Today’s theme at the Broke and the Bookish is 10 Books that Celebrate Diversity. I’ve been writing a lot about this topic this year and recommending a lot of books written by authors of color. For this post I decided to focus on a different area of diversity.
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Amputees
A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.
My review here.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes
The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust.
And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.
My review here.
Hammered by Elizabeth Bear
Once Jenny Casey was somebody’s daughter. Once she was somebody’s enemy. Now the former Canadian special forces warrior lives on the hellish streets of Hartford, Connecticut, in the year 2062. Racked with pain, hiding from the government she served, running with a crime lord so she can save a life or two, Jenny is a month shy of fifty, and her artificially reconstructed body has started to unravel.
I haven’t read this one yet. I couldn’t be a good sci-fi/fantasy fan though without mentioning cyborgs though. Cinder would fit into this category too.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother’s past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete, however, Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more.
Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone’s throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga – Greece’s former leper colony. Then she finds Fotini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion.
My review here.
Autism
Almost Perfect by Diane Daniels Manning
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Bess meets Benny, a teenager with mild autism who attends a therapeutic special school, and learns he has a dream of his own: to impress his self-absorbed mother. Benny is drawn into the world of dog shows and becomes convinced he has found the perfect way to win his mother’s attention. If he can win Westminster with either McCreery or Breaker, he just knows she will finally be proud of him. Getting Bess to go along with his plan, however, is not going to be so easy. . .
My review here.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
ForeWord Review’s BOOK OF THE YEAR for Historical Fiction (2009) Noah built an ark, but this story has never been told! Noah’s wife is Na’amah, a brilliant young girl with a form of autism (now known as Aspergers). Na’amah wishes only to be a shepherdess on her beloved hills in ancient Turkey–a desire shattered by the hatred of her powerful brother, the love of two men, and a disaster that threatens her world.
My review here.
Transgender
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In 2011, Marie Claire magazine published a profile of Janet Mock in which she stepped forward for the first time as a trans woman. Those twenty-three hundred words were life-altering for the People.com editor, turning her into an influential and outspoken public figure and a desperately needed voice for an often voiceless community. In these pages, she offers a bold and inspiring perspective on being young, multicultural, economically challenged, and transgender in America.
My review here.
Intersex
None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex… and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.
My review here.
Female Genital Mutilation
Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Waris Dirie ran away from her oppressive life in the African desert when she was barely in her teens, illiterate and impoverished, with nothing to her name but a tattered shawl. She traveled alone across the dangerous Somali desert to Mogadishu—the first leg of a remarkable journey that would take her to London, where she worked as a house servant; then to nearly every corner of the globe as an internationally renowned fashion model; and ultimately to New York City, where she became a human rights ambassador for the U.N.
My review here.
Vitaligo
Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina by Michaela DePrince
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The extraordinary memoir of Michaela DePrince, a young dancer who escaped war-torn Sierra Leone for the rarefied heights of American ballet.
Michaela DePrince was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a “devil child” for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted.
My review here.
In compiling this list I realized that I don’t have any books with either blind or deaf main characters. I’ve read books with blind supporting characters like The Fault In Our Stars and the Alpha and Omega series and all manner of blind seers popping up in fantasy books but no main characters. Any suggestions?
[…] week, I really enjoyed Heather’s post on books with diversity (a goal of mine for this year was reading more diverse books) and Verushka’s post about […]
What a unique look at the topic of diversity. I have not read any of these books so thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday linkup. Pinned to our linkup board too.
None of the Above and Minnow Bly were both fantastic! I am going to have to check out some of the other books on your list for sure. Thanks for sharing them, this is a fabulous list!
This is an awesome list — and so many I didn’t know were out there. Thank you for posting!
I’ve heard a lot of The Secret Lies of Minnow Bly lately. 🙂
It was very good.
I’ve heard of this book, The One Thing, which has a blind MC. It doesn’t release until September, but it sounds quite good.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/top-ten-tuesday-14/
I so want to read None of the Above! I read a TON of books with mental and physical disabilities and afjsdkla they’re so good and I love them. I totally recommend All the Bright Places (which is a YA about bipolar) and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (which is a YA about a boy with Aspergers). 😀
Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
What an interesting list! I was looking forward to this topic to get some book ideas:)! Hammered and A Time to Dance look particularly up my alley.
Janet Mock’s story was on my radar but I didn’t realize she wrote a book! Must check that out!
It is a really interesting look at growing up in marginalized communities.
I haven’t read any of these books so I’m making notes! Great list.
Wow that’s an amazing list, I’ll definitely be checking a Time to Dance
Hi ! By the way, I nominated you for the Liebster Award ! You can check it out here https://bookpoisoning.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/liebster-award/#more-951
OMG YES! The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly was such an amazing book! It was SO good!! Everyone needs to read it! The rest of these are new to me, so thanks for the suggestions!
Here are my Top Ten!
Thanks for this list! I added a few to my TBR and I’m especially excited about Minnow Bly! None of the Above is the only one on this list I’ve read but it was a good read and one that I will be recommending to anyone who will list. Great list!
Amanda @ i solemnly swear
This is a great list! I haven’t read any of the books you mention, but several have caught my eye and I will definitely be looking into. Particularly Desert Flower.
Desert Flower was intriguing because as a child she begged to have the procedure done because it made you grown up. Now she fights against it.
I loved None of the Above and I really want to read Minnow Bly – that one’s on my read-sooner-than-later list for sure!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction