5 Diverse YA Novels

I took a class on young adult literature this semester. I have been loving it so far because it has really opened me up to reading different genres and more diversely. I wanted to share some of my favorites from the class because I hadn’t heard about a lot of these before this class, but believe they should be talked about more.

Picture Us in the Light- Kelly Loy Gilbert

I really enjoyed Picture Us in the Light. It took me a bit longer to read, but it was so complex and detailed. I thought the writing was elevated, but still easy to understand. Not only does the novel deal with mental illness, but immigration and child trafficking. Daniel and his family are Chinese, which I don’t see many books feature Asian characters. This book can still be enjoyable and relatable to everyone as it deals with the struggles of senior year and losing someone close in your life.

This Side of Home-Renée Watson

This Side of Home is very similar to The Hate U Give. There are plenty of similarities, but still different enough that you can enjoy both. Maya deals with her senior year of high school and the gentrification of her school and neighborhood. She feels like she is being censored at school and stands up against the school, while celebrating the history of blacks. Maya doesn’t want to lose her identity and struggles with the thought of losing her black identity as she gets close to a white boy. If you enjoyed The Hate U Give and are looking for a similar book, check this one out. 

Kids like Us- Hilary Reyl

This book isn’t necessarily diverse because of race, but due to the main character dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He struggles a bit with being ostracized while he attends a new school in France for the summer. His mom is a movie director, so Martin is around movie stars, drawing people to him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they befriend him. I don’t see too many examples of books dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder, nor the any medias dealing with Autism at the young adult age.

Anya’s Ghost- Vera Brosgol

Anya’s background is Russian and throughout the graphic novel she is in the constant struggle of not being Russian enough at home and not being White enough outside. There are plenty of things that are relatable to everyone, like the struggle of trying to fit in, but the reader can still get perspective on how someone born in a different country feels and learn the struggles they deal with.

True Diary of a Part-Time Indian- Sherman Alexie

Books dealing with Native American’s isn’t too common. I know of maybe a few. Sherman Alexie definitely is not my favorite author, I don’t like him much at all, but I believe this book is pretty good, especially for teens young adults on the younger side. It introduces a diverse perspective at a young age that allows kids to relate and find humorous.

Other diverse books I’ve read for class:

American Born Chinese- Gene Luen Yang- Immigration

X-Indian Chronicles- Thmas M. Yeapau- Native Americans

All the Bright Places- Jennifer Niven – Mental illness

Shadowshaper- Daniel José Older- Caribbean