So, I’m currently reading Rose Society by Marie Lu and enjoying it immensely, but it made me realize that we really need more ladies of color as main characters! Especially in fiction!. Look, I’ve been a nerd and a bookworm my whole life so I can tell you how much representation matters and what a great deal it meant to me to have characters who represented me in the books I read or shows I watched. That is why I wanted to not only recommend these book for those, who like me, enjoy books with diversity but also help promote these authors! And yes, not all of the authors mentioned here are actually POC, but I will give it up to all of them for representing us POC in the best way possible! So let’s start!
Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyers
Now, this is one my favorite book series ever! It has so many elements that I enjoy in a story: it’s fiction, full of action, comedy, and romance and it’s also based on a fairy tale! That’s right! The story starts in New Beijing, where Cinder who is a cyborg and the best mechanic in the city has an encounter with Prince Kai, who is, well, the prince! He tells her that he needs his android fixed before the annual ball and jokingly mentions that it is a matter of national security. Cinder is eager to prove herself to Prince Kai but there also other pressing matters happening at the same time: her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that’s been devastating Earth for a decade. Cinder is blamed for her step-sister’s illness, and it’s volunteered by her step-mother as a body for plague research, an “honor” that no one has survived. However, it doesn’t take long before the scientists discover something unusual to her. Something others would kill for.
This book is seriously one of the best things I’ve read in my life and what’s great is that each new book, introduces another awesome heroine and all of their stories interconnect. The world Marissa builds here is so beautifully crafted and the characters are complex but also very relatable.
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
Okay, time to admit something: this girl loves a good retelling! If you couldn’t tell by my huge liking of Cinder. The Wrath and the Dawn starts as a retelling of the One Thousand and One Nights tale. As the story moves forward, of course, we go deeper into the world that Renée has created. We follow the story of Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, who each night takes a young bride only to have her turn up dead by the morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, she vows to avenge her. But she is not only determined to stay alive but to also end the reign of terror the Caliph has once and for all. And so, night after night, Shahrzad tells the Caliph intricate, beguiling stories, assuring her survival. What she doesn’t expect is for him to be far from the monster she believed and once she starts to get to know him better she discovers that there is a lot more going on behind the murder of the brides.
If you love drama and angst, then this is the novel for you! This book is just so full of twist and the most complicated (yet sexy!) romance story I’ve read in a while. I also loved how much of a badass Shahrzad is throughout the whole story and seeing her growth and who she becomes along the way. Honestly, this book simply blew my mind and turned out to be way more than what I expected!
Fired Baptized (Santeria Habitat) by Kenya Wright
Black excellence coming thruuuuu! I have to give it up to Kenya for this one. The world she builds here is amazing and not like anything I’ve seen before. So, humans force supernaturals to live in caged cities. These supernaturals also marked with silver brands embedded on their foreheads to identify them by species: full moons mean Vampire, a crescent moon is for Shifters and wigs for Fairies and the list goes on. Our story follows Lanore Vesta who is marked with a silver X, the brand of Mixbreeds. All she wants is to graduate and stop stealing to survive (so damn relatable!) but the moment she stumbles upon a murder in progress, she is in the eye of a supernatural killer. Now, with the help of her Were-cheetah ex-boyfriend MeShack and a new mysterious guy named Zulu, she is dragged into the habitat’s raunchy nightlife. The corpses keep piling up in her apartment, will she be able to find the psycho or will she die trying?
I wasn’t much into mystery but as soon I started this book, I couldn’t put it back down! It simply grabs you and compels you to keep reading until you’re done! I loved the characters and the way the author worked around the supernatural theme, it really has its own original twist and that is very much appreciated!
The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns) by Rae Carson
This book really brings something different to the table! Medieval fantasy but make it Spanish! Plus a chubby, emotional eater as a heroine! Truly, an original idea. The story starts with Elisa who is the youngest of two princesses and is shipped to marry a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. Elisa is also “the chosen one” which means she was born the bearer of a Godstone but she doesn’t know much about the actual meaning of this. And then, a daring, dark revolutionary believes her to be his people’s savior and suddenly Elisa finds that is not only her life that it’s a stake but also her heart. Elisa could be everything to those who need her that is if she manages to find the power deep within herself and doesn’t die young, as most of the chosen ones do.
What is there more to say about this one? We got an interesting heroine is this intriguing world full of action and twists that will keep you turning the page! It is really interesting to see a medieval world that is not faced in Northern-European countries, it was very refreshing but it was far from being the only interesting thing about this book! The story will definitely leave you wanting more.
Living Violet (The Cambion Chronicles) by Jaime Reed
I had to save the best for the last moment! The Cambion Chronicles by Jaime Reed is such an underappreciated saga! And it’s so damn good! So let me tell you about it: Samara Marshall works at Buncha Books and it’s determined on having a normal summer and saving up for her car. Normal teenage stuff. But then, one day she notices something strange about her coworker, Caleb Baker. Caleb has always been a sort of mysterious guy, with purple eyes and knack for eating way too much sugar, Samara simply wrote him off as a weird kid. But one day she finds him lip-locking a lady and then later that night the same lady is found passed out in the store! Authorities said she had a heart attack and Samara can’t help but wonder if Caleb had anything do to with, especially considering how unfazed he seemed about the whole thing. As Samara starts to grow closer to Caleb, she discovers that there is so much to him than meets the eye and that his secret will drag her to a world full dangerous beings, the Cambions.
This story is just so good y’all! The heroine is so damn relatable, finally a heroine with common sense! Another thing I truly appreciate was how supportive her parents were. See, parents aren’t really present in YA Literature so it was refreshing to see a protagonist who actually got along with hers. We truly stan!
So there you have it! Five great books with vastly different stories! Five opportunities to immerse yourself in five different worlds. Each one of these protagonists is unique and the characters surrounding them truly show what diversity looks like, not only in race but also in sexuality which is really refreshing to see! If you have another book with a lady of color as a protagonist, leave it the comments below! We love to hear your recommendations as well!
