persian, one of the crew members is lesbian, another crew member is Chinese, and another is Sudanese.


Photo credit: Goodreads

 Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde (March 14)
YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"When BFFs Charlie, Taylor and Jamie go to SupaCon, they know it’s going to be a blast. What they don’t expect is for it to change their lives forever. 
Charlie likes to stand out. SupaCon is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star, Jason Ryan. When Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought. 
While Charlie dodges questions about her personal life, Taylor starts asking questions about her own. 
Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with Jamie—no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about the Queen Firestone SupaFan Contest, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe. "

Diversity note: One protagonist, Taylor, is autistic (#ownvoices), and the other, Charlie, is openly bi (#ownvoices) and Chinese Australian.


Photo credit: Goodreads

The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi (March 28)
MG Fantasy

Goodreads summary:

"A trio of friends from New York City find themselves trapped inside a mechanical board game that they must dismantle in order to save themselves and generations of other children in this action-packed debut that’s a steampunk Jumanji with a Middle Eastern flair. 
When twelve-year-old Farah and her two best friends get sucked into a mechanical board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand—a puzzle game akin to a large Rubik’s cube—they know it’s up to them to defeat the game’s diabolical architect in order to save themselves and those who are trapped inside, including her baby brother Ahmed. But first they have to figure out how. 
Under the tutelage of a lizard guide named Henrietta Peel and an aeronaut Vijay, the Farah and her friends battle camel spiders, red scorpions, grease monkeys, and sand cats as they prepare to face off with the maniacal Lord Amari, the man behind the machine. Can they defeat Amari at his own game…or will they, like the children who came before them, become cogs in the machine?"

Diversity note: Much of (maybe all of?) the cast is Muslim, including some hijabi girls (#ownvoices).



Photo credit: Goodreads


When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (May 30)
YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary: 

"A laugh-out-loud, heartfelt YA romantic comedy, told in alternating perspectives, about two Indian-American teens whose parents have arranged for them to be married. 
Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways."

Diversity note: Both major characters, Dimple and Rishi, are Indian American (#ownvoices).

Photo credit: Goodreads

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee (June 20)
YA Historical Fantasy

 Goodreads summary: 

"An unforgettable tale of two friends on their Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe who stumble upon a magical artifact that leads them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt, fighting pirates, highwaymen, and their feelings for each other along the way. 
Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. 
But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. 
Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores."

Diversity note: The protagonist, Monty, is a queer boy as is the love interest, Percy. I've also heard it has biracial and disability rep, so yay. :)


UPDATE (12/30/16): Originally this was ten books, but then I heard really unfortunate things about the representation in one of them, so I've pulled it off my list.


Twitter-sized bite:
What diverse books releasing in the first 1/2 of 2017 are you psyched about? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
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Diverse Books Resource List 2016

Photo credit: mine
Last year, I created my first-ever Diverse Books Resource List, a list of lists containing loads of diverse books from just about every category. While initially I'd hoped to update it indefinitely, I quickly realized that wasn't going to be feasible for me, so instead I've decided to cover every year from here on out.

So without further ado! I present to you the diverse books resource list for 2016, organized alphabetically. Enjoy!


Body-Positive lists:

Disability lists:

Race, Ethnicity, & Religion-related lists:

QUILTBAG+ lists:

Intersectional lists:


If you have any 2016 lists you'd like me to add—especially for the thinner categories—let me know! I'd be happy to see this list grow. :) 

Where do you go to find diverse books?


Twitter-sized bite:
Looking for places to find diverse books? @Ava_Jae puts together resources from 2016 to find rep across the board. (Click to tweet)
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On Supporting Diversity

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk on Flickr
So as sometimes happens when something negative goes viral, bookish Twitter took action on Monday and responded to an anti-diversity rant that had gone up the night before with a powerful message—that we as a community support diverse narratives.

It began with an author asking people to raise their voices and support diversity and the marginalized in the process. The author later asked to become anonymous and people not connect them to the hashtag anymore, because the backlash against the positive hashtag that came out of it unfortunately brought loads of racists and hateful people into their mentions—another problem all on its own. The hashtag began as #IStandForDiversity, but later transitioned to #ISupportDiversity because the first hashtag was unintentional ableist, but important tweets were shared at both, so I'm going to share some here.













As Paul and Heidi said, one of the best ways to really support diverse books and marginalized authors is to buy books and request them at the library. So, of course, here are a couple book recommendation threads.


And, in conclusion:


So there you have it. Support with your voices, and more importantly with your bought and requested books. Because representation is so, so important and we're just getting started. 
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What Diverse Fall 2016 Books Are You Excited About?

So last November I did this post where I talked about diverse 2016 books I was excited about. I was initially going to write another of just books in general I was excited about, then realized 8/10 had diverse casts and it wasn't exactly difficult to replace the two that didn't with others that did so here we are. 

More 2016 books I'm psyched for! Because as good as this year has been for books, there's so much more goodness to come!

Photo credit: Goodreads

 As I Descended by Robin Talley (September 6) 
YA Contemporary
(f/f)

Goodreads summary: 

"Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them. 
Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey. 
Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word. 
But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily. 
Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.
But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line."



Photo credit: Goodreads

 Into White by Randi Pink (September 13)
YA Contemporary
(black protagonist)

Goodreads summary:

"Sixteen-year-old Latoya Williams, who is black, attends a mostly white high school in the Bible Belt. In a moment of desperation, she prays for the power to change her race and wakes up white."



Photo credit: Goodreads

Overexposed by Megan Erickson (September 20)
NA Contemporary
(m/m)

Goodreads summary: 

"Levi Grainger needs a break. As a reality show star, he’s had enough of the spotlight and being edited into a walking stereotype. When he returns home after the last season of Trip League, he expects to spend time with his family, only to learn his sister is coming back from her deployment in a flag-draped casket. Devastated, Levi decides the best way to grieve will be to go off grid and hike the Appalachian Trail—a trip he'd planned to do with his sister. 
His solitary existence on the trail is interrupted when he meets Thad, a quiet man with a hard body and intense eyes. Their connection is stronger than anything Levi has ever experienced. But when Levi discovers the truth about what Thad is hiking to escape, their future together looks uncertain, and uncertainty is the last thing Levi needs..."
Photo credit: Goodreads

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (September 27)
YA Fantasy
(Disabled protag, m/m couple, and characters of color)

Goodreads summary: 
"Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world."



Photo credit: Goodreads

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig (October 4)
YA Thriller
(m/m)

Goodreads summary:
"Flynn's girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own? 
Flynn's girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can't answer, and her friends are telling stories that don't add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January's boyfriend, he must know something. 
But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January's disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself. "
Photo credit: Goodreads

YA Magical Realism
(Latina protag and South East Asian trans boy love interest)

"When the Moon Was Ours follows two characters through a story that has multicultural elements and magical realism, but also has central LGBT themes—a transgender boy, the best friend he’s falling in love with, and both of them deciding how they want to define themselves. 
To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town.

But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up. "



Photo credit: Goodreads

YA Fantasy
(Biracial Japanese bisexual protag)

Goodreads summary: 

"A time-travel story that alternates between modern day and 19th century Japan as one girl confronts the darkness lurking in her soul. 
No one knows what to do with Reiko. She is full of hatred. All she can think about is how to best hurt herself and the people closest to her. After a failed suicide attempt, Reiko’s parents send her from their Seattle home to spend the summer with family in Japan to learn to control her emotions. But while visiting Kuramagi, a historic village preserved to reflect the nineteenth-century Edo period, Reiko finds herself slipping back in time into the life of Miyu, a young woman even more bent on revenge than Reiko herself. Reiko loves being Miyu, until she discovers the secret of Kuramagi village, and must face down Miyu’s demons as well as her own."

Photo credit: Goodreads

Timekeeper by Tara Sim (November 1)
YA Fantasy
(m/m)

Goodreads summary:

"Every city in the world is run by a clock tower. If one breaks, time stops. It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old Danny knows well; his father has been trapped in a town east of London for three years. Despite being a clock mechanic prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but time itself, Danny has been unable to free his father.  
Danny’s assigned to a damaged clock tower in the small town of Enfield. The boy he mistakes for his apprentice is odd, but that’s to be expected when he’s the clock spirit who controls Enfield’s time. Although Danny and the spirit are drawn to each other’s loneliness, falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, no matter how cute his smiles are.  
But when someone plants bombs in nearby towers, cities are in danger of becoming trapped in time—and Enfield is one of them.  
Danny must discover who’s stopping time and prevent it from happening to Enfield, or else he’ll lose not only his father, but the boy he loves, forever."



Photo credit: Goodreads

 Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst (November 22)
YA Fantasy
(f/f)

"Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile lands. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a kingdom where magic is forbidden. 
Now, Denna must learn the ways of her new home while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses before her coronation—and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine (called Mare), sister of her betrothed. 
When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two work together, each discovers there’s more to the other than she thought. Mare is surprised by Denna’s intelligence and bravery, while Denna is drawn to Mare’s independent streak. Soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more. 
But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms—and each other. "


(no cover yet)

Bad Boy by Elliot Finley Wake (December 6)
NA Contemporary
(trans guy protag and knowing Wake's novels, probably much more rep in the cast)

No current Goodreads summary but I've loved his previous books (written under Leah Raeder: Unteachable, Black Iris and Cam Girl) so I'm psyched.

What Fall 2016 books with diverse representation are you looking forward to?

 Twitter-sized bites: 

What diverse Fall 2016 books are you excited about? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)  
Want more books to add to your TBR y/y? Check out 10 Fall 2016 books @Ava_Jae is psyched about. (Click to tweet)
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10 Diverse 2016 Books I’m Psyched About

Incredibly, 2016 is less than two months away (!!!) which means, of course, it's time to look forward to 2016 book releases! There are so many incredible books I'm looking forward to, but I thought it might be fun to highlight some books with diverse casts that I'm especially excited about. 

So here we go! 


Photo credit: Goodreads

YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"10:00 a.m. 
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve. 
10:02 a.m. 
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class. 
10:03  
The auditorium doors won't open. 
10:05 
Someone starts shooting. 
Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival."

Diversity note: This is Where it Ends is a f/f story with PoC main characters. 



Photo credit: Goodreads
YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary: 

"The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl? 
Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. The thing is . . . Riley isn’t exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley’s so-called “normal” life. 
On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it’s REALLY like to be a gender-fluid teenager. But just as Riley’s starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley’s real identity, threatening exposure. Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything."

Diversity note: As you can see from the summary, Symptoms features a genderfluid protagonist—which I have literally never read ever. And I can't wait. 



Photo credit: Goodreads

YA Fantasy

"Heidi Heilig’s debut teen fantasy sweeps from modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend. Sixteen-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end. The Girl from Everywhere, the first of two books, will dazzle readers of Sabaa Tahir, Rae Carson, and Rachel Hartman. 
Nix’s life began in Honolulu in 1868. Since then she has traveled to mythic Scandinavia, a land from the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, modern-day New York City, and many more places both real and imagined. As long as he has a map, Nix’s father can sail his ship, The Temptation, to any place, any time. But now he’s uncovered the one map he’s always sought—1868 Honolulu, before Nix’s mother died in childbirth. Nix’s life—her entire existence—is at stake. No one knows what will happen if her father changes the past. It could erase Nix’s future, her dreams, her adventures . . . her connection with the charming Persian thief, Kash, who’s been part of their crew for two years. If Nix helps her father reunite with the love of his life, it will cost her her own."

Diversity note: Nix, the MC, is Hapa, one of the love interests is Persian, and there's lots of Hawaiian mythology incorporated throughout. 



Photo credit: Goodreads

YA Sci-Fi

Goodreads summary: 

"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 outside 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. 
A last-minute meeting leads them to something better than a temporary shelter: a generation ship, scheduled to leave Earth behind to colonize new worlds after the comet hits. But everyone on the ship has been chosen because of their usefulness. 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?"

Diversity note: Quoting from Corinne Duyvis herself, “The protagonist is an autistic, biracial, part-Dutch part-Surinamese Black girl. The story also features a prominent bisexual trans Black girl, as well as lesbian, Muslim, and Jewish characters, among others.”



Photo credit: Goodreads

NA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"Perpetually shy, Quinn Mathers is content to remain in the shadow of his brash best friend Jess Hartman. But before their college graduation, he and Jess have planned one last hurrah: a spring break Caribbean cruise. 
And it won’t be just any cruise. On board are members of the reality show Trip League, which follows young twenty-somethings on adventures around the world. Since the show’s beginning, Quinn has been fascinated by J. R. Butler, with his amazing body, warm eyes, and killer grin. Unfortunately, he’s straight—or so the world thinks. 
At nineteen, J. R. signed a contract to play straight for the show, and there’s no way to get out of it now. Yet with each passing day, Quinn and J. R. find it harder to keep their hands off each other and to keep out of the camera’s frame. But when the lens finally focuses on them, J. R. must decide if he’s willing to risk his career by admitting his bisexuality, and Quinn must determine if he's bold enough to stand in the spotlight with the man of his dreams..."

Diversity note: This is the third book in Megan's awesome m/m NA series! Trust the Focus and Focus on Me have been some of my favorite NA romances ever. So. 



Photo credit: Goodreads

YA Fantasy

Goodreads summary:
"Nathan Byrn is running again. The Alliance of Free Witches has been all but destroyed. Scattered and demoralized, constantly pursued by the Council’s Hunters, only a bold new strategy can save the rebels from total defeat. They need the missing half of Gabriel’s amulet—an ancient artifact with the power to render its bearer invincible in battle. 
But the amulet’s guardian—the reclusive and awesomely powerful witch Ledger - has her own agenda. To win her trust, Nathan must travel to America and persuade her to give him the amulet. Combined with the Gifts he has inherited from Marcus, the amulet might just be enough to turn the tide for the Alliance and end the bloody civil war between Black and White witches once and for all…" 
Diversity note: Nathan, the MC, is biracial and (probably?) bisexual. Part of the love triangle in the series involves Gabriel.



Photo credit: Goodreads

YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:
"A big-hearted novel about being seen for who you really are. 
Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret. She's determined not to get too close to anyone. 
But when she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, Amanda can't help but start to let him in. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself--including her past. But Amanda's terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won't be able to see past it. 
Because the secret that Amanda's been keeping? It's that she used to be Andrew. 
Will the truth cost Amanda her new life--and her new love?"

Diversity note: If I Was Your Girl features a transgirl protag! Which I am very excited to read. And kind of awesome fun fact: the model on the cover is also trans. :)




(no cover yet)


Timekeeper by Tara Sim (Fall 2016)
YA Fantasy

Goodreads summary:

"Every city in the world is run by a clock tower. If one breaks, time stops. It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old Danny knows well; his father has been trapped in a town east of London for three years. Despite being a clock mechanic prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but time itself, Danny has been unable to free his father. 
Danny’s assigned to a damaged clock tower in the small town of Enfield. The boy he mistakes for his apprentice is odd, but that’s to be expected when he’s the clock spirit who controls Enfield’s time. Although Danny and the spirit are drawn to each other’s loneliness, falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, no matter how cute his smiles are. 
But when someone plants bombs in nearby towers, cities are in danger of becoming trapped in time—and Enfield is one of them. 
Danny must discover who’s stopping time and prevent it from happening to Enfield, or else he’ll lose not only his father, but the boy he loves, forever."

Diversity note: As you can see from the summary, Timekeeper is an m/m time-travel fantasy. :D



Photo credit: Goodreads

Bad Boy by Leah Raeder (May 31)
NA Contemporary

No current Goodreads summary but it's a Raeder book so I'm excited as hell.

Diversity note: Features a transguy as one of the major characters—woot! Plus Raeder's books tend to have a very diverse cast in general, so I'm sure there will be other factors.



Photo credit: Goodreads

YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"When 17-year-old Bo is sent to a school for troubled youth, he believes he’s actually at The Academy, a home for kids who, like Bo, have superpowers. There, he falls in love with Sofia, a quiet girl with a tragic past and the power of invisibility. 
But after she commits suicide, Bo is convinced that she’s not really dead, but stuck somewhere in the past, and it’s his job to save her. In her first contemporary novel, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis guides us through the mind of a young man experiencing mental illness and grief."
Diversity: Bo, the protagonist, has an unspecified mental illness.
What diverse books are you looking forward to that are releasing next year? 

 Twitter-sized bite: 

What diverse books are you looking forward to that are releasing next year? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
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