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30 YA Books with Multiracial Protagonists

For the last year I  have been searching for books to put on my classroom shelves that would give more of a representation of multiracial heritages.  My current school is very diverse.  Many of my students are multiracial like me.  I want my students to be able to see themselves in the literature offered in my library instead of having the same experience I did (and still do) in reading.  I want my students to realize that we don't have to inhabit just one world, but we are all made up of many pieces of a puzzle. 
Unfortunately, it's a tall order to ask for a mirror of my specific story.  (Surprisingly, no one has written about living on a Midwestern farm with a White mom and a Black/Carib Indian father.  2020 has been both a liberating and a marginalizing time to be multiracial for me.) Not unfortunately, more and more authors are writing about their own multiracial experiences or creating characters that will represent them.  I pray that my students will see themselves in these books but will also be opened up to new cultures and inclusive ways of thinking.  

This list has a few of the books that I have added to my classroom shelves for next year, listed in alphabetical order by title.   I even threw in a few middle grade novels!  Some I've read, and some I haven't.  I would love to add even more to this list with your help!

Review: This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew

Thank you Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the free advanced digital copy. All thoughts are my own.
This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew is a part of the Pocket Change Collective Series.  This tiny book is packed with anecdotes and lessons on how to take a passion, like art, and turn it into activism.  Drew reminds her readers that "art and protest will forever be bound together.  And the beautiful thing about art, like activism, is that it allows us space to be curious and learn."  She is humble in her explanation, reiterating that one person can contribute, but it takes a collective to truly start change. Read more...

Review: Imaginary Borders by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

Thank you Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the free advanced digital copy. All thoughts are my own.
One in  the Pocket Change Collective Series, Imaginary Borders examines how climate change impacts us all, regardless of city limits and borders. The author uses his art and music to express his distress about our current climate crisis. One of the aspects that I enjoyed about this book is that while it is short, it provides big ideas from which to build a movement. "We all have a responsibility to be a part o this redefinition of movement culture," Martinez writes. Martinez uses anecdotes to show how climate change has impacted his own life, constantly reminding readers that "if we wait for the floodwater to reach our doorstep, it will be too late."  Read more...

Review: Your Perfect Year by Charlotte Lucas

Mary Oliver once asked, "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"  After reading Your Perfect Year, I found myself asking the same question.  While I originally thought this was going to be a lighter contemporary fiction read, there were several moments that left me thinking about what I'm doing to hold myself back from my "perfect" life.  Am I spending my time doing what I enjoy?  If I could create my perfect calendar, what would I put in it?  Your Perfect Year explores just that with a hint of romance and a roller coaster of emotions.   Read my full review here...

Review: The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead

Thanks Libro.fm for the free copy through your Educator ALC program!

I literally devoured this book in one setting as I did yard work this afternoon. I was hesitant about if I would like this book narrated in a 10 year old’s voice, but once I got into the story I loved it.  It's full of heart and great talking points for any middle grader going through a transition time in his or her life.  Read my full review here...

Beyond Reading: Hard Sells April 2020

As April comes to a close, I'm sure most of us are looking to restock our real or virtual shelves for more great reads.  Here are a few of the books that are going on my Recommendations List forever from the months of March and April.

Review: Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder

​First and foremost, thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me a free copy of Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder. 
You’ve really made me love being a #penguinteenpartner with this latest read!
Dancing at the Pity Party is a graphic novel I wish I had been given years ago.  Having lost my dad nearly 13 years ago (only 2 years before Feder lost her mother), I could relate to so many emotions and moments in this story.  I’ve never been able to articulate how it feels to meet someone who is also a part of the Dead Parents Club, but Feder does it perfectly.  The way she explains the connections you find by meeting people who “know” what those experiences are like because they’ve been there too is the most relatable thing I’ve read in a long time.  There is an unspeakable bond that you find with those friends, and I found it again while reading this book.

What to Do If You're Too Anxious to Read

Friends, we're in the thick of it right now. Life is changing by the second it seems, and all you want to do is escape.  It would seem easy enough to grab a book off your ever-growing book shelves, but what happens when your favorite pastime is something you simply can't concentrate on anymore?  Below I've compiled a list of tips and tricks that have gotten me back into my reading groove in the past. I'm hoping it will help you as much as it helped me.

Review: What Does a Princess Really Look Like? by Mark Loewen

What Does a Princess Really Look Like? It’s not at all what Chloe imagines.  In this adventure with her dads, Chloe learns that a princess is more than a crown and pretty dresses.  A princess is kind, observant, and stands up for what is right. Throughout the story, Chloe represents all of the ways to be a strong woman (or even a strong human) with the different aspects of a princess that she draws.  ​Read more...

Review: The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater by Alanna Okun

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Alanna Okun for providing me with a free copy of The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater to read in exchange for an unbiased review.  All opinions are my own.
​Friends, I like to think of myself as crafty, but after reading The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater, I think Alanna Okun shares a whole new level of crafty.  What Dear Fahrenheit 451 did for our favorite books, Okun does for our favorite creative expressions.  She uses the common thread (ha!) of crafting in each of her essays to share her anecdotes of love, loss, relationships, grief, triumph, and tribulation. To me, she is the Cheryl Strayed of crafting because she is able to blend her wit and sage advice into a story about knitting on the subway and still find a way for it to relate to me, the random reader.  No matter what kind of crafts you are into, she finds a way to compare the experience of creating, abandoning, revising, and (maybe) finishing a project to life events. It’s a great read to pick up and put down at your leisure (which I would recommend) or even to binge in a couple of sittings. ​ Read more...

Guest Review: The Grand Tour by Ben Bova

I think we all can agree that book people are the best people, and you should definitely date one if you get the chance.  Lucky for me, I snagged someone who is almost as much as a bookworm as I am.  A few weeks ago he finished a series he has been reading for the better part of my knowing him.  In today's guest review, he covers that series and a genre I have been neglecting lately: science-fiction.  I'm very excited to share his thoughts on this series (especially since it was my library card that was used to check out many of these titles).  

​Without further ado, please welcome my first guest reviewer, Rayce, with his review of Ben Bova's The Grand Tour!  Read more...
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