Two years ago, a group of book bloggers got together with a simple, powerful mission:

Mindfully seek out diverse YA literature to read, discuss, and highlight.

We named ourselves the YA Diversity Book Club -- simple and straightforward -- and we've had such a great time finding new books to chat about each month.

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary, we would like to encourage others to read diversely too. So we're doing a 3-book giveaway, of forthcoming books from authors whose work we have featured and enjoyed in the past. We each chose one of the books personally. Here's mine -- the sequel to AN EMBER IN THE ASHES, which captivated me:

 A Torch Against the Night takes readers into the heart of the Empire as Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia’s brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts.

In the city of Serra, Helene Aquilla finds herself bound to the will of the Empire’s twisted new leader, Marcus. When her loyalty is questioned, Helene finds herself taking on a mission to prove herself—a mission that might destroy her, instead.

To learn more about the other books in the giveaway, please visit The Reading Date and Teen Lit Rocks!

To enter the giveaway, see below:

Now the YADBC will be taking a summer hiatus, but you can always check out the past 2 years of YA Diversity Book Club posts on Tumblr!


On a personal note: I will be taking a step back from YADBC, due to a big responsibility coming in a little package this November. I will forever and always read diversely, though! I hope you will too.

This month's YA Diversity Book Club selection is filled with magic and mythology. THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN by Roshani Chokshi is about a young woman whisked to a mysterious kingdom, where she might fall in love, discover incredible power latent inside herself, and change people's fates... or she could lose everything and everyone she has ever cared about.

As you can imagine, this was rich ground for our group discussion.





















































































Teen Lit Rocks: Thanks for the tip, Kristan! I haven't read anything else by her but know she's a favorite debut author by several writers I know through We Need Diverse Books. I look forward to her next book.


For more on THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN, check out:

• Q&A with author Roshani Chokshi at Teen Lit Rocks

• "Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The Star-Touched Queen Audiobook" at The Reading Date

The entire YA Diversity Book Club archives can now be found on Tumblr.

Next month we're celebrating our book club's 2-year anniversary!

It is always a pleasure to read and spotlight teen lit that features underrepresented or marginalized characters -- after all, that's the mission of YA Diversity Book Club -- but it is a particularly special honor to have S.J. Laidlaw, author of our April pick Fifteen Lanes, here to talk about some of her incredible life experiences and how they inspired her latest novel.

Please describe your book in a sentence or two. 

Set in Mumbai, Fifteen Lanes is the story of an impoverished sex worker’s daughter on the brink of being trafficked and a privileged but socially shunned Western girl, whose lives intertwine in a triumph of empathy over ignorance.

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

I spent over two years volunteering at NGOs that worked to prevent second generation trafficking in Mumbai, India. And I’ve spent many years counseling depressed teenagers clinically and in international schools.

One of the things that really surprised me about working with girls in the red-light district of Mumbai was how strong they were compared to many of the wealthy expat kids I’ve worked with. These brothel-raised girls are exposed to soul-destroying horrors and humiliations but somehow most of them rise above it. One thing is that they don’t consider themselves victims and definitely don’t want to be seen as such. I was constantly in awe of their resilience and determination. It was a story I had to tell.

What kind of research did you have to do to make sure your characters were authentic?

I’ve worked as a counselor in international schools and clinical settings for a long time, so that part of the research was already done, though I did interview the principal of the international school in Mumbai to discuss some of the cultural nuances I wanted to capture, for example attitudes toward homosexuality among her wealthy Indian students.

I spent more than two years volunteering at a night shelter in Kamathipura, the largest red-light district in Asia. I also tutored daughters of sex workers in my home and visited many organizations that provided support for the children of sex workers, including rescue homes and homes for HIV-infected children.

In addition, I attended a countrywide conference on sex trafficking in India and edited a national report on sex trafficking for Dasra, one of India’s largest strategic philanthropy organizations. The latter forced me to read extensively on sex trafficking so I could understand how the industry functioned.

How did you come to incorporate the diverse elements in your book? 

The story is told in the alternating first-person voices of an Indian brothel-raised girl and a Western girl, both of whom experience sexual violence. I also included a gay Indian boy, who’s struggling to come out to his family and friends. I wanted to include him for the many Asian boys I’ve counseled who’ve struggled with this. As hard as it is to be gay in Western culture, it’s even harder in most Asian cultures, including India.

How does the diversity in your book relate to your life? 

I left Canada when I was 21 years old to teach in a remote village in Africa. I spent close to three years in Africa. Often I was the only white person that people had ever seen. Some children in my village would run from me screaming. Others would stand at my window and watch me for hours, like I was a zoo animal. Most of the time I just read, or planned lessons, or marked papers, so I was the most boring zoo animal on the planet. But I learned what it felt like to be judged by my skin color. I also learned that a color is just that, nothing more. Even culture is an artifice to some extent. There are differences but they’re insignificant compared to the commonalities we all share that transcend culture.

Since that early beginning, I’ve continued to live and work overseas, mostly in the developing world. My students and counseling clients have always been racially, culturally and religiously diverse. Many are non-white and either Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu. Where I live, white kids are the minority.

When I do author visits now, I’m typically speaking to mostly, if not entirely, non-Western kids because I live in Asia and I speak to local as well as international school groups. I don’t know if I’d even be capable of writing a story about entirely mono-cultural kids. That hasn’t been my life experience for more than twenty-five years.

What are some of your favorite YA books about diverse characters?

I hate to choose favorites partly because I have a lot of author friends and I wouldn’t want to leave anyone off the list but also because I read voraciously and usually my favorite is the last book I’ve read. Today it’s Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan, which I finished reading yesterday! I’m also uniquely proud of the Gilded series, by Christina Farley, which draws on her years working in Korea. Christina and I have been critique partners for years.

I could read you some of the titles on my bookshelf that are staring at me as I answer these questions: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Lost Girl Found, Sold, I Am Taxi, Chanda’s Secrets, Copper Sun, When Everything Feels Like the Movies, Pigeon English, My Name is Parvana, Does My Head Look Big in This, Half of a Yellow Sun, Monster, I am Malala, The Alchemist and a bunch of adult books, many of which also feature diverse characters.

When I go into a bookstore I always scan the shelves for books set in foreign countries, with diverse characters, but truthfully I’m not sure I’m consciously thinking about promoting or supporting diversity. Those are just the books that interest me.

I enjoy books that help me to understand the world and different perspectives. I also look for books that resonate with me and because my life has been lived mostly in foreign lands, that results in choosing multicultural books. When I read Golden Boy I was transported back to my African home. I remembered the Albino boy in my village who the other children threw rocks at. I remember the hunted look in his eyes and our moment of kinship when I picked up a stick to chase off his tormentors.

What areas of diversity do you want to draw attention to or do you feel are underrepresented in books?

Personally, I’m interested in the lives of kids in the developing world who are marginalized through poverty, as well as ethnicity, gender or caste. I want to give a voice to children who have no voice. Someday I hope that they will have the education and freedom to tell their own stories but until that happens, I want to help bring their stories to light.


For more on FIFTEEN LANES, check out:

• Our group discussion at Teen Lit Rocks

• "Human Trafficking: Further Reading (and Fifteen Lanes book giveaway)" at The Reading Date

The entire YA Diversity Book Club archives can now be found on Tumblr, along with information about our upcoming book selections.

Next month we're reading THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN by Roshani Chokshi. Join us!

Inspired by world mythology, maps, politics, and most of all Hawaii, THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig is unlike any book we've read so far for the YA Diversity Book Club. It also falls into the #ownvoices movement, which is very cool. Have you read it? Here's what our book club thought:

What were your first impressions of The Girl From Everywhere?

We Heart YA: I loved Heilig’s writing and characters. The descriptions really drew me in; the story was very cinematic. The sailing, the mythology, the thieving… Lots of elements that I adore.

The Reading Date: YES the writing is descriptive and lovely. This one was out of my comfort zone but I could still relate to some of the family issues presented.

Teen Lit Rocks: I read PASSENGER earlier this year and loved it, so I wasn't sure what to expect from another book featuring a time-traveling girl on an old ship looking for answers about where she belongs. But, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it (even though I am not fond of the love triangle trope), but not as much as PASSENGER.

We Heart YA: Just curious, because I was intrigued by PASSENGER too: Are they actually similar? Or just both have the time travel/ship thing in common?

Teen Lit Rocks: There are also pirate and father-child issues, multi-culti romance, etc. I would say there are similarities, but there's more of a good vs. evil race in that one, whereas this is more of a heist type of story. There's more immersion in the various locales/time periods in PASSENGER, while GIRL stays mostly in Hawaii with brief moments in other settings. Anyhow, I highly recommend PASSENGER, especially since you enjoyed this story.

The Reading Date: I had read the PASSENGER comparisons which makes me curious to check it out sometime.

Maps, Time Travel, Pirate Ships and Dragons, oh my! How did you enjoy the time travel aspect of the story- was it easy to follow?

We Heart YA: At first I was worried the “timey-wimey” stuff would feel overwhelming to me, but because the writing was so strong in every way, I felt like the author knew what she was doing, so I trusted her with the time travel element too. And it did start to make sense pretty quickly -- as much sense as time travel can make, anyway! The only time my head kind of hurt was when Nix and Auntie Joss talked about Joss’s past and future… (Don’t want to say much more than that, because spoilers! Also because I’m still not sure I fully understood it, lol.)

The Reading Date: Er, yeah, sure, I could totally follow all the time travel stuff! OK, I got a little lost, but like you I went along for the ride.

Teen Lit Rocks: I was kind of bummed the maps didn't make it into the ARC. I think it would've been helpful to see the Maps she described. Time travel stories tend to create a paradox and a set of rules you have to keep straight, and it was mostly OK in this one, except it took a couple of read-throughs of the Auntie Joss situation for me to figure it out.

We Heart YA: Yeah I probably need to reread that exchange... By the way, the maps are viewable on Amazon! But I didn’t realize that until after I’d gotten pretty far into the book, and I have to say, I appreciated that I could follow the story easily without them. Sometimes in fantasy novels I’m hopelessly lost without the maps, and I hate that.

The Reading Date: I’m the odd-man out that doesn’t particularly care to refer to maps when I’m reading. I’d like to get everything from the text, but maybe in this case it would have been helpful to view the maps.

This own-voices book features a mixed-race heroine (“hapa haouli/haole”) and her bipolar father. Did this novel broaden your perspective in some way?

We Heart YA: Haha, well first of all, I’m biased because I’m a halfie (hapa) too! So I was really excited to read this story, about a halfie, by a halfie.

We Heart YA: Unless I missed it, the book never actually uses the word “bipolar,” which I think is an interesting choice. (Not right or wrong, just interesting!) To be honest, I don’t think I would have picked up on that specific trait/diagnosis for Slate, had I not been told. For me, his dominant issue was his addiction, and I thought that was portrayed and handled really well.

The Reading Date: I didn’t get that the father was bipolar either but only read about it through author interviews, including our book club q&a. And yes, I love own voices stories and was glad that the author felt comfortable enough to share some of her experience in the book.

Teen Lit Rocks: I didn't pick up on the father being bipolar at all. I thought of him as a perpetually grieving opium addict who was so focused on getting back to one timeline he couldn't see what was going on with his own daughter. I thought it was interesting how Kash, who was Persian, glossed as "half caste" (in India that meant a European dad and an Indian mom). That helped describe his looks to me. But can I take a moment to tell you that my friend Lauren (of Love Is Not a Triangle) and I have a joke about the disproportionate number of love interests with green eyes? Ha.

We Heart YA: Oh yeah, that’s definitely a thing. (Trope. Cliché.) My friend Linda wrote a great blog post about it, especially as relates to ASIAN characters (who are statistically almost never going to have green eyes). Link for anyone who is curious… http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2012/09/part-3-green-eyed-asian-love-interest.html

The Reading Date: That blog post is a must-read. Thanks for the link!

What did you think of the character development? Any characters particularly stand out to you?

The Reading Date: My favorite character by far was Kashmir. I think he brought a lot of life to the story.

Teen Lit Rocks: I LOVED Kashmir as well. He was wise beyond his years, clever, kind and so obviously willing to do anything to help and protect his amira.

We Heart YA: I actually think Nix was my favorite (except for her name, which inexplicably bugged me). Like many “strong female protagonists” in YA, she is hyper-competent at an unusual skill, but Heidig did such a good job presenting her as fully formed -- i.e., flawed and vulnerable too -- that I didn’t mind in the least. She struck me as a normal (smart) girl who made the most of a strange upbringing, rather than a special snowflake who excelled at everything.

We Heart YA: But yes, lol, after that, Kashmir. He’s a bit like Aladdin, right? The charming rogue with a heart of gold.

This book takes you from modern-day New York to 1868 Hawaii. (The author talks about how she was inspired to write this story by a newspaper article about an act of piracy in Honolulu.) How did you enjoy the historical aspect of the story? Did it make you yearn to travel to Hawaii?

The Reading Date: I thought the setting was unique and it definitely made me want to go back to Hawaii.

Teen Lit Rocks: I have only been to Hawaii once, but it was amazing. It was obvious, though, that there are lingering tensions between the native Hawaiians, the Mainlanders, and even the Missionaries… Hawaii is a fascinating place; this book reminded me of the themes in THE DESCENDANTS.

We Heart YA: Ditto what Sandie said. I really liked getting a deeper look at Hawaii before it joined the US. I think the richness of the indigenous culture really came through.

What did you think of the romance/love triangle?

We Heart YA: Sigh. It was fine -- I get it -- but my heart was always, always with Kash.

The Reading Date: Hear, hear! #TeamKash

Teen Lit Rocks: I found the other love interest bland and almost forced by comparison to Kash. I understood her reasoning and felt like "Finally," but then the other guy (who is sweet but vanilla) kept popping up. I am NOT a fan of that ambiguity.

Did any particular passage or scene stand out to you?

The Reading Date: Heilig has a captivating way with words that elevated the story. I didn’t note any particular passages but was impressed with the writing overall.

We Heart YA: Same.

Teen Lit Rocks: Honestly, I enjoyed the conversations between Kash and Nix when they reminisce about their pasts, how he came to join the crew, and how they're both basically orphans who have only the Temptation… and the people on it.

Can you picture The Girl From Everywhere as a movie? Who would star?

We Heart YA: Absolutely! Like I said, the writing unfolded so cinematically for me. I would cast unknowns for Nix and Kash… And then I would love Tate Ellington (from Quantico) for Slate, and maybe Uzo Aduba (from Orange Is the New Black) for Bee?

The Reading Date: Great casting choices! Yes, I can totally see Tate Ellington for Slate.

Teen Lit Rocks: I pictured Slate as a little older than that. For Nix, I pictured someone like a younger Malese Jow or Sophie Wu (obviously not them, since they're older). As for Kash, I pictured him a bit like this Persian model: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/542613455079367964/ here's another photo https://www.pinterest.com/pin/542613455079367733/ (yes, that Pinterest page is called Hot Persian Men).

We Heart YA: Lol. Oh yeah, Kourosh Sadeghi definitely fits my mental image for Kash. (I had never heard of him, I’m just going off those pics.) And a young Malese Jow would be perfect! (She’s “unknown” enough for me.)

The Reading Date: Ooh I like Malese Jow for Nix. I saw Forever Young Adult suggests Janel Parrish for Nix -- http://foreveryoungadult.com/2016/02/24/the-girl-from-everywhere/ -- which I also like.

The Reading Date: And whoa, those green eyes on that Persian model!!

If you could time travel to any time/place where would you go?

The Reading Date: I’m not really one for looking backwards, though I’d like to go back a few years so I could hang out with my mom some more. Also, to go back and buy tickets to Hamilton!

We Heart YA: Omg, LOL, right? Or maybe I’d go forward in time to when Hamilton isn’t the only thing everyone can talk about. (Note: I’m sure it’s fabulous and I really want to see it, but Crazy Hype in general bugs me.)

Teen Lit Rocks: Oh, I love HAMILTON, but I love a lot of musical theatre. Time travel stories make me think of that controversial Louis C.K. bit where he says only white men have the privilege of time travel. People of color and women can't go back to most time periods and still have freedom. But as an observer, I think I would've enjoyed visiting the '20s because it was a decade of promise, the Harlem Renaissance, the youth culture, the dances, the gorgeous clothes.

We Heart YA: Dang, good point, CK...

Anything else you’d like to add?

The Reading Date: A fun, unique, and adventurous story overall, even though I did get a little lost in the details sometimes.

Teen Lit Rocks: Do you know if there are sequels planned? And hello, how could anyone be anything but Team Kash?

We Heart YA: I know Heilig recently turned in edits on a sequel! I think there are only these 2 books planned, though. Regardless, I would check out anything by her. Her storytelling was so thoughtful and imaginative, and her writing was just great. Plus, there’s the obvious commitment to diversity! ;)


For more on THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE, check out:

• Q&A with author Heidi Heilig at The Reading Date
• "Love the One You're With" at Teen Lit Rocks

The entire YA Diversity Book Club archives can now be found on Tumblr, along with information about our upcoming book selections.

Next month we're reading IN REAL LIFE by Jessica Love. Join us!

My favorite part of being in YA Diversity Book Club is reading and bringing attention to stories that promote a more inclusive -- and thus more interesting -- view of the world. My least favorite part is that we don't have time to READ ALL THE THINGS! Alas.

Below are a few of my most anticipated diverse reads for 2016. Hopefully we'll pick some of them for #YADBC. The rest I will (happily) just have to tackle on my own!

THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig World travel + time travel + sea travel, written by a biracial Hawaiian.

GONE TO DRIFT by Diana McCaulay Set in a Jamaican fishing village, a boy goes searching for his grandfather, who is lost at sea. The YA debut of an award-winning Jamaican author.

THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN by Roshani Chokshi High fantasy inspired by Indian mythology. For a taste of this writer's achingly lovely style, check out her short story "The Star Maiden."

IF I WAS YOUR GIRL by Meredith Russo A trans girl falling in love, nervous the boy will not accept her past. Written by a trans woman.

A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT by Sabaa Tahir Sequel to our April 2015 pick, AN EMBER IN THE ASHES, which I loved.

INTO WHITE by Randi Pink A black girl in the Bible Belt prays to be white. Her wish comes true.

To see what Lucy is looking forward to this year, head over to The Reading Date.

To see what Sandie is looking forward to this year, check out Teen Lit Rocks.

And as ever, you can find the entire YA Diversity Book Club archives on Tumblr, including author interviews and upcoming selections. Hope you will read along with us!

Beautifully written and hauntingly tense, DELICATE MONSTERS does not ask easy questions, nor offer easy answers. (And we love it for that!) Fortunately for the YA Diversity Book Club, author Stephanie Kuehn agreed to answer a few of our questions, and we loved getting deeper insights about her story, the three main characters, and the themes of cruelty, compassion, sex, violence, and identity.


Please describe your book in a sentence or two.

After getting kicked out of her third boarding school in four years for almost killing a classmate, seventeen-year-old Sadie Su returns to her hometown of Sonoma and quickly seizes on the opportunity to toy with an old childhood friend—Emerson Tate, a boy Sadie happens to know holds unbearable secrets inside of him. Meanwhile, Emerson’s sickly—and possibly psychic—younger brother Miles has a vision of impending violence and seeks to discover what it is, setting off a chain of events in which the lives of all three teens unravel against the threat of this dark unknown.

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

There were lots of small things that inspired me. I wanted to write a female antihero, but not one anyone is meant to come to understand or who has a tragic backstory. I wanted to write a girl who is callous and cruel simply because she can to be. And I wanted to cast her against a boy who appears to be her opposite yet is similar to her in ways neither of them really understands. Both Sadie and Miles are people who see cruelty and compassion as zero-sum games, with Sadie determined to be the winner and Miles convinced that he’s a loser.

I also wanted to write a book that explored how acts of violence can happen for different reasons and the ways in which these actions are perceived. My initial question was: If you have three people who all commit violent acts, and the first person is someone who owns her actions; the second person is someone who feels guilty and/or rationalizes what they’ve done; and the third person is someone who is impaired in some way…do these explanations even matter? Or is it only the outcome that counts?

These questions led me to plot out the story in such a way that the reader moves through shifting vantage points of empathy; there are no fixed answers as to who is good or bad. That was important to me. Rather than approach morality prescriptively, I wanted to write a story that allowed teen readers to parse these issues for themselves.

What kind of research did you have to do to make sure your characters were authentic?

Culturally, I interviewed a number of teens and young adults who identify as biracial (Chinese American and European American) about their experiences growing up, as well as young people who came to the US from China to attend college (which was how Sadie’s father came to the United States). I also did a significant amount of research on family systems, personality disorders, paraphilias, abuse, parental loss, complex trauma, factitious and somatoform disorders—reading articles, books, watching videos, talking to clinicians who’ve treated teens struggling with these issues.

How did you come to incorporate the diverse elements in your book?

They were all there from the start, those elements. The book is about cruelty and compassion, victims and victimizers, and I wanted to show all the different places those dynamics play out: through perceived distinctions in class, education, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, mental health status, ability status. The characters bounce up against all of these lived experiences and have to reckon—for better or for worse—with the ways they use certain aspects of themselves to disempower or marginalize…as well as the ways they are simultaneously being disempowered or marginalized. Roman is the one person who ultimately models to Sadie what it might look like to disengage from this cycle of hurting to avoid being hurt, although what she takes from that is open to interpretation.

I know the book club asked in particular about Sadie’s and Emerson’s use of the n-word and why that word would come up if the vineyard workers they were around were primarily Hispanic (this is in reference to a childhood memory Sadie has of Emerson using “racial slurs” to refer to workers at her family’s vineyard), which I actually think is a good example of how this cycle of cruelty = power is perpetuated. I conceived of young Emerson as being the kind of kid who would run his mouth about anything racist, sexist, homophobic, etc—whether he’d picked this up from his mother, his father, or the auto repair shop where his dad worked isn’t specified. Conceivably Sadie would’ve heard a collection of these rants over the time they spent together, and that’s why she picks that word to taunt him with years later when he mentions playing basketball.

But Sadie’s recollection about him using racial slurs to address the vineyard workers is less about what words he uses in that instance, and more about her observation that he doesn’t say anything about her father. She recognizes that he’s using those words as a way to feel powerful—and that he feels disempowered by his family’s poverty. Later, of course, Sadie shames Emerson with his own words so that she can feel powerful.

How does the diversity in your book relate to your life?

I think all the aspects of diversity in the book are grounded from experiences in my life and the world around me. Biracial identity is important to me, personally, and while I don’t share the same background as Sadie, the negative space notion—that is, being defined by where you don’t fit in, not where you do, is one that I relate to. The interracial relationship between May and Emerson obviously has a lot of tension unrelated to race, but the elements of racism in their connection were important for me to convey. I feel like so many interracial relationships are written in such a way as to make the white character appear somehow free from bias, even when other people around them hold different views. That never feels authentic to me.

But beyond that, the core experiences in the book center around feeling like a bad person—having bad thoughts, wanting to hurt people who care about you (or wanting to hurt them because they care about you), using and demeaning others for one’s own benefit, or feeling worthless because you’ve been demeaned. These aren’t nice thoughts or actions, but they do happen. I don’t think we get anywhere or help anyone by pretending experiences like these don’t exist or by dehumanizing those who are involved in them.

What are some of your favorite YA books about diverse characters?

Pointe by Brandy Colbert
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert
Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour
Stick by Andrew Smith
47 by Walter Mosley
All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry
Starglass by Phoebe North
Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

What areas of diversity do you want to draw attention to or do you feel are underrepresented in books?

More than anything, I’m interested in exploring the intersection of mental illness with the psychology of adolescence. There are certain narratives or ways we talk about mental illness and teenagers that get told over and over again that I personally find disempowering, and also very limiting. There needs to be room for different types of stories. Even the really hard ones.

The characters in Delicate Monsters are all difficult people, but it was important to me to write each of them with the deepest of empathy. To see them as human is not to excuse their actions. Rather it’s a chance to expand our understanding of humanity—to look where we usually choose to look away. I wouldn’t write YA if I didn’t believe that all teens deserved to have their stories told. And I wouldn’t be a therapist if I weren’t always, always willing to listen.


Want more DELICATE MONSTERS? Be sure to check out all of our great posts:

• Our book club's discussion at Teen Lit Rocks
• "Delicate Monsters: Further Reading (and Giveaway!)" at The Reading Date

The entire YA Diversity Book Club archives can now be found on Tumblr, along with information about our upcoming book selections.

Next month we will each be reviewing our favorite diverse reads from 2015 (even if they weren't our featured in our book club) and spotlighting a few diverse reads we're looking forward to in 2016!

According to GoodReads...

"Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters."

According to us...

The Reading Date: First of all, did we all read Fangirl? Were you interested in reading more of Simon and Baz's story?

We Heart YA: HAHA great question. I LOVED Fangirl, but I found the fanfic interlude chapters to be a bit of a distraction. Fun! But not necessary. So no, I wasn't all that interested in Simon & Baz as part of Fangirl. But I kind of trust Rainbow Rowell with anything, lol.

The Reading Date: For me, the fanfic parts of Fangirl weren't my favorite parts. But I was surprised how much I really enjoyed these characters in Carry On.

The Reading Date: Carry On kind of makes me want to re-read Fangirl now for more of their story.

We Heart YA: oohhhh GOOD IDEA. I think those sections would mean more to me now -- or mean something different, anyway

The Reading Date: I'm sure you've both read Harry Potter. Did you compare the two "worlds" as you were reading Carry On?

We Heart YA: Not intentionally, but it's impossible not to see some parallels. To me, Carry On felt like if someone took Harry Potter, Twilight, and Rainbow Rowell's voice and then shoved it all into a blender. I mean that in a good way! The story is very much in dialogue with other stories -- but it's also very much Rainbow's own.

The Reading Date: Oh I love that!!! And yeah, even though this is new territory for Rainbow, being a work of fantasy, it still very much had her contemporary touch on it if that makes sense. It was accessible for me - someone not that crazy about fantasy.

The Reading Date: What has your experience been with fanfic? Ever read or written any?

Teen Lit Rocks: I have read a lot of fanfic but all Harry Potter

We Heart YA: I've read lots of fanfic, and written some, but it was all well before YA's heydey, so it was mostly TV shows I liked (such as Star Trek and Sailor Moon)

We Heart YA: I think Carry On is distinct from fanfic, even if it has some roots there, or similarities.

The Reading Date: Right? This book concept is crazy like fanfic of a fanfic- and it sounds like it wouldn't work but it does!

We Heart YA: lol Rainbow is magic that way. She makes all sorts of things that shouldn't work, work

The Reading Date: Hee yes! I saw Rainbow speak at Comic-Con this summer and she was saying how writing Carry On was so difficult for her. Writing Fantasy vs. Contemporary was so new and different. But yup she makes it work!

The Reading Date: It's a long book but it reads quickly, doesn't it?

We Heart YA: omg yes. Rainbow's prose is so simple and honest, I zip right through it

The Reading Date: What's your favorite Rainbow book?

We Heart YA: Fangirl, actually. I identified strongly with Cath, and even though I've never been to Nebraska, the story transported me right back to my college days, which are among the best and most formative of my life

The Reading Date: That totally makes sense about Fangirl. Cath is so relatable,

Teen Lit Rocks: I think Eleanor and Park is still my favorite but I love them all

The Reading Date: I'm cheating because I don't know that I have a favorite! But Fangirl is a good one- I like them all for different reasons. I really didn't expect to like Carry On so much though.

We Heart YA: I like them all for different reasons too, hehe, and I also did not expect to like Carry On so much

The Reading Date: So, was this a book you were drawn into right away because you were familiar with the characters from Fangirl? How did it compare to Rainbow's other books for you?

Teen Lit Rocks: To be honest I would sometimes skim the story within a story in fangirl so I wasn't sure how it would work for me. I needed assurances from a close friend and book blogger that it wasn't going to be just a rainbow-fied spoof of HP

We Heart YA: Mm, I didn't remember too much about the characters from Fangirl, so that wasn't the draw for me. I just adore Rainbow's storytelling and narrative voice -- which were strong as ever in this, even though it was a very different kind of book for her

The Reading Date: Were you satisfied with the book in the end?

Teen Lit Rocks: Yes! In some ways Simon has to sacrifice more of himself than Harry did and I wondered if she was the sort of HP fan who felt like Harry got off a bit too easy

We Heart YA: I finished the book pretty recently, so I'm still parsing out my feelings... but overall I would say yes, I am satisfied. I especially appreciated the commentary represented by Agatha and by the Mage

Teen Lit Rocks: And I was worried about the romance because m:m written by het women can be seen as slash instead of genuinely romantic

We Heart YA: While I'm not sure how I felt about the romance from Simon's side, I got chills from Baz's perspective

The Reading Date: I definitely shipped those two. The book really came alive for me when Baz came on the scene.

Teen Lit Rocks: Yes!

We Heart YA: YES!

Teen Lit Rocks: And you have to read like a third of it until he makes an appearance

We Heart YA: OMG I KNOW IT WAS TORTURE (I mean, not really torture, lol... But I was definitely anxious to meet him, and to find out why he was missing. (Numpties! Lol)

Teen Lit Rocks: Basically her romances ALWAYS work for me. She's the YA goddess of tension and anticipation

The Reading Date: Yes! I was super impressed with the story, the magic, the friendships and romance. And I was so skeptical but won over at the end. But I still want Rainbow to write more contemporary ☺

Teen Lit Rocks: Yes! I felt the same way

We Heart YA: In terms of diversity, there is the very obvious same sex coupling. But there was also subtle racial diversity (with Penelope and her family being Indian -- which wasn't an Issue at all, just a sidebar fact). And then there was what I thought was some interesting socioeconomic/class diversity, which was actually part of the plot.
Teen Lit Rocks: Indian Weasleys

We Heart YA: LOL so true. Although grumpier?

Teen Lit Rocks: I thought of Penelope as a mashup of Ron and Hermione. One True Friend, no romantic tension, large wizarding family, boyfriend she met on wizarding exchange.

Teen Lit Rocks: Lauren and I also noticed several Twilight references with the vampire romance

We Heart YA: Oh for sure! There were some good jokes/jabs in Carry On too, in reference to Twilight, Harry Potter, and a few other pop culture things I forget now. (Good natured jabs, I should clarify)

The Reading Date: I love that Rainbow is a Twilight fan!

We Heart YA: ME TOO. I hate how much hate Twilight gets. (There's a diff between criticism and hate)

The Reading Date: YES def.

The Reading Date: It was nice to see a gay romance at the center of the book. That's rare in fantasy, no?

Teen Lit Rocks: As the central story line yes. Although they exist… I just haven't read them! I did love Alex London's sci-fi/dystopian duology

The Reading Date: Oh right- Proxy was really good.

The Reading Date: Would you want to read more stories about Simon/Baz or should Rainbow move on to something new?

Teen Lit Rocks: I feel like she should go back to contemporary

We Heart YA: Hm. I feel like Simon/Baz is fairly complete at this point... She took them through their big journey

We Heart YA: I know that when we love stories, it's tempting to want more, but sometimes when authors give us more, they just muck things up... :P

The Reading Date: Agreed!

Teen Lit Rocks: Yes! I also think that sometimes publishers want bestselling authors to stay with their beloved universe/characters too long. It's like the equivalent of jumping the shark

We Heart YA: Exactly

Teen Lit Rocks: Like there are a few authors I want to read more from -- but not if it's yet another series about the same fairies/demonhunters/vampire lovers

We Heart YA: I love how Rainbow keeps moving on, giving us great standalones, but creating this body of work that is distinct but still satisfies fans hungering for more


Are you hungering for more CARRY ON? Then be sure to check out all of our great posts:

• "Keep Calm and Listen On: The Carry On Audiobook Experience" at The Reading Date
• "5 Things to Know About Rainbow Rowell" at Teen Lit Rocks

The entire YA Diversity Book Club archives can now be found on Tumblr, along with information about our upcoming book selections.

If you would like to join us in reading diversely next month, pick up a copy of DELICATE MONSTERS by Stephanie Kuehn.