 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. Below are 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! Many of the links in these posts will take you to an affiliate site, Bookshop.org. I will earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you choose to purchase these products or use my discount codes.
The American Fairy Trilogy by Sarah Zettel |
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Court of Fives Series by Kate Elliott
Young Adult, Grades 7-12
Described as "Little Women meets Game of Thrones meets The Hunger Games," the Court of Fives series is sure to satisfy your literary needs. Not only is it packed with adventure, the main character comes from a multiracial family. It's a main point of the plot, according to Natalie Zutter. Jessamy struggles between the life she loves and a society that thrives upon class and privilege. It isn't until Jessamy has a change to take part in The Fives, a multi-level competition and befriends Kalliarkos, a member of the elite Patron class, that she realizes how her world thrives and survives. She will have to work against the existing system to save her mother and sisters from certain death, all while trusting and testing Kal's loyalty. Check out all three books in the series: Court of Fives, Poisoned Blade, and Buried Heart.
Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham
Young Adult, Grades 7-12
If you want historical fiction with a mystery that will leave you on the edge of your seat, Dreamland Burning is just the ticket. I picked this book up in Summer 2017 thanks to Anne Bogel's recommendation, and I'm so glad I did. Seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a skeleton on her family's property. She is thrust into an investigation of a century-old murder that leads to painful discoveries about the past, the present, and herself. The story is told in dual perspectives from present day and 100 years earlier when the murder took place. Will Tillman is the narrator for the sections in the past. We see Tulsa through his eyes as he and his family are in the middle of racial tensions, Jim Crow, and the 1921 race riot. Latham intricately and expertly weaves these two stories together allowing readers to really invest in both stories as they come together and complement each other. This book is mature for YA and features language (including racial slurs that are historically accurate but jarring) and violence.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Amazon Book of the Year 2014, Alex Award 2015
Young Adult, Grades 10-12
Ng likes to begin her books at the end, and Everything I Never Told You is no exception. "Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet." This novel explores the lives of a Chinese-American family living in small-town Ohio in the 1970s. Following the death of Lydia, the parents, James and Marilyn, reflect upon their lives and how different their experiences have been. James, the child of Chinese immigrants, has spent his whole life trying to belong. This book explores identity through family and race with realistic and relatable characters. The social anxiety is present for nearly every character in the family as Ng shows how they each experience otherness in their small town.
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Newbery Medal 2016
Middle Grade, Grades 6-8
Jaqueline Woodson should be an author that all young adults (and adults) should be reading. Feathers is the story of Frannie and how she finds hope in her small community. She lives with her mother and her brother who is deaf on the "black side" town. She befriends a new boy in school who looks white but says he is not. She overcomes bullies and learns to look beneath the surface.
Flying the Dragon by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Middle Grade, Grades 3-8
Skye lives in America and never thinks about her Japanese heritage. Her cousin, Hiroshi, lives in Japan and never thinks about his American cousin. The two are thrown together when their grandfather and Hiroshi's family move to the United States. Skye must now come to grips with what it means to be multiracial and multicultural. Her classmates think she is too Japanese while at home she isn't Japanese enough. Told in alternating chapters, readers are able to experience life through both Hiroshi's and Skye's eyes as their story comes together.
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
Amelia Bloomer Book List 2016
Middle Grade, Grades 5+
Taking place in 1969, just before the Apollo 11 mission, Mimi moves to a predominantly white Vermont town. She feels like an alien herself because it is the first time many of her new neighbors and classmates have seen someone who isn't white, let alone someone who is half-Black and half-Japanese. She struggles to fit in even as she fights to stand out in school and Science competitions. Mimi won't let the opinions of her her new home thwart her dreams of becoming an astronaut. Penguin says this novel will show readers "that positive change can start with just one person speaking up."
Harley in the Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Young Adult, Grades 8-12
This novel not only features a multiracial protagonist, but her parents are both biracial themselves! Harley Milano represents Japanese, Italian, Chinese, and Irish cultures. According to one reviewer, there is a lot of discussion on what it means to be multiracial as it's a fundamental part of who Harley and her family are. The author is multiracial herself, and I'm sure she sprinkled her own experiences into that of Harley. Harley's family runs a circus in Las Vegas, and she dreams of being a trapeze artist. After a huge fight with her parents, she runs away to a rival traveling circus. She meets an interesting cast of characters that lead her to come to terms with her family and her past.
Jefferson's Sons: A Founding Father's Secret Children by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Young Adult, Grades 9-12
The author imagines what life would have been like as one of Thomas Jefferson's children by one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. The story is told from the perspective of three of his slaves, including two of his children. Jefferson's children, Beverly, Harriet, Madison, and Eston are given better work but are still slaves. The lighter skinned children are promised an escape to a better life, but this freedom will never include their mother. Jefferson rarely appears, but his presence is felt on every page. The book wrestles with questions about how a man could write "all men are created equal" and still own and father slaves. This book was a Diverse Books Club book pick and the entire team found it gripping. It makes for a great book club or classroom discussion and research project supplement.
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña
Best Books for Young Adults 2009
Young Adult, Grades 8-12
Danny is half-American and half-Mexican. At his private school, his peers don't expect anything from him because of the color of his skin. He is judged before anyone gets to know him, even though he has many talents on the baseball field that any scout would instantly sign him for. Danny is disappointed in his friends for never getting the chance to really know him...like the fact that his mother has blonde hair and blue eyes, that he can't speak Spanish, or that his father is in Mexico. Danny blames himself and his whiteness drove his father away from him. Not being able to fully inhabit either space, Danny finds himself exploring friendship, acceptance, and identity throughout the story.
My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman
Middle Grade, Grades 5-9
Tara is just like every thirteen year old. She tries to be a good student and have time with her friends,. Now Tara must learn how to balance her Jewish and Indian identities as she begins planning her bat mitzvah. This book is full of Tara's exploration of if she celebrates one aspect of her life, is she denying the other? Tara's journey tackles identity, racism, race, religion, and culture all while making it easily accessible for middle grade readers. There is plenty of character growth as Tara learns that she isn't one culture or the other at any separate time, she is always wholly both.
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To All the Boys I've Loved Before Series by Jenny Han
Young Adult, Grades 9-12
If you haven't heard of the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series, you've probably been under a rock for the last couple of years. The first two books have been adapted into films on Netflix and are pretty true to the original stories. Lara Jean is the middle daughter in her Korean-American family. She's a hopeless romantic that has written five love letters to the boys she has loved over the years instead of admitting her feelings to them. Somehow, those letters which were safely tucked away in her mother's hat box are sent to the boys Lara Jean loves. Lara now has to face each of her past loves face to face. She discovers a bit more of who she is, her past, and who she truly wants to love now. Check out the full trilogy with To All the Boys I've Loved Before, P.S. I Still Love You, and Always and Forever, Lara Jean.
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Stonewall Book Award 2020
Young Adult, Grades 7-12
This is a new release for 2020 that I can't wait to read. This novel in verse follows Michael, a Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican gay teen, as he grows up in London. He's never felt like he quite fits in with his Greek or his Black culture. Now that he's older, he's navigating his identity as he comes out with the help of drag culture. This book explores Michael's coming of age in his cultural and sexual identity.
The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods
Coretta Scot King Honor Winner
Middle Grade, Grades 4+
Violet lives with her white mother and sister. Her father, a black man, passed away after a car accident when she was a baby. She lives in a mostly white town and none of her classmates look like her. When she turns eleven, Violet is drawn to learn more about her African-American heritage which has been absent since her father's accident. She is invited to spend two weeks with her paternal grandmother, Bibi, to learn about her family. Violet gets a different perspective of skin color while learning family secrets. This is a coming of age story about confidence and celebrating your heritage in the face of racism.
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow
PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially-Engaged Fiction 2008
Young Adult, Grades 9-12
Rachel is the daughter of a Danish mother and a Black G.I. and is now the sole survivor of a family tragedy. She goes to live with her strict Black grandmother in a mostly Black community. She is instantly someone of interest to the people in her community with her blue eyes and light brown skin. Rachel must navigate a world that wants her to be either Black or White, but not both. The story wrestles with ideas of race, class, and beauty.
The Latte Rebellion by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
Young Adult, Grades 9-12
When Asha is called a racist insult at a pool party, she and her best friend Carey decide to raise money for a post-graduation trip by selling t-shirts promoting the Latte Rebellion, a club that raises awareness of multiracial students. Their cause goes viral overnight and becomes more than the two ever expected. Asha is ultimately faced with the question of standing up for a cause she truly believes in or losing her Ivy League dreams.
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani
Middle Grade, Grades 4-8
Sonia, a half Indian and half Jewish Americans, has been yanked out of private school after her father loses his job. Sonia is now finding herself in a sea of questions about her heritage that she hasn't been prepared to answer. She tries to make new friends while understanding who she is and her new family circumstances. This story centers around identity and questioning who your real friends are.
They Come in All Colors by Malcolm Hansen
First Novelist Award 2019
Young Adult, Grades 9-12
Alternating between the Deep South and New York City in the 1960s and early 70s, They Come in All Colors follows a biracial teen boy as he finds his new life in the big city disrupted by childhood memories o the summer when racial tensions in his hometown reached a turning point. This might be a great one to pick up this summer with your teen. He wrestles with forgetting the past or letting it inform his actions in the present day. It deals with racism, coming of age, the Civil Rights Movement, family, and homeland.
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Tiny Pretty Things by Dhonielle Clayton and Son Charaipotra
Young Adult, Grades 9-12
The first in a drama-packed series, Tiny Pretty Things brings readers into the world of elite ballet dancing. It's Mean Girls means Pretty Little Liars meets Black Swan. Gigi, Bette, and June are the top students at an exclusive Manhattan dance school. Bette is the Gigi is new to the school and wants to provide a different kind of role model to the younger ballerinas, even if that means just having a different skin color. Bette is the Regina George of the group who has to live up to her older sister's legacy. June is half-Korean and struggles with feelings of loneliness and acceptance. It's Mean Girls means Pretty Little Liars meets Black Swan when the three get together. Readers can expect to read about jealousy, racism, politics, and competition. You can read both Tiny Pretty Things and the sequel, Shiny Broken Pieces.
Transcendence Series by C.J. Omololu
Young Adult, Grades 8-12
Every review I've read for Transcendence has heralded Omololu's multicultural approach to her characters. This fantasy novel takes readers for the adventure of a lifetime. Cole Ryan has a vision while visiting the Tower of London that instantly links her to the mysterious Griffon Hall. They realize that they are both members of the Ahket, an elite group that can remember past lives and use their wisdom to influence the world for good. But now the two are in extreme danger and must work together to answer the question, "What would you do with another life to live?"
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