Diversity Bingo 2017

In addition to the British Books Challenge, I'm planning on trying to take part in Diversity Bingo 2017. I wanted to use this page to keep track of what I read, what I'm thinking of reading, and recommendations for books for anyone else doing the challenge.

Notes: I've tried to avoid bad representation, of course. I've also tried to stick to books available in the UK where possible, and to go for #ownvoices wherever I could.




Sites that have been incredibly helpful in filling in my 'considering reading' list.

Reading (As)(I)an (Am)erican's TBR and Book Suggestions is fantastic!  
Blogs and Lala links to some great recommendations lists for various categories.
Bookavid's list of #ownvoices books by POC authors is fantastic!
Weezie has a fantastic suggestion post with 2 for every category here. Also, not specifically related to #DiversityBingo2017, but Weezie has an awesome list of 100 diverse recommendations
Read Diverse Books has links to various lists of books here, which are all great!


Romance with a trans MC
Have read previously and would recommend: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (Usborne)

Considering reading for challenge: Beast by Brie Spangler, which has been recommended by Meredith Russo as an awesome read.


Non-binary MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend: Leaving this one blank until I can check whether a couple of authors are happy to be listed as own voices.

Considering reading for challenge:


SFF w/disabled MC
Have read previously and would recommend: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. (Incredible duology; one of my favourite fantasy series ever. Kaz - who uses a cane, as does Leigh herself - is a stunning leader of the Crows, who are all wonderful characters.)

Considering reading for challenge: On The Edge Of Gone by Corrine Duyvis (Abrams)


Jewish MC
Have read previously and would recommend: Playing with Matches by Suri Rosen (No UK publisher). (Super sweet contemporary which I read with a massive smile on my face. Jewish people I respect love the rep here!)

Considering reading for challenge: Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw (No UK publisher)


Indian MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend: A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master (Bloomsbury) This MG set in India just prior to Partition is one of the best books I've read in the past decade or so - gorgeous story of family and friendship. 

Considering reading for challenge: Swami and Friends by RK Narayan (Vintage)


Displaced MC
Have read previously and would recommend:

Considering reading for challenge: Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee (No UK publisher)




MC with an under-represented body
Have read previously and would recommend: Dumplin' by Julie Murphy (Harper 360)

Considering reading for challenge: The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli


Neuro-diverse MC (own voices)

Have read previously and would recommend: Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne (Usborne) Stunning portrayal of OCD and anxiety; first in a fantastic trilogy of novels (plus a recent novella.)

Read for challenge: History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (Simon & Schuster)


Re-telling with MC belonging to LGBTQIA+
Have read previously and would recommend: Ash by Malinda Lo (Hodder Children's Books) Gorgeously evocative Cinderella story.

Considering reading for challenge: The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist by SL Huang (Book Smugglers)


Bisexual MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend: Leaving this one blank until I can check whether a couple of authors are happy to be listed as own voices.

Considering reading for challenge: Leaving this one blank until I can check whether a couple of authors are happy to be listed as own voices.


MC with an invisible disability
Have read previously and would recommend: Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall (Chicken House) Superb portrayal of OCD and agoraphobia (although SO superb it was a really tough read at times.)

Considering reading for challenge: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (No UK publisher)


MC with an anaphylactic allergy
Have read previously and would recommend:

Considering reading for challenge: My Year of Epic Rock by Andrea Pyros (No UK publisher)




MC of color in SFF
Have read previously and would recommend: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (Harper Voyager) Really stunning fantasy set in a world inspired by Ancient Rome.

Read for challenge: Black Panther vol 1: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze


Ownvoices Latinx MC
Have read previously and would recommend: 

Considering reading for challenge: Iron Cast by Destiny Soria (Abrams)





Free choice

Have read previously and would recommend: Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne (Headline) Gripping YA mystery about a Nigerian diplomat's daughter who becomes inseparable from a friend she makes at her new college - until they fall for the same guy, then fall out over him. But when her friend goes missing, Adamma is left trying to work out what happened.

Read for challenge: Flying Lessons and Other Stories, edited by Ellen Oh (no UK publisher)

Considering reading for challenge: The Fire This Time, edited by Jesmyn Ward (no UK publisher)


Non-Western (real world) setting
Have read previously and would recommend: Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka (Vintage) One of my favourite adult novels ever, the narrator of this one - a dying Sri Lankan journalist who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to a cricketer he admired, who appears to have vanished from the records - has a stunning voice.

Considering reading for challenge: The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra (Vintage)



Ownvoices
Have read previously and would recommend: Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia (No UK publisher) - Fabulous story (billed as Gossip Girl meets House of Cards) about an overachieving Indian-American girl trying to write a first draft of a novel to get a recommendation letter and boost her chances of getting into a top college. Anti-hero Reshma is a fantastic lead.

Read for challenge: God Smites and Other Muslim Problems by Ishara Deen
Plain Vanilla by Ines Bautista Yao

Considering reading for challenge: Girl on the Verge by Pintip Dunn


MC with chronic pain
Have read previously and would recommend: Far From You by Tess Sharpe (Orion)

Considering reading for challenge: Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (Prime Books)


West Asian
Have read previously and would recommend:

Considering reading for challenge: The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian (no UK publisher) (listed in this brilliant 2017 Asian YA/MG preview from Airy Reads and/or The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye (no UK publisher) (listed in Reading (As)(I)an (Am)erican's TBR and Book Suggestions.


Arab MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend:

Considering reading for challenge: Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye


MC w/ wheelchair

Have read previously and would recommend: The Last Leaves Falling by Fox Benwell (formerly known as Sarah Benwell) (Definitions) Gorgeous and heartbreaking story of a teen diagnosed with ALS facing his impending death, with the help of friends he makes over the internet and then meets offline.

Considering reading for challenge: Mia Lee Is Wheeling Through Middle School by Melissa and Eva Shang





Book by author of color
Have read previously and would recommend: Chasing The Stars by Malorie Blackman - Malorie's Othello retelling, set on a spaceship, is a wonderful read with fantastic characters.

Read for challenge: Root of Unity by SL Huang


Biracial MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend: The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig. (Hot Key Books) Fantastic time travel/fantasy adventure with my favourite m/f relationship for ages.

Considering reading for challenge: The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig. (Hot Key Books) 


Pansexual MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend: Leaving this one blank until I can check whether a couple of authors are happy to be listed as own voices.

Considering reading for challenge: Leaving this one blank until I can check whether a couple of authors are happy to be listed as own voices.




Black MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend: Liccle Bit by Alex Wheatle (Atom) Adult author Wheatle's YA debut is written with an incredibly strong voice; I'm excited to read the rest of this trilogy.

Read for challenge: Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence
Considering reading for challenge: Dear Martin by Nic Stone


MC on the ace spectrum (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend: Leaving this one blank until I can check whether a couple of authors are happy to be listed as own voices.

Considering reading for challenge: Leaving this one blank until I can check whether a couple of authors are happy to be listed as own voices.


LGBTQIA+ MC of color
Have read previously and would recommend: Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan (No UK publisher) Probably the MOST gorgeous LGBTQIA book I've ever read. Just incredibly delightful.

Considering reading for challenge: Not Your Sidekick by CB Lee (No UK Publisher)


Visually impaired MC
Have read previously and would recommend: Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom (Harper Collins) I really enjoyed this, a great contemporary with respectful rep. (For an #ownvoices review, check out Kody Keplinger's on Disability in Kid Lit.)

Considering reading for challenge: Run by Kody Keplinger (Hodder Children's Books)


Book set in Central America
Have read previously and would recommend:

Considering reading for challenge: The World in Half by Cristina Henriquez (No UK Publisher)


Contemporary world arranged marriage
Have read previously and would recommend:

Considering reading for challenge: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon


Indigenous MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend:

Reading for challenge: Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time: An LGBT and two-spirit sci-fi anthology edited by Hope Nicholson


Diverse non-fiction
Have read previously and would recommend:

Read for challenge: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie
Reading for challenge: The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla





POC on the cover
Have read previously and would recommend: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. (Strong contender for best YA of 2017 already. Stunning voice, amazing characterisation, hugely important. If you haven't pre-ordered this, what are you waiting for?)

Considering reading for challenge: Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older


D/deaf/hard of hearing MC
Have read previously and would recommend: Whisper by Chrissie Keighery

Considering reading for challenge: El Deafo by Cece Bell


Immigrant or refugee MC
Have read previously and would recommend:

Read for challenge: The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon



Hijabi MC (own voices)
Have read previously and would recommend:

Reading for challenge: Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik

Considering reading for challenge: The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi

1 comment:

  1. I've got a few of these on pre-order. I'll be back to check some of the own voices categories, I'm only tentatively doing the challenge and I'm a bit unsure about author orientations, I don't want to presume but also don't want to be rude asking. Mostly I'm doing it to improve my reading of BAME authors.

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