It’s always a great feeling to read books that reflect our personal backgrounds or topics we have been exposed to in our daily life. It is also always a great experience to read a story of someone that has experienced different from our own. This is how we begin to learn to have empathy for others and put ourselves in the shows of other people that may have it harder them what we have it. It’s also always a great feeling to feed a text with a cultural touch that you can relate to, or that is familiar to you. It makes reading a bit more enjoyable especially if you need a lot of motivation to read.
Below are 5 books with multicultural representations in their characters and stories. In these stories you will find topics of racism, sexuality, sexism, gender equality, abuse, and many topics that can be triggering to different people. I have included descriptions of the stories so that you have an idea of what kind of topics will be discussed in the novel.
1. The Black Kids by Christina Hommands
Description from Amazon:
Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.
Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.
2. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar
Description from Amazon:
Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle….
3. The Care-Free Day by Whitney Amazeen (Not Out Yet but later on in the year 2021)
Description from Amazon:
For eighteen-year-old Willow Bates, anxiety is just a part of life. With her every decision ruled by intrusive thoughts, she’s worried she sometimes seems a little odd. Despite Willow’s efforts to hide her OCD from those around her, it isn’t always possible. Her rituals are her coping mechanism, and Willow’s past has left her with a lot to cope with.
But when Willow takes things too far, her mother breaks and gives her an ultimatum: Willow must finally start taking meds to treat her obsessive-compulsive disorder, or she’ll have to move out within three months. But Willow is terrified of both options, and can’t afford to support herself as a new cosmetology student.
4.It’s Not Like It’s A Secret by Misa Sugiuro
Description from Amazon:
This charming and bittersweet coming-of-age story featuring two girls of color falling in love is part To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and part Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.
Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like the fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.
5. Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
Amazon Description:
When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields?
Before there was a dead body, Enchanted’s dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey’s charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he’s dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted.
Which book do you see you’re self trying next or which one on the list have you already read and what were your thoughts ??? Comment down below !
Jules 💜
Abundance of Jules 