Diverse Characters
Red at the bone
Jacqueline Woodson
FICTION Woodson, Jacqueline
Black Lives Matter, Black History, Literary Fiction, Diverse Characters
"Two familes from different social classes are joined together by an unexpected pregnancy and the child that it produces. As the book opens in 2001, it is the evening of sixteen-year-old Melody's coming of age ceremony in her grandparents' Brooklyn brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, making her entrance to the music of Prince, she wears a special custom-made dress. But the event is not without poignancy. Sixteen years earlier, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody's mother, for her own ceremony-- a celebration that ultimately never took place"--Adapted from jacket.
Miss Quinces
Kat Fajardo
jGRAPHIC NOVEL Fajardo
Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels
"Sue just wants to spend the summer reading and making comics at sleepaway camp with her friends, but instead she gets stuck going to Honduras to visit relatives with her parents and two sisters. They live way out in the country, which means no texting, no cable, and no Internet! The trip takes a turn for the worse when Sue's mother announces that they'll be having a surprise quinceera for Sue, which is the last thing she wants. She can't imagine wearing a big, floofy, colorful dress! What is Sue going to do? And how will she survive all this "quality" time with her rambunctious family?"--
Fans of Raina Telgemeier and Victoria Jamieson will love this funny coming-of-age story about family, friendship and expressing your true self! -Mari
Miss Rita, mystery reader
Sam (Fashion designer) Donovan
jE Donovan
Picture Books, LGBTQ+, Diverse Characters
"Daddy is the Mystery Reader at Tori's school today, and he's coming dressed as Miss Rita! Tori helps Daddy gloss, glitter, glamour, and glimmer to get ready. It takes time-because sparkle is serious business! Tori loves helping Daddy become Miss Rita. But will the other kids at school love Miss Rita like Tori does? Luckily, a last-minute idea helps Daddy and Tori find a way to make story time sparkle for everyone. This heartwarming and relatable family story celebrates drag queens, reading, and self-acceptance, teaching every kid to let their sparkle shine! And it includes back matter providing an overview of drag performance"--
A great read together story that is reassuring to kids whose families may not fit gender norms or who might be navigating their own feelings about gender identity and affirmation. There is plenty of sparkle and fun to engage all ages throughout the story. The author note at the end is in inclusive language, talkable and presented in an approachable way to learn more about gender and drag queens. -Angie
Akiko on the Planet Smoo
Mark Crilley
Diverse Characters, Adventure, Early Chapter Books, Fantasy
Akiko Series, Book 1 When this fourth-grader comes home from school one day, she finds an envelope waiting for her with no stamp and no return address. The message inside reads Dear Akiko: We are coming to get you. Meet us outside your bedroom window tonight at 8:00. Don't forget your toothbrush. How could anyone meet her outside her window? She lives on the 17th floor, for goodness sake. But that evening, as Akiko is preparing to study for tomorrow's geography test, she finds a small spacecraft hovering outside her window with two odd little men inside. They have been sent to whisk Akiko off to the Planet Smoo where she will lead a team enlisted to find the King of Smoo's kidnapped son, Prince Froptoppit. Akiko, the leader of a rescue mission? She's too timid to be on the school's safety patrol! So begins Akiko's adventure across the land of Smoo to find a prince and become a leader.
Added by Alexander
Loveless
Alice Oseman
YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Oseman Alice
Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
(A) Georgia has parents who are still in love, two sets of grandparents that are still together, and a brother who married his girlfriend, but at eighteen she has never even kissed someone (not even her lesbian best friend, Felipa) or particularly even wanted to; at the prom afterparty she is surrounded by couples making out, and she really does not know what is wrong--but in college she comes to understand herself as asexual/aromantic, and to capture the part of her identity that has always eluded her.
Added by Alexander
None of the above
I. W. Gregorio
YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Gregorio, I. W.
Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
(I) Kristen discovers that she is intersex and possesses male chromosomes, a diagnosis that is leaked to the whole school, throwing Kristin's entire identity into question.
Added by Alexander
The heartbreak bakery
A. R. Capetta
YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Capetta, A. R.
Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
(Q) Teenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin's queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical--and makes everyone who eats them break up. Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd's breakup brownies...breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it's probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd's magical baking can fix things, too--one recipe at a time.
Added by Alexander
Meet cute diary
Emery Lee
YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Lee Emery
Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
(T) "Noah Ramirez thinks he's an expert on romance. He has to be for his popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There's just one problem; all the stories are fake ... When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah's world unravels. The only way to save the Diary is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn't have any proof. Then Drew walks into Noah's life, and the pieces fall into place"--
Added by Alexander
Perfect on paper
S. Gonzales
YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Gonzales S
Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
(B) Seventeen-year-old Darcy Phillips, a bisexual girl who gives anonymous love advice to her classmates, is hired by the "hot" guy at school to help him get his ex back.
Added by Alexander
What if it's us
Becky Albertalli
YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Albertal Becky
Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
(G) Told in two voices, when Arthur, a summer intern from Georgia, and Ben, a native New Yorker, meet it seems like fate, but after three attempts at dating fail they wonder if the universe is pushing them together or apart.
Added by Alexander
This was a beautiful read. It packs so many different feelings, perspectives, and atmospheres into one relatively short book. This is not one to miss! -Heidi K