Summer Reading
The phrase “summer reading” tends to conjure
thoughts that fall solidly into one of two categories: the
boring-read-for-school books or the fluffy-beach-read books. As part of our
Pesky Diversity Reading Challenge we asked that your summer books contain a
main character who is a person of color, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still
be on the lighter side. Here are a few books that fit both categories:
Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
Maya is a “good” Indian girl trying to finish
high school and convince her over protective parents to allow her to attend
film school in New York next year. Although Ahmed introduces serious topics
about race and Islamophobia this is still a classic YA romantic coming of age
story with good writing and a sense of humor.
Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy by Kevin Kwan
The trilogy begins when Chinese American Rachel
agrees to travel to Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick, for a family wedding.
She soon finds out he belongs to a “crazy rich” group of expats who scheme and connive
and cause all sorts of problems for Rachel. The series continues Rachel and
Nick’s story but also branches out into a number of other characters. Kwan’s
humorous writing and attention to detail make these books interesting and funny
while touching on many topics of social and economic diversity.
Sag Harbor by
Colson Whitehead
Whitehead wrote a number of books before The
Underground Railroad and some of them are pretty good. Sag Harbor
follows 15 year old Benji through the summer of 1985 in the African American
enclave on Long Island where his family has a beach house. Not a lot happens,
but the character driven story feels beachy and delves into being a black
teenager in the 80’s without getting too heavy. Definite nostalgic bonus for
anyone who spent summers at a beach house.
There are so many books that meet the POC main
character criteria for the Pesky Challenge we hope that you will try at least
one. If you need some help getting started check out our list of books here, or the whole guide for more information on the challenge. Happy reading!
