Saturday 9 April 2016

Are there any particular diverse books you read more and why? | Conversations #1


Conversations is a bimonthly meme hosted by Geraldine @ Corralling Books and Joan @ Fiddler Blue. It's a brand new meme, because it's the first edition! This week’s topic is: Are there any particular diverse books you read more and why?

Yes I read diverse books as much as I can but of course, I have my preferences. I have to admit that… I’m close to a stereotypical character in a YA book: I’m white, blonde and straight. For that, I never had problems to identify myself to heroines when I was younger, because there wasn’t nearly enough diversity. I’m so happy that we finally get to see diverse characters in fiction though, especially in young adult, which is a sign that our mentalities are starting to evolve.

Personally, I don’t read a lot of diverse books, because in fantasy –my favourite and most read genre- there aren’t nearly enough diverse characters. Still, the diverse books I read the most are about mental health and people of colours (or POC as they say) in general.

1. I read diverse books about mental health

This is a topic close to my heart. Indeed, I think I would be diagnosed with a form of anxiety if I went to see a specialist. Moreover, one of my brothers might be autistic –guys, it’s been four years we’ve been waiting to know if it’s that or something else, but they’re pretty slow- and it’s not easy every day, for him just like my family.

I don’t especially read books on anxiety and autism, though. About anxiety, I read Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella last year, which I really enjoyed, even if my anxiety isn’t that severe. Still, it allowed me to understand what Audrey was getting through. For autism, I loved that in Lady Midnight, one of the characters is autistic, even though Cassandra Clare never said it clearly and for that, I was so grateful. I liked that the characters were saying that others thought he wasn’t normal, because he didn’t think like typical Shadowhunters, but for them, he was a great brother than they loved. It’s really hard to face what people say of autistic people. For example, once, my ex-boyfriend insulted someone of autistic in front of me. I did a great thing by dumping him, ugh.

I’ve read other books about different mental health issues. For example, I was an ugly sobbing mess when I read Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone, last year. I intend to read more books about mental health in the future, and since the spring is here, I’m getting in a contemporary mood again so it’s going to happen!

2. I read diverse books about people of colours (POC)

In France, some people are still very racist and it’s been getting worse lately, because of what happened in Paris (amalgams…) but also with the rise of an extremist political party that is gaining more followers every week. I intend to read books about people from different ethnicities, because I want to understand their culture, the struggles they have to get through sometimes… I’m not saying I can fully understand but I can still have glimpses of it.

Of course, I don’t read books with diverse characters for that reason only, I read books that appeal to me. Indeed, it makes me even happier when fantasy worlds contain characters of different ethnicities, because it’s not something we see a lot in fantasy books. Moreover, I don’t read that many contemporary novels, because it’s not my favourite genre. For example, in The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead, which came out on Tuesday and that I finished recently, Mira, one of the main characters of the novel, came from a different country and had to deal with people’s racism, who basically considered she was worth half a girl like Adelaide, a main character from this land.

It’s important for me to see the struggles some people have to get through because of their ethnicity, since it’s something I never had to experience. For example in The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry, because Natalie was the only Native American character in her town and had been adopted, it was hard for her to find who she was exactly. Apparently, this book is problematic but I can’t really realize it, because it’s one of the first times I read about a Native American. Moreover, thanks to the many tales, I learnt about their culture, which I loved. I also loved Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, where Maddie was from two different cultures. In the historical novel Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee, set in late 19th century, the two main characters were Afro-American for one and from a Chinese family for the other.  They had to deal with so many things, for example almost no one wanted to shake hands with Sammy, the Chinese character (!!).

I think it’s important to see characters from different ethnicities in a book, because if it’s not the case, it doesn’t feel realistic. When I’m in class and I look around me… Yes, white people are still in the majority, but there are so many people from different origins. And if fiction can’t even feel representative of our societies, what’s the point?

To conclude, I don’t read that many diverse books, because to have diverse characters… You have to read contemporary. I’m really happy that a movement like #WeNeedDiverseBooks now exists but I really want for it to happen in fantasy, because it’s so unrealistic.

Do you read diverse books? What diverse books you read the most? Do you have diverse book recommendations for me?

12 comments:

  1. AHH YES, I read Lady Midnight and daaaaamn I love how diverse that book is to be honest - it doesn't even push diversity upon is, it's not just there to make the characters special - it becomes a part of the character! Does that make sense? It was just so good to read LM and have mental illness be mentioned, have POC in it, and all of these characteristics contributing to both the character and the plot. Also, with your comment at the end, about how to have diverse characters, you need to read contemporary...LM PROVED THAT WASNT THE CASE, and I WAS SO SO SO PLEASED. (idk if you can tell, but I JUST finished reading it ahahaha)
    Loved that you participated in Conversations this week, Lucie! And that you embedded so many examples - I learned so much about you from this! <3

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    1. Hahaha, I can definitely FEEL that you just finished Lady Midnight, which was obviously amazing! It was definitely a part of the character here. Also, I really liked how she questionned the Clave, because they want Shadowhunters that all think the same way and obviously it's not possible. Lady Midnight was so good with diverse characters, OMG.
      Thank you so much Geraldine! I can't wait to write my next post! :D

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  2. I love that you included so many examples, Lucie! I need to check out some of those. And different ancestry, and its effects on people is so important to write about as well!
    Ooh, we'll have to chat about mental health books, they're so close to my heart too!

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    1. Thank you Annika! I hope you'll love those books when you read them. There are so many different topics that need to be talked/written about. I'm happy that fiction is taking a turn towards diversity, because it was needed. Yes we should! I haven't read a lot of them yet, but I'm looking forward to read some more! :)

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    2. Definitely! I'm glad that books with themes of diversity are getting published!
      We can read the same book and see if we feel the same way about the mental health representation in it or something :)

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  3. I want to read The Love That Split the World so bad! And yeah I really need to read Lady Midnight soon... I'm so happy that Cassandra Clare has so much diversity in her books, especially since they are so influential on younger kids these days.

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    1. I hope you'll read them and love them soon! It's true that so many people read her books and maybe she even got a new audience with the TV show, who knows? But yes, Lady Midnight was on point with diversity because it had an autistic character, Mexican characters and a bisexual (kinda?) romance! :) She already had diverse characters in her previous books though, with Malec, a well-loved couple, but also Jem who came from Asia (I don't remember the country but I think China?).

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  4. I do like reading books that deal with mental health issues. However, it's difficult to find these unless you search online for lists of such books, especially since the cover summaries don't always indicate when a character might be dealing with a mental illness.

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    1. You're totally write! If you don't search for them specifically, it can be hard to find them. The only time they're easy to find is when they are popular books. For example, it was the case with every last word by Tamara Ireland Stone in June, because many people got review copies and loved it.

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  5. This such a great post, Lucie! I know exactly what you mean when you say you don't read a lot of diverse books, not on purpose - but just because fantasy/paranormal books don't seem to have nearly as much diversity as contemporaries. It's so sad! I want diversity to be more ingrained in ALL types of books. But I am so, so excited to hear that Lady Midnight has some diversity - that makes me even more eager to read it.

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    1. Thank you, Rachel! I want more diversity in all genres too, I'm not even sure I can count more than seven books from another genre than contemporary with diverse characters, which is so sad! :/ I really hope that you'll love Lady Midnight then. I like that it was subtle. Moreover, it involved Mexican characters! :)

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  6. Thank you for this thought-provoking post, Lucie! I also hate it when a fantasy book is NOT diverse at all. Like, do you guys really live in a world dominated only by a single race? How unrealistic is that? LOL.
    But the prejudice about Autism is very real. First of all, I'm sorry about what your family is going through and I hope the specialists are able to help soon. I have a brother who was diagnosed with it and I also work with kids with special needs. Plus, my own little boy are showing signs of speech delay and possible autism so YES, this topic is close to my heart! Early intervention is key, and correct representation is important, especially in books and movies. <3

    Joan @ Fiddler Blue

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