Category Archives: Diverse Characters

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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Zelie remembers the magic, and she remembers the horrific night when magic was taken away.  The night her mother and other maji were executed on the orders of the hardened and ruthless King Saran. The night that left her people distraught and hopeless. Since that terrible incident, Zelie and her brother, Tzain, work hard to take care of their father.  Then one day while Zelie is selling fish at the market a young girl, Amari, runs into Zelie. Amari is being chased by the king’s guard.  Amari begs for Zelie’s help, and Zelie gives in against her better judgment.  Zelie, Amari, and Tzain find themselves on a dangerous journey to bring magic back with Amari’s brother, Inan, in pursuit hoping to carry out the king’s orders to terminate their mission.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

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Aristotle is always in his own head.  He’s a thinker. He’s a loner.  He finds it hard to connect to his war veteran father and his sisters.  His brother is in prison. His mom is the only one who seems to get him but she won’t talk about his brother.  Ari is not happy. Ari is angry. Then one summer he heads to the pool in his El Paso community and there he meets Dante.  Dante is different, but he is friendly and kind. Dante becomes the first and only friend Ari has ever had. Will Dante be able to reach through all the barriers Ari has put up to protect himself from being hurt by family and friends? Will he be able to help Ari let go of all the anger and pressure Ari carries around in his heart?

What Would She Do? 25 True Stories of Trailblazing Rebel Women by Kay Woodward

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What Would She Do? is filled with biographies of trailblazing women from a variety of cultures and countries. Read about the Trung sisters, Michelle Obama, and Marta Vieira da Silva among others. The illustrations and graphics in this book are vibrant. Each separate biography ends with ideas on how our “shero” would handle a current day situation.

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

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In her Pakastani village, Amal dreams of attending college and becoming a teacher.  So as the eldest daughter in her family of all daughters, Amal applies herself in all her lessons and always gives her best effort at school. She is Miss Sadia’s star pupil.  But when Amal insults the cruel area landlord, she finds herself in dire circumstances.  Because of this insult and the fact that her father owes the Khan family money, Amal must leave her family to work for the Khans. Her dreams of a bright future are slipping through her fingers.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

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The second book in the Arc of the Scythe series finds Scythe Anastasia gleaning with compassion and Scythe Lucifer gleaning corrupt scythes.  The corruption in scythedom pits the scythes against each other.  While the old guard scythes work to stick to the values and rules, followers of Scythe Goddard continue to push their corrupt ideas.  Thunderhead rules the world but the scythedom is out of its realm of control.  Rowan and Citra are losing faith in the system.  The old guard is losing ground, and the corrupt scythes are gaining more power.  Will Thunderhead cross established boundaries to help them?

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

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Sierra Santiago looks forward to a summer of working on the mural she is painting in her Brooklyn neighborhood. While working on her dragon mural, she notices other murals in the neighborhood are changing.  Her abuelo, Lazaro, is acting even more strangely after suffering a stroke.  He keeps mumbling to Sierra that he is sorry.  Then Lazaro speaks clearly to warn her she must finish her mural. “They are coming for us!” he warns.  Sierra meets Robbie, another young artist in the community, at a party. She confides in him about the changes she is noticing in the neighborhood, Robbie starts to explain the ancestral ways of their culture, but they are interrupted by a creepy being that they just barely escape.  Sierra discovers the secrets of her ancestors, and she must use them to protect her family and her neighborhood.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

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Dimple is not a traditional Indian girl.  She is focussed on achieving the career of her dreams.  Her future does not involve an arranged marriage much to the disappointment of her parents.  So when her parents agree that she may attend Insomnia Con at San Francisco State University before she starts her Freshman year at Stanford, Dimple feels maybe her parents are finally starting to get her.  That’s until some strange but good-looking Indian young man calls her his future bride at Starbuck’s near campus. Pouring her drink on him and fleeing the Starbucks, let him know she wasn’t interested.  Rishi Patel is confused.  The picture he has in his pocket matches the girl he just spotted at the Starbucks.  That was definitely Dimple Shah, daughter of his parents’ friends. The young lady his parents have arranged for him to marry. They were to meet at Insomnia Con before Rishi heads off to MIT. Dimple’s parents, however, have not informed her of this arrangement.  It is their hope that the two will make a connection at Insomnia Con, and Dimple will change her mind about marriage.  But Dimple is not a traditional Indian girl.

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

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Two high school students cross paths on the 57 bus in Oakland, California. Their lives will never be the same.  Richard is fooling around on the 57 bus with his friends when they dare him to touch a lighter to Sacha’s skirt while Sacha is asleep on the back seat of the bus.  Richard foolishly thinks that the flame will go out or that Sacha will awaken and put out the flame.  But that’s not what happens.  Sacha’s skirt erupts in flames. Sacha is severely burned, and Richard is later arrested and charged with two hate crimes. The district attorney decides to try Richard as an adult.  He is facing life in prison for this impetuous act. Meanwhile, Sacha is recovering from third-degree burns on over twenty-two percent of their body.  The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives explores topics of gender, race, juvenile crime, and forgiveness.

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

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Natasha Kingsley sets out with determination.  She needs to find someone in the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) building and convince him to allow her family to stay in the United States.  Her family are undocumented immigrants living in New York City, and tonight at 10 P.M. they are being deported back to Jamaica. Natasha doesn’t believe in fate, she is all about science and facts. But she desperately needs to find a way to stay in America. Maybe today the universe will bring Natasha what she needs.

Enter Daniel Bae, a Korean American perfect second son.  Daniel is on his way to an admission interview with a Yale alumnus when he spots Natasha moving to music on the street. That’s all it takes for this poet, this believer in destiny and fate.  He has fallen in love at first site. He will do everything in his power to convince practical, no-nonsense Natasha Kingsley to give him a chance.

The universe works in mysterious ways in this young adult novel by the author of Everything Is Everything.

 

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

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Friday night Rashad Butler stops at Jerry’s market on his way to a party to get some chips. Due to a misunderstanding in which he is not allowed to explain himself, Rashad finds himself handcuffed on the ground outside Jerry’s being beaten by Officer Paul Galluzzo.  Beaten so badly he ends up in the hospital. Quinn, a classmate of Rashad’s, witnessed the beating.  This brings conflicting feelings to Quinn.  Officer Galluzzo has stepped in as a father figure for Quinn ever since his dad was killed by an IED in Afghanistan.  Does Quinn remain loyal to the Galluzzo family or does he speak up against him? This event has both young men questioning the ways of the world since the Civil Rights movement, and what can be done to bring about change.