Susan over at Color Online says: “Put an ‘X’ by what you’ve read, “#” by what books are on your tbr and “!” by books you loved. This list is very short and focused on women writers of color. Feel free to add titles in your comments.” I’m still new to YA lit, so a lot of these titles will have to be added to my TBR list (which is already really long!)
Susan’s Unofficial List of Great YA by or About Women of Color:
X 1. When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune by Lori A. Williams
2. Every Time A Rainbow Dies by Rita Williams-Garcia
3. No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia
4. Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia
X 5. If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
6. The House You Pass On The Way by Jacqueline Woodson
7. Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
8. From The Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson
9. Sold by Patricia McCormick
X 10. A Step from Heaven by An Na
X 11. The Parable of The Sower by Octavia E. Butler
X 12. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
X 13. Persepolis by Majane Satrapi
14. The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon
15. Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
X 16. Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
X 17. A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott
X 18. Down To The Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole
19. Don’t Get It Twisted by Paula Chase
20. Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson
21. Forged by Fire by Sharon Draper
22. Kendra by Coe Booth
23. Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger
24. Does My Head Look Big In This? By Randa Abdel-Fattah
25. Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
26. Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim
27. The Meaning of Conseulo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
28. In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
X 29. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
30. First Part Last by Angela Johnson
X 31. Pemba’s Song by Marilyn Nelson
32. Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan
33. M + O 4EVR by Tonya Hegamin
34. Lucy The Giant by Sherri L. Smith
35. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
36. Throwaway Piece by Jo Ann Hernandez
37. White Bread Competition by Jo Ann Hernandez
38. Across A Hundred Mountains by Reyna Grande
39. Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
40. Ash by Malinda Lo
X 41. The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
Zetta,
You’ve read a good number of them but where is your ‘!’ by 17?
I do this on goodreads, too…I’ll say what I’ve read, but won’t assign stars; reporting on books is one thing–rating them is another. Too many factors go into what makes a book enjoyable or meaningful…