T10T: Diverse 2018 Releases I Loved

January 15, 2019

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic was supposed to be about new-to-me authors I read in 2018, but I’ve done so many posts about authors lately that I wanted to focus on something different, so I’m highlighting ten of my favorite diverse reads published in 2018.

I couldn’t narrow it down to ten, so you’re getting a Top Eighteen Tuesday this week! ?

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1. Sawkill Girls — Claire Legrand
YA dark fantasy/mystery
rep: queer (f/f), ace, Black, fat

2. Sadie — Courtney Summers
YA mystery
rep: speech impediment, queer (f/f)

 3. Blanca & Roja — Anna-Marie McLemore
YA fantasy/magical realism
rep: Latinx, trans, queer, disability (vision impairment)

4. Next Year in Havana — Chanel Cleeton
adult contemporary/historical fiction crossover
rep: Cuban

5. Toil & Trouble — anthology edited by Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe
YA anthology: fantasy, contemporary
rep: queer, multiple POC reps, fat

6. Over and Over Again — Cole McCade
new adult romance/contemporary
rep: Romani, queer (m/m), demisexual

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7. When My Heart Joins the Thousand — A. J. Steiger
YA contemporary
rep: autism, disability (osteogenesis imperfecta)

8. Mirage — Somaiya Daud
YA sci-fi/fantasy
rep: Moroccan

9. A Thousand Beginnings and Endings — anthology edited by Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman
YA anthology: contemporary, sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal
rep: multiple Asian reps, queer

10. The Astonishing Color of After — Emily X. R. Pan
YA contemporary/fantasy
rep: Chinese, biracial, depression

11. A Girl Like Her — Talia Hibbert
adult romance/contemporary
rep: Black, autism, fat, PTSD

12. The Way You Make Me Feel — Maurene Goo
YA contemporary
rep: South Korean, Brazilian, Chinese

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13. Reign of the Fallen — Sarah Glenn Marsh
YA fantasy
rep: queer, POC side characters, (Black, Asian, possibly more), addiction

14. Undead Girl Gang — Lily Anderson
YA mystery/contemporary/horror (light)
rep: Afro-Latinx, Black, fat

15. A Very Large Expanse of Sea — Tahereh Mafi
YA contemporary
rep: Muslim

16. Summer Bird Blue — Akemi Dawn Bowman
YA contemporary
rep: Asian (Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Samoan, Black), asexual, aromantic, depression

17. Beneath the Sugar Sky — Seanan McGuire
adult fantasy
rep: fat, queer, trans, asexual, Latinx, Japanese—it’s been a while and I know I’m missing some here!

18. The Kiss Quotient — Helen Hoang
adult romance/contemporary
rep: autism, Vietnamese, biracial

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What were some of your favorite diverse 2018 releases?

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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

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    1. Greg

      January 15, 2019

      Ooh there’s a bunch of books on here that I want to read. Sawkill Girls, Sadie, and A Thousand Beginnings and Endings for sure. Undead Girl Gang sounds fun too. 🙂

      Reply

    1. Brooke Lorren

      January 15, 2019

      The Kiss Quotient was great!
      I don’t particularly pay attention to whether a book is diverse or not… I just want to read a good story… but a quick look at the top 10 books I read in 2018, and more than half of them had some sort of diversity to them. I’m glad that publishers are offering all sorts of books to us.

      Reply

    1. everythingalyce

      January 15, 2019

      I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t read any of these books yet, although I’ve had my eye on a few of them for a while. This list has made me think I need to prioritise a few of them, though – I had no idea that Sadie included a character with a speech impediment, and I didn’t know that Summer Bird Blue had aromantic/asexual rep either. Great list.

      Reply

      1. Destiny @ Howling Libraries

        January 19, 2019

        Thank you! Yes, Sadie’s speech impediment is a big part of her character arc, but it’s done so well and I really loved it. And SBB has such good aro/ace rep! I hope you like the ones you pick up 🙂

        Reply

    1. esmoogle

      January 15, 2019

      18!! You’re spoiling us! Undead Girl Gang and Sawkill Girls were already on my tbr, but now I’ve added a bunch more. Thanks for helping me read more diversely 🙂

      Reply

    1. Jolien @ The Fictional Reader

      January 15, 2019

      I absolutely adored Sadie as well! I really need to read Sawkill Girls and Next Year in Havana. I’ll need to remind myself to buy copies of those soon. Also, I’m really excited to read A Girl Like Her! I bought it after seeing you mention it in one of your posts, and I really feel like I’m in the mood to pick it up soon.

      Reply

    1. Marie

      January 15, 2019

      This is a great list! I LOVED The Astonishing Color so much. I can’t wait to read Blanca & Roja, as well as Toil & Trouble, both sound so good 🙂

      Reply

    1. malanielovesfiction

      January 15, 2019

      I am freaking out bc I didn’t even realize Sadie ft. a queer character???? sldkfj I need to reread, I read the audiobook and it was my very first audiobook so that explains my detail-missing,,,,,,but HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN
      also i’m so excited for sawkill girls!

      Reply

      1. Destiny @ Howling Libraries

        January 19, 2019

        It’s kinda subtle but yes!! She’s attracted to the girl she meets and there are some minor references she makes. When it first came out I saw some reviewers say they thought she was just starved for attention and I think the author actually confirmed that she is attracted to girls! <3
        I hope you love Sawkill Girls!!

        Reply

    1. Tiffany G.

      January 16, 2019

      I’ve only read Sadie in this list. I didn’t really enjoy the book, although the audio book was fun. Just didn’t like the story. I’ve been wanting to pick up Mirage (THAT COVER!). I’m constantly looking to your blog for recs!
      tiffanysbookblog.com

      Reply

    1. Jessica at Booked J

      January 16, 2019

      SO MANY GOOD BOOKS ON HERE. I still have a few on my TBR I need to get to (starting, ironically, with the first book on your list: Sawkill Girls) and ughhh I’m READY.

      Reply

    1. Jenna @ Falling Letters

      January 16, 2019

      The Astonishing Color of After is on my priority list for this year! I love Anna-Marie McLemore and devoured Blanca & Roja and will continue to devour everything she writes but… as a person who is not a romance fan, I feel after four books I’m starting to tire of the same general arcs to the romantic plots ? This is just a personal preference though – there’s so much more going on in each of her books that makes them well worth reading!

      Reply

      1. Destiny @ Howling Libraries

        January 19, 2019

        TACOA was so beautiful but SO heavy at times, so make sure to have tissues on standby. I remember just being stunned by how spot-on some of the commentary on depression and suicide was. And that’s actually really understandable, how you’re feeling about the romance in AMM’s books! I’ve only read 2 novels and a few short stories from her, and I loved them all, but I find that I have to be in just the right “mood” for her romances because they do feel a bit similar! So I can definitely see how it would bug you if you’re not a big romance fan in general!

        Reply

    1. Annemieke

      January 17, 2019

      Hoping to read Beneath the Sugar Sky and A Thousand Beginings soon. I’ve only read Toil and Trouble and Reign of the Fallen but both were great reads yes. 🙂

      Reply

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