Written by Malaika Writes
In the past ten years there’s been immense growth in race representation within mainstream media. While there’s always been a market for books with POC leads, the amount of POC books that can be found in the forefront of book media has grown spectacularly, alongside the growth of diversity as well. With Black History Month still fresh on everyone’s minds, here are some books with POC leads that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.
Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America
Black Enough is an anthology that is filled with beautiful short stories about different, and often hidden, experiences of being a black teen in America. The anthology has well crafted stories that resonate deeply with black people around the world who have experienced or heard of similar situations within their lives. Black Enough is a unique book that everyone should invest in reading in order to gain understanding of black experiences and black communities, not only in America, but also worldwide. The anthology contains stories that are strong both by themselves and within the collection as a whole.
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Binti is a sci-fi coming-of-age novella that explores the difficulties of balancing and not losing your heritage while going against traditions in order to fulfil your dreams. The book explores racism and segregation in a straightforward way that isn’t overwhelming for most readers. It’s an easily digestible book and can be read in one sitting, but yet it’s still packed with lessons and informative situations that can teach anyone something about race, gender, and the way different types of communities/tribes work.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
A list about books with people of colour leads wouldn’t be complete without The Hate U Give being mentioned. The award winning young adult book created waves not only in literature, but in the world as well. The book tackles racism, police brutality and activism in a way that correlates closely to what many black people in America face in a daily basis. The Hate U Give was the start of an era of young adult POC literature being in the forefront of media and carving a permanent spot at the media table. The book was revolutionary and will go down in history as one of the biggest diverse books of the time period. One things for certain, the book is definitely worth the hype.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before was a teen phenomenon when it was adapted into one of the biggest Netflix movies of 2018. The cute, romantic book had hearts full as we all got drawn in by a story with a POC lead that wasn’t necessarily focused on being a person of colour. The book takes romance and makes it accessible to a younger audience, which made the story huge within pop culture. There’s something refreshing about reading a sweet, and not heavily political book, that still has impact and makes waves in the POC community.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Poet X is one of the best books of the era, period. The book tells a story in such a unique way by using prose. Each page, no matter how minimal, feels like a poem with meaning inside it. The book was highly hyped around its release, and it deserved every bit of hype that it got. The book should be a really should be a staple on everyone’s bookshelf.
And here are a few extra recommendations for those avid readers out there:
Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday by Natalie C. Anderson
Forced to become a child soldier, a sixteen-year-old Somali refugee must confront his painful past in this haunting, thrilling tale of loss and redemption for fans of A Long Way Gone and What is the What
The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
A gritty novel that doesn’t shy away from the darkest corners of ourselves, The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali provides a timely and achingly honest portrait of what it’s like to grow up feeling unwelcome in your own culture and proves that love, above all else, has the power to change the world.
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.
