Hello friends!

In light of recent events, I’ve compiled a list of book recommendations by POC authors because one way you and I can support them is to read their books. I am especially focusing on Black authors, but there will also be recommendations for Asian, Latinx, and mixed authors as well.

I’ve tried to put the author’s ethnicity next to the book if I could find it, but please do correct me if I am wrong in any case.

 

 

The Importance of Good Representation

You’ve probably already heard this, but representation is so, so important for children. As a child, I was so happy to see people like me represented in media (I sometimes have to wonder if I like Disney’s Mulan because she looks like me? Or is it because of her personality? Is it both? Help). Having racially diverse characters in media normalizes diversity and makes each person, no matter their skin color, feel accepted.

Plus, being able to relate actual parts of my life (by this I’m referring to culture-type things rather than internal conflict, which is pretty much universal) to a character in a book is such a great feeling. I still remember picking up certain books and being “oh hey that’s so true” when an author points out details from a culture I grew up in.

The other cool thing about good representation and #ownvoices stories is being able to learn about and educate oneself about different cultures! Not only is this interesting, it’s very important ( and allows you to sort of familiarize yourself with different cultures and people).

 

What I want to see in books:

• People who aren’t just one race
  • Characters who are one ethnicity is very, very good, and still need to be represented, but also give us biracial and mixed characters! Give us characters who struggle with “home”, people who can’t really be put into one box.
  • Also: give us characters who struggle with their race (e.g. I personally have that not-Asian-enough/too-Asian thing going on sometimes and that’s not always fun)
• Books that aren’t just about POC oppression (specifically Black oppression in many cases)
  • Raising awareness and tackling discrimination and injustice is good, but also give us more POC fantasies, sci-fi, rom coms, etc. This is also helpful for normalizing diversity.
• POC leads
  • I think this is self-explanatory, but linking back to the previous point, POC leads in fantasies, dystopians, etc. are hard to find! I mean, give me stuff like Avatar: the Last Airbender and Black Panther. Normalizing POC leads across genres is so, so important.
• POC couples of the same race
  • In the case of romance, I love interracial couples, and by all means keep writing them, but POC couples of the same race are harder to find and could be better represented in fiction.

 

Now, onto the recommendations…

 

 

Black Authors

Dear Martin — Nic Stone (TBR)

Dear Martin has been most closely compared to The Hate U Give, so if you’ve read that and want something similar, Dear Martin may be the book for you. It explores race relations, classism, and social justice in a fairly short read (just over 200 pages).

This is a smaller thing, but if you enjoy the rarely seen third-person/present tense like me, that might be some motivation to go check this one out.

 

I Wanna Be Where You Are — Kristina Forest (TBR)

This is really high up on my TBR. It’s a soft rom com with a Black lead who just wants to be a ballerina and an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story with a Black love interest. It just sounds so wholesome and I’m really wanting to read this as soon as possible.

 

New Kid — Jerry Craft [MG]

This is a middle-grade graphic novel about the difficulty of moving into a predominantly white school as a Black kid. It highlights the subtle ways people can be racist and is really quite thought-provoking.

 

Opposite of Always — Justin A. Reynolds

Contemporary with time travel! It features a Black lead and a Black love interest and is very character driven. I really recommend this one for the amazing character work and if you want a book that doesn’t focus on oppression and racism.

 

Slay — Brittney Morris (TBR)

Brittney Morris’ Slay is a contemporary with a focus on video games. It’s about a high school student who develops an online role-playing game, except no one knows she’s the game developer. I’ve also heard it compared to Ready Player One, so if that’s for you, go on and pick this one up.

 

The Crossover — Kwame Alexander [MG]

The Crossover is a middle-grade novel written in verse about twin boys who like basketball. It’s a quick read, centers around a wholesome and supportive family, and explores many great themes.

 

The Hate U Give + On the Come Up — Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas writes powerful #ownvoices books with relatable leads that tackle racism against Black people. If you’re looking for a lighter read, On the Come Up may be for you, but I honestly recommend both.

 

War Girls — Tochi Onyebuchi

This is a sci-fi set in Nigeria centering around two sisters! Also high on my TBR list.

 

 

Asian Authors

As an Asian, I can verify that we still need to work on the internalized “fair skin = beautiful” belief. There are whitening creams being sold (e.g. Fair and Lovely in India), the “stay out of the sun! You’ll get dark” thing, and a lot of bias against Black people. This is something we still need to tackle.

 

A Wish in the Dark — Christina Soontornvat (Thai) [MG]

An Ember in the Ashes — Sabaa Tahir (Pakistani)

Blood Heir — Amélie Wen Zhao (Chinese)

Recommended: Book Review: Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao

Run, Rebel — Manjeet Mann (Indian) (TBR)

The Weight of Our Sky — Hanna Alkaf (Malaysian)

 

 

Latinx Authors

Okay, I admit that I have been sleeping on Latinx authors. Most of these books are on my TBR and I’m definitely going to keep actively searching for more books written by Latinx authors. If you have any recommendations, please do drop them in the comments below and maybe we can make my virtual TBR stack become twice my height.

 

Dealing in Dreams — Lilliam Rivera (TBR)

Don’t Date Rosa Santos — Nina Moreno (Cuban?) (TBR)

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter — Erika L. Sanchez (Mexican) (TBR)

With the Fire on High — Elizabeth Acevedo (Dominican)

 

 

Mixed Authors

Pride — Ibi Zoboi (Afro-Latino) (TBR)

Starfish — Akemi Dawn Bowman (Japanese-American)

Esperanza Rising + Echo — Pam Muñoz Ryan (Half Mexican) [MG]

 

 

 

Supporting POC authors

It’s harder to find books written by POC authors since they’re not always as promoted as books by white authors, so we have to actively search for them. Do Google searches or search through Goodreads tags. Follow authors and content creators who promote diverse and #ownvoices books.

Then: leave reviews, share these books with your friends, and let publishing industries know that you want more books by POC authors. YA is beginning to gain a reputation for being diverse, so let’s keep going — for YA, for middle grade, for adult, and any target audience in between.

 

 

Let’s chat

Please do let me know if you have more book recommendations by POC authors in the comments below so we can support Black authors and other POC writers! And if you’ve read any of the books I’ve listed, tell me what you thought of them!

Make your mark,