In Episode 2 of my podcast, Diversity and BIPOC Representation in Books, I share and discuss five of my favorite books:
- Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
- This middle grade novel-in verse beautiful explores themes of grief, loss of a parent, mental health, family, and friendship.
- Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Another novel-in-verse, Poet X was my introduction to this genre that meshes prose with poetry. We meet Xiomara who is dealing with a strict, religious mother while she tries to find her voice through spoken word and falls in love.
- The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
- Compelling mystery set on native reservation, Daunis is half indigenous and feels out of place. When she meets a federal agent investigating how meth is coming onto the island, she develops feelings. This book has it all and kept me guessing until the very end.
- A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
- A third novel-in-verse, haha, A Time to Dance is about a young Indian girl who excels at traditional Indian dance and becomes an amputee after a bus accident. But that doesn't stop her as she fights her way back to being able to dance again.
- As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
- Oh, Lemon Trees. I could go on and on. Salama was a pharmacy student until civil war forces her to become an emergency room doctor. As she tries to save the victims of war, she's also fighting for a way to leave her beloved country to protect the only family she has left, her pregnant sister-in-law. However, she's also struggling through her own trauma/PTSD in the form of a physical embodiment named Khawf who torments her.
Listen to the full episode to hear what I loved about each book in detail.
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