Recommend Diverse Books

After a fantastic month of raising funds for We Need Diverse Books, let’s spread some holiday cheer and help people find their vacation reads. Feel free to recommend as many books as you want!

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Timestamp	Recommended By	Book Title	Book’s Author	Link to book	What makes this book a good way to broaden horizons?	What do you like about this book?	What content advisories would you give to readers?
12/16/2023 04:04 PM	Abigail W	Midnight Strikes	Zeba Shahnaz	https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61356596-midnight-strikes	Zeba is Pakistani-American. The book has positive bisexual rep and anti-colonialism.	Cinderalla x Groundhog Day! What a premise, and what a great book. Reluctant courtier Anais just has to make it through one more night at Court, when a horrific evening ends up with her in a time loop. The kingdom is based on medieval Spain, including the racism and colonizing (critically analyzed in a good day), but with magic thrown in! I was absolutely captivated by the MC and the mystery to figure out what was going on and how she would solve the problem.	Some swearing (in my mind not gratuitous). Blood described but not gory in my mind.
12/18/2023 03:28 AM	Yavanna	Babel	Rebecca F. Kuang	https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57945316	American-Chinese author with loads of historical knowledge that she uses to weave stories with Chinese main characters as a social commentary on colonization (see also some of her other work: Poppy Wars, Yellowface); shows different perspectives and insights into how colonization impacts people, economies, culture etc; shows a side of history that isn’t often taught in the West (at least where I’m from).	Insanely creative magic system. Kuang is exceptional at writing prose.	I’m halfway through now, so I can’t give that many content warnings–but it is a bit of a heavy read 😉
12/21/2023 01:52 PM	C.J. Subko	City of Brass	S.A. Chakraborty	https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32718027-the-city-of-brass?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13	COB Is set in historical Egypt and the main character is an Egyptian woman. Although she spends most of her time in the world of Djinn, the Djinn religion is heavily influenced by Islam.	The writing is luxurious without being too flowery. The plot is exciting and fast-paced; it’s a 400 page book but feels much shorter being the pacing is so good. Plus that chemistry between the two leads…amazing!
12/21/2023 02:08 PM	Joanne Macarania	The Hands of the Emperor	Victoria Goddard	https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43525897-the-hands-of-the-emperor?from_search=true&from_srp=2anQPbfzTg&qid=1	The main character’s culture is partly based on that of Pacific Islanders, many of the characters in the book are people of colour, and the story is inclusive in many ways — disabilities, queer identities, etc. Finally, the importance of diversity and inclusion are key themes of the book.	I love the characters, the worldbuilding, the themes, the social commentary, the criticisms of empire, and the sense of hope and purpose. I also love the themes of identity and belonging and finding your people.	There are many references an apocalypse (the Fall) that happens before the events of the book, and there are complicated family dynamics. The book also deconstructs the idea of empire, and so a lot of the themes revolve around difficult subjects of racism, sexism, colonialism and assimilation, corruption, etc.
12/21/2023 10:51 PM	Misty Danielles	A Universe of Wishes anthology	Dhonielle Clayton (editor)	https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-universe-of-wishes-a-we-need-diverse-books-anthology-dhonielle-clayton/15998704?aid=10378&ean=9781984896230&listref=wndb-anthologies	Each story focuses on various parts of diversity: Middle Eastern, African American, LGBTQ+, African, and Mexican. It also focuses on some issues that arises with diversity in a very magical way. There’s also stories from series: A Darker Shade of Magic, and Gemma Doyle.	I liked that though there were some stories that didn’t resonate me ( a lot of times with terms that I didn’t know), there were others I enjoyed.	Grief, colonization, death, homophobia.
12/26/2023 02:08 PM	bluburrycat	The Saint of Bright Doors	Vajra Chandrasekera	https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61884985-the-saint-of-bright-doors	This book is by a Sri Lankan author and is inspired by South Asian culture and politics. It explores the impact of colonialism and is set in a world dominated by religion.	incredible prose, exciting world building, and plenty of mystery
12/26/2023 02:13 PM	bluburrycat	She Who Becomes the Sun	Shelley Parker-Chan	https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48727813-she-who-became-the-sun	It’s set in 14th century China and contains queer rep.	The story is grim due to the war and violence, but it never loses its hopeful tone.
12/26/2023 02:17 PM	bluburrycat	Blue Skinned Gods	S.J. Sindu	https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56080525-blue-skinned-gods	The author is Tamilian, the beginning of the book is set in India. It explores identity, religion, and queerness.	beautiful prose and a very interesting exploration of religion and cults