#DiversityBingo2017: My TBR and Recommendations

Hello Guys !

Today’s post is something I’m so freaking excited about. If you know anything about me, you know how I suck at challenges because I’m a mood reader so a challenge that might sound good to me in the beginning of the year will probably have lost my attention my the time the year ends (2016 is proof of that) but here I am announcing my TBR for a challenge, right? Well, to me, this one is different because it is about Diversity and that is something I care about deeply and I know that that’s not going to change.

So, what’s this challenge about you ask. It is a sheet of 36 “prompts” of books you can read throughout the year and the goal is to complete all the squares by the end of the year. I hope that makes sense haha, but the sheet itself is pretty self explanatory. This was created by the people whose Twitter handles are on the upper right side of the sheet.

I think this challenge is the perfect place to start for people who want to read more diversely but don’t know where to start and are too intimidated. No pressure, if you ask me. You could either do all of them or some of them to give you a jump-start. You can also use #DiversityBingo2017 on Twitter to find people who are participating as well, chat with them, ask for recommendations etc…

Speaking of recommendations, for the past few weeks while I was completing my own TBR, I worked on gathering quite a few books in each category to make it easier for people who want to do it to make their TBRs so here it is. Most of these books fit in more than one category and you can see from the description for what other categories other than the ones they’re put under you can use them. Also, if any of these don’t fit or have issues, please do tell me so that I can edit my list, and if you have a book you think would fit but aren’t sure you can ask me and I’ll answer you -if I know, or you can use the hashtag.

The books in red are the ones that I’m choosing to read for the challenge. This TBR is just my starting point, knowing me, some of it -if not most- will end up changing.

Note that some of these books aren’t out yet. (Marked with *)

ROMANCE WITH A TRANS MC:

• If I was your Girl – Meredith Russo : YA, Contemporary, Trans Girl MC, #Ownvoices
• Coffee Boy – Austin Chant: YA, Contemporary, Trans Boy MC, M/M Romance, #Ownvoices
• Roller Girl – Vanessa North : Contemporary, Trans Woman, F/F Romance
• Not your villain* – C.B. Lee (Not your sidekick #2) : YA, SFF, Trans Boy MC
• Spy Stuff – Matthew J. Metzger : YA, Contemporary, Trans Boy MC, M/M Romance

NON-BINARY MC (OWN VOICES):

• Roving Pack – Sassafras Lowrey : YA, Contemporary
• Girl Mans Up – M-E Girard: YA, Contemporary
• Lizard Radio – Pat Schmatz : YA, SFF (Dystopia)
• Born Both: An Intersex Life a Hida Viloria : Memoir, Latinx American, intersex Genderfluid

SFF WITH A DISABLED MC

• Otherbound – Corinne Duyvis: YA, POC MCs, Bi MC, #Ownvoices
• Stranger – Rachel Manija Brown & Sherwood Smith: YA
• Accessing the Future: Anthology, some #Ownvoices stories
• The Unintentional Time Traveler – Everett Maroon: YA, Trans MC with Epilepsia

PRACTICING JEWISH MC

• Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli : YA, Contemporary, Gay MC, M/M Romance
• The Rest of us just Live here – Patrick Ness : YA, Fantasy
• Lauren Vanofsky hates the Holocaust – Leanne Liebermann: YA, Contemporary, #Ownvoices
• Rules for 50/50 Chances – Kate McGovern : YA, Contemporary
• Been Here All Along – Sandy Hall : YA, Contemporary, M/M Romance
• My Year Zero – Rachel Gold : YA, Contemporary, MC from the LGBTQIA+ community, SC with Bipolar Disorder
• Playlist for the Dead – Michelle Falkoff : YA, Contemporary
• Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here – Anna Breslaw : YA, Contemporary
• Hush – Eishes Chayil : YA, Contemporary, #Ownvoices
• The View from Saturday – E.L. Konigsburg : MG, Contemporary, #Ownvoices

INDIAN MC (OWN VOICES)

• A time to Dance – Padma Venkatraman : YA, Contemporary, Amputee MC, Written in Verse
• The Color of our Sky – Amita Trasi : YA, Historical Fiction
• My Basmati Bat Mitzvah – Paula J. Freedman : MG, Contemporary, Jewish MC
• Mirror in the Sky – Aditi Khorana: YA, Sci-Fi, Biracial white/Indian American MC
• Enter Title Here – Rahul Kanakia : YA, Contemporary
• Child of Spring – Farhana zia : MG, Contemporary
• Queen of Dreams – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni : Adult, Literary Fiction
• Soulmated – Shaila Patel : YA, Fantasy

DISPLACED MC

• The Refugees  – Viet Thanh Nguyen : Adult, Historical Fiction, Vietnamese MC, #Ownvoices
• The Library of Fates* – Aditi Khoran –YA, Fantasy, Hindu Culture Inspired, #Ownvoices
• Under a Painted Sky – Stacey Lee : YA, Historical Fiction, Chinese American MC
• In the Shadow of the Banyan – Vaddey Ratner : Historical Fiction, Cambodian MC, #Ownvoices

MC WITH UNDER-REPRESENTED BODY

• The Upside of Unrequited* – Becky Albertalli :YA, Contemporary, Jewish MC, F/F Romance
• Dumplin’ – JuIie Murphy : YA, Contemporary
• Nimona – Noelle Stevenson : YA, Graphic Novel, Fantasy
• The Second Mango – Shira Glassman : NA, Fantasy, Jewish MC, F/F Romance, #Ownvoices
• This Book isn’t fat, it’s fabulous – Nina Beck: YA, Contemporary
• Fat Girl on a Place – Kathy deVos : YA, Contemporary, #Ownvoices
• If the Dress fits – Carla De Guzmann: YA, Contemporary, Filipino MC (+Set in the Philippines), #Ownvoices

NEURO-DIVERSE MC (OWN VOICES)

• Queens of Geeks* -Jen Wilde – YA, Contemporary, Autism, Bisexual MC, F/F Romance
• Under Rose-Tainted Skies – Louise Gornall : YA, Contemporary, MC with OCD and Agoraphobia
• History is All you left me – Adam Silvera : YA, Contemporary, MC with OCD

RETELLING WITH MC BELONGING TO LGBTOIA+

• Beast – Brie Spangler : YA, Contemporary, Beauty& the Beast, Trans MC
• The Seafarer’s Kiss* -Julia Ember : YA, Fantasy, The Little Mermaid, F/F Romance, #Ownvoices
• Ash – Melinda Lo : YA, Fantasy, Cinderella, Bisexual MC, F/F Romance, #Ownvoices
• Braided – Elora Bishop : YA, Fantasy, Rapunzel, Lesbian MC, F/F Romance, #Ownvoices
• The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist – S.L. Huang : Novella, SFF, The Little Mermaid, F/F Romance

BISEXUAL MC (OWN VOICES)

• Ida* – Alison Evan: YA, Sci-Fi, Non-Binary Love Interest
• Our own Private Universe* – Robin Talley : YA, Contemporary, F/F Romance
• How to Make a Wish* -Ashley Herring Blake : YA, Contemporary, Black Love Interest
• Hold – Rachel Davidson Leigh : YA, Fantasy, M/M Romance
• A Darker Shade of Magic : Adult Fantasy, Genderfluid MC, MC of Color

MC WITH INVISIBLE DISABILITY

• Made you Up a Fransesca Zappia: YA, Contemporary, Schizophrenia
• Highly Illogical Behavior – John Corey Waley : YA, Contemporary, Agoraphobia
• 10 Things I can see from here – Carrie Mac : YA, Contemporary, Severe Anxiety
• Goodbye Days* – Jeff Zentner : YA, Contemporary, Anxiety + Panick Attacks
• Two Girls Staring at the ceiling – Lucy Frank : YA, Contemporary, in Verse, Crohn’s Disease, #Ownvoices
• When we Collided – Emery Lord : YA, Contemporary, Bipolar MC, MC with depression, #Ownvoices

MC WITH ANAPHVLACTIC ALLERGY

• Delicate Monsters – Stephanie Kuehn : YA, Thriller, Food Allergies
• The Pure Energy Project – C.F Fruzetti: Sci-Fi, Food AIIergies
• My Year of Epic Rock – Andrea Pyro: MG, Contemporary, Peanut Allergy

MC OF COLOR IN SFF

• Sorcerer to the Crown – Zen Cho : YA, Fantasy, Black MC
• The Forbidden Wish -Jessica Khoury : YA, Fantasy, Aladdin Retailing, #Ownvoices
• Not Vour Sidekick – C. B. Lee : YA, Fantasy, Bisexual Chinese-American MC, #Ownvoices
• The Young Elites – Marie Lu : YA, Fantasy, POC characters
• Empress of a Thousand Skies – Roda Belleza : YA, Fantasy, POC Characters
• Flame in the Mist* – Renee Ahdieh: YA, Fantasy, Mulan Retelling
• Akata Witch – Nned Dkorafor: YA, Fantasy, Black MC, set in Nigeria, #Ownvoices
• They Both Die at the End* – Adam Silvera : YA, Sci-Fi, Latinx MC, #Ownvoices
• Labyrinth Lost – Zoraida Cordova : YA, Fantasy, Latinx MC, #Ownvoices
• Shadowshaper – Daniel José Older: YA, Fantasy, Puerto Rican MC

OWN VOICES LATINX MC

• The Education of Margot Sanchez – Lilliam Rivera : YA, Contemporary
• Juliet takes a Breath – Gabby Rivera: YA, Contemporary, Lesbian MC
• The Inexplicable Logic of My Life* – Benjamin Alire Saenz : YA, Contemporary
• North of Happy – Adi Alsaid : YA, Contemporary
• Wild Beauty* – Anna-Marie McLemore: YA, Magical Realism, Bisexual MC
• Out of Darkness – Ashley Hope Perez : YA, Historical Fiction, Mexican American MC, interracial romance
• The Improbable Rise of Paco Jones – Dominic Carillo : YA, Contemporary, African American Love interest
• The Memory of Light – Francisco x. Stork : YA, Contemporary, Mental Illness

NON-WESTERN (REAL WORLD) SETTING

• And the mountains Echoed –  Khaled Husseini : Historical Fiction, Modern Classic, set in Afghanistan, #Ownvoices
• The Forty Rules of Love – Elif Shafak : Historical Fiction, set in Turkey, #Ownvoices
• The Three Body Problem – Cixin Liu: Sc-Fi, set in China, #Ownvoices
• Want *- Cindy Pon : YA, Sci-Fi, set in Taiwan, #Ownvoices
• Wolf at the Door – J. Damask/Joyce Chng : Fantasy, set in Singapore, #Ownvoices
• Beginnner’s Guide – Six de los Reyes: YA, Contemporary, Set in the Philippines, #Ownvoices

OWN VOICES

• Any of the books in this list marked #Ownvoices

MC WITH CHRONIC PAIN

• A Little Life – Hanya Vanagihar: Literary Fiction
• Ascension – Jacqueline Koyanagi : YA, Sci-Fi, POC characters
• Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo: YA, Fantasy, POC MCs, MCs from the LGBTQIA+ community, M/M Romance, #Ownvoices (Chronic Pain)

WEST ASIAN SETTING

• The Wrath and the Dawn – Renee Ahdieh : YA, Fantasy, 1001 Arabian Nights Retelling
• Persepolis – Mariane Satrapi : Memoir, Graphic Novel, set in Iran
• If You Could be Mine – Sara Farizan : YA, Contemporary, set in Iran, F/F Romance, #Ownvoices
• Throne of the Crescent Moon – Saladin Ahmed : Fantasy
• The Turtle of Oman 7 Naomi Shihab Nye : MG, Contemporary, set in Oman
• An Ember in the Ashes – Sabaa Tahir : YA, Fantasy

ARAB MC (OWN VOICES)

• Mirage* – Somaiya Daud : YA, Fantasy, Moroccan MC
• Where the Streets had a Name a Randa Abdel-Fattah : MG, Contemporary, Palestinian MC
• The Servant – Fatima Sharafeddine : YA, Contemporary, Lebanese MC
• In the Language of Miracles – Rajia Hassib : Literary Fiction, Egyptian American MC

MC WITH WHEELCHAIR

• Push Girl – Chelsie Hill : YA, Contemporary
• Mia Lee is Wheeling Through Middle School – Melissa Chang : MG, Contemporary, Chinese American MC, #Ownvoices
• The Last Leaves Falling – Sarah Benwell (Now Fox Benwell) : YA, Contemporary, Japanese MC has ALS

BOOK BY AUTHOR OF COLOR

• The Star-Touched Queen – Roshani Chokshi: YA, Fantasy, Hindu Culture Inspired, #Ownvoices
• The Weight of Feathers – Anna-Marie McLemore: YA, Magical Realism, Latinx MC, #Ownvoices
• The Secret of a Heart Note – Stacey Lee : YA, Contemporary, Multiracial MC
• The Bastard of Istanbul – Elif Shafak : Historical Fiction, Turkish MC, #Ownvoices
• Forest of a Thousand Lanterns – Julie C. Dao : YA, Fantasy, Snow Queen Retelling + Chinese Folklore

BIRACIAL MC (OWN VOICES)

• To All the Boys I’ve Loved before -Jenny Han : YA, Contemporary, White/Korean MC
• The Girl from Everywhere – Heidi Hellig – YA, Fantasy, White/Chinese MC
• Heroine Complex – Sarah Kuhn : NA, Sci-Fi, White/japanese MC

PANSEXUAL MC

• Seven Ways we Lie – Riley Redgate : YA, Contemporary
• Out on Good Behavior – Dahlia Adler : NA, Contemporary

BLACK MC (OWN VOICES)

• The Hate u Give* – Angie Thomas : YA, Contemporary
• Tiny Pretty Things – Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra: YA, Contemporary
• Allegedly – Tiffany D. Jackson : YA, Mystery
• The Boy in the Black Suit – Jason Reynolds: YA, Contemporary
• Piecing me Together – Renée Watson : YA, Contemporary
• Dear Martin* – Nic Stone: YA, Contemporary
• Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi: Adult, Historical Fiction

MC ON THE ACE SPECTRUM (OWN VOICES)

• Tash hearts Tolstoy* – Kathryn Ormsbee : YA, Contemporary
• Every Heart a Doorway a Seanan Mcguire : YA, Fantasy (very triggering)
• Interface – Lucy Mihailich: YA, Dystopian
• The Bone People – Keri Hulme : Literary Fiction, Maori MC

LGBTOIA+ MC OF COLOR

• Noteworthy* – Riley Redgate : YA, Contemporary, Chinese American Bisexual MC, #Ownvoices
• Tell me Again how a crush should feel – Sara Farizan : YA, Contemporary, Persian MC, F/F Romance, #Ownvoices
• More Happy than Not – Adam Silvera: YA, Contemporary, Latinx Gay MC, Depression, #Ownvoices
• Seven Tears at High Tide – C. B. Lee : YA, Fantasy, Vietnamese American MC, M/M Romance, #Ownvoices
• Another Words for Happy – Agay Llanera : YA, Contemporary, Gay Filipino MC
• When the Moon was Ours – Anna-Marie McLemore: YA, Magical Realism, Trans white-pakistani MC, Latinx MC

VISUALLY IMPAIRED MC

• Run – Kody Keplinger : YA, Contemporary, #Ownvoices
• Blind Spot – Laura Ellen : YA, Mystery, #Ownvoices
• Astra – Naomi Foer: YA, Dystopian
• Not if I see you First – Eric Landstrom: YA, Contemporary
• All the Light we Cannot see – Anthony Doerr: Adult, Historical Fiction

BOOK SET IN CENTRAL AMERICA

• The World in Half – Cristina Henriquez : YA, Contemporary, set in Panama, Panamian-American MC, #Ownvoices
• Daughter of Fortune – Isabel Allende : YA, Historical Fiction, Set in Chile
• Eight Days: A story of Haiti – Edwidge Dantica: MG, Contemporary, set in Haiti
• The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist – Margarita Engle : YA, Historical Fiction, in Verse, set in Cuba

CONTEMPORARY WORLD ARRANGED MARRIAGE

• When Dimple met Rishi* – Sandhya Menon : YA, Contemporary, Indian American MC, #Ownvoices
• Written in the Stars – Aisha Saeed : YA, Pakistani American, #Ownvoices
• A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Husseini : Literary Fiction, Afghan MCs, #Ownvoices
• (Un)Arranger Marriage – Bali Rai : YA, Contemporary, British/Indian MC, #Ownvoices

INDIGENOUS MC (OWN VOICES)

• The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf – Ambelin Kwaymullina : YA, Dystopian
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie : YA, Contemporary, Spokane MC
• Love Beyond Body, Space and Time: An indigenous, LGBT, Sci-Fi Anthology
• Lightfinder – Aaron Paquette : YA, Fantasy, Cree PC
• Killer of Enemies – Joseph Bruchac : YA, Dystopian, Apache & Abenaki MC

DIVERSE NON-FICTION

• When Breath becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi : An Indian-American neurosurgeon’s Memoir
• Redefining Realness – Janet Mock : Memoir of a Black Trans Woman
• Lucky Girl – MeiLing Hopgood:  Memoir of a Taiwanese American TransraciaI Adoptee
• Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I survived and Escaped North Korea – Sunqu Lee : Memoir

POC ON THE COVER

• The Blazing Star – Imani Josey : YA, Fantasy, Black MC, set in ancient Egypt
• Amina’s Voice* – Hena Khan : MG, Contemporary, Pakistani-American MC, #Ownvoices
• I Believe in a Thing called Love* – Maurene Goo : YA, Contemporary, Korean American MC, #Ownvoices
• Prom Queen Perfect – Clarissa David : YA, Contemporary, Filipino MC
• That thing we call a heart* – Sheba Karim: YA, Contemporary, Pakistani-American MC

DEAF/HARD OF HEARING MC

• You’re Welcome Universe* – Whitney Gardner: YA, Contemporary
• A Quiet kind of Thunder* – Sara Barnard : YA, Contemporary, Selective mute MC, Anxiety
• 27 Hours* – Tristina Wright : YA, Sci-Fi, LGBTQIA+ & POC Characters
• Hello, Universe* – Erin Entrada Kelly : MG, Contemporary, Filipino American MC, Japanese American MC

IMMIGRANT OR REFUGEE MC

• When Michael Met Mina – Randa Abdel-fattah : YA, Contemporary, Afghan Refugee MC
• American Street – Ibi Zoboi : YA, Contemporary, Haitian Immigrant MC, #Ownvoices
• Something in Between – Melissa De La Cruz: YA, Contemporary, Filipino immigrant MC
• The Sun is Also a Star Nicola Yoon : YA, Contemporary, Jamaican Immigrant MC, Korean MC

HIJABI MC

• Saints and Misfits* – S.K. Ali: YA, Contemporary, Arab Indian-American MC, #Ownvoices
• She Wore red Trainers – Naima B’ Roberts : YA, Contemporary, British Muslim MC, #Ownvoices
• Does My head Look Big’ this – Randa Abdel-Fattah : YA, Contemporary, Palestinian American MC, #Ownvoices
• The Gauntlet* – Karuna Riazi : MG, Fantasy, Bangladeshi American MC, #Ownvoices
• Sofia Khan is not obliged – Ayisha Malik : Adult, Contemporary, British Muslim MC, #Ownvoices

FREE CHOICE

• Jerkbait – Mia Siegert: YA, Contemporary, Gay MC
• The Love Interest* – Cale Dietrich: YA, Thriller, M/M Romance
• George – Alex Gino : MG, Contemporary, Trans Girl
• A + E 4ever – I. E. Merey : YA, GN, Contemporary, Gendergueer M
• The Tiger’s Watch* – Julia Ember : YA, Fantasy, Genderqueer MC, F/F Romance, M/M Romance, GQ/M Romance
• The symptoms of Being Human – Jeff Garvin : YA, Contemporary, Genderfluid MC
• Pantomime – Laura Lam : YA, Fantasy, Intersex Genderfluid Bisexual MC
• A List of Cages – Robin Roe : YA, Contemporary, MC with ADHD
• We Are Okay* – Nina Lacour : YA, Contemporary, Queer MC
• Of fire and Stars – Audrey Coulthurst: YA, Fantasy, F/F Romance
• On the Edge of Gone – Corinne Duyvis: YA, Sci-Fi/Thriller, LGBTQIA+ & POC Characters

Well friends, this is the list! I hope it helps you with your TBRs (for the bingo or in general hehe). And if you know of books you think I should be adding to some of the categories let me know, I’d love to expand the list and keep updating it throughout the year.

One last thing, if you missed my last post, I announced that I’ll be doing a Q&A on Sunday so if you have any questions you might want to ask me leave them in the comments of that post and I’ll be sure to answer.

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That’s it until next time.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Do you have any other books that fit these categories?

Hope you enjoyed, write to you soon.

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