Top 10 Tuesday: Celebrating Diversity

Top 10 Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in 2010. It’s a fun way for bloggers all over the Internet to connect and post the things they love about books.

This week’s topic is books that feature diverse characters or diversity. Here we go…

1. Wicked by Gregory Macguire

As I posted about in my Little Thoughts about “Wicked”, this book features a green witch. It’s not what you would typically think about when you hear “diversity,” but it’s the first book I’ve read where I completely forgot what the characters looked like and really focused on what they did.

2. It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

This book brings attention to mental illness. It follows teens around a mental health ward. While it wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I did like the story and I always appreciate reading about people who face hardships that involve more than just unrequited love.

3. Luna by Julie Anne Peters

I read this book before my senior year in high school. It focuses on a transgender female and follows her through her discovery of herself. You weren’t likely to read something like this three years ago and it really opened my eyes to the differences in people.

4. Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

This is a book about Mexican immigrants in the United States during the Great Depression. I read this back in elementary school, but I still recommend it to people to read.

5. Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

I read this in high school. It’s about a young Muslim girl and her choice to wear the hijab.

6. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I absolutely loved this book. I’ve actually been meaning to read it again since I read it almost four years ago. It’s about an Indian boy who gets stranded in the middle of the ocean, in a lifeboat, with a tiger. It’s one of the best stories I’ve ever read.

7. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

I always describe this book as being about rice and sex. It is about life in China pre-World War I. I’ve been wanting to read it again, since I read it in high school and didn’t like it that much. But it is very different and opens your eyes to what people in different areas of the world are shaped by.

8. Beloved by Toni Morrison

I loved “Beloved”. It was just the right mix of interesting and creepy for a high schooler to get into. It’s about an African-American family after the Civil War. While a gang of men try to recapture her children due to the Fugitive Slave Act, Sethe (the main character) kills her youngest child. Years later, Sethe is visited by a strange woman. You can’t help but wonder, “Is this her dead daughter?”

9. Divergent by Veronica Roth

From my last review, you already know how much I loved “Divergent”. I didn’t originally include it in my list of diverse characters, but after thinking about the different types of people Tris encountered in her journeys, I second-guessed myself.

10. Rather than have a tenth book, I want to say what I learned from this Tuesday: I need to read more books that push me out of my comfort zone. I’ve rarely regretted reading books about different people, and I always learn something new around the world around me. So, I make a pledge today to try and incorporate more diversity in my reading choices (and I hope you’ve found some great choices to add to your shelf).

Happy reading,
Kimberly