My Top 25 Most Anticipated Diverse Book Releases for the Second Half of 2019!

Happy Tuesday, friends! You know what that means? It’s Top Ten Tuesday time. 🙂

As you can see from the title of this post, however, I am, in fact, going to be talking about twenty-five books because I am an indecisive mush and there are too many exciting book releases to talk about!

I’ve also decided to make this post specifically about diverse books because (a) these are the releases that I most want to focus my support on, and (b) there are so many amazing-sounding diverse books releasing soon that my anticipated releases list would probably be mostly diverse anyway tbh.

I tried to include the most specific representation information possible, but if I missed anything or made a mistake, please let me know!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme run by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

Book covers are from Goodreads and link to the books’ respective Goodreads pages.

Heartstopper Volume 2 | Alice Oseman | July 11th | I’ve already read Heartstopper in webcomic form, but nonetheless, I’ll be re-reading once the second volume comes out because the art is beautiful and the characters are so!! Precious!!

Genre: young adult; graphic novel; contemporary; romance
Rep: gay main character; bisexual main character; POC side characters; trans side character

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling | Wai Chim | August 5th | The main things I know about this book are that (1) the main character’s family has a restaurant, and (2) it talks about mental health, both of which sound intriguing to me. But really, I’m down for pretty much anything that has to do with food, not gonna lie.

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: Asian main character and major characters (#OwnVoices); mental health rep (unsure of specifics)

Let’s Call It a Doomsday | Katie Henry | August 6th | I’ve been wanting to read Katie Henry’s books because her previous book, Heretics Anonymous, sounds super good, and this upcoming release, about mental health and two girls bonding over a doomsday vision, sounds interesting too.

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: main character with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) who is (I think) questioning her sexuality

The Downstairs Girl | Stacey Lee | August 13th | A historical fiction novel about a badass, maid-by-day, journalist-by-night seventeen-year-old? Sign me up. Also I found an ARC of this in my local Little Free Library which was the most exciting thing ever!!

Genre: young adult; historical fiction
Rep: Asian main character (#OwnVoices)

The Revolution of Birdie Randolph | Brandy Colbert | August 20th | I haven’t read anything by Brandy Colbert yet, but this one, which is about parental expectations and a girl becoming closer with her aunt who has struggled with addiction, sounds super good. Also the cover is absolutely gorgeous!!

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: Black main character (#OwnVoices)

Color Me In | Natasha Diaz | August 20th | Natasha Diaz’s debut sounds like a super interesting book about family relationships and intersectional identity.

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: biracial (Black and White) and Jewish main character (at least partially #OwnVoices, though I’m not sure about specifics)

Loki: Where Mischief Lies | Mackenzi Lee | September 3rd | Look, this is a Marvel novel written by Mackenzi Lee set in 18th century London about pansexual and genderfluid Loki, so yeah, sounds pretty awesome.

Genre: young adult; fantasy
Rep: pansexual and genderfluid main character

Permanent Record | Mary H.K. Choi | September 3rd | I’m mad at myself for not yet having read this author’s debut, but I hope to rectify that by soon reading (a) that book, and (b) this romance about a super famous girl and a normal boy.

Genre: young adult; contemporary; romance
Rep: Asian main character (#OwnVoices)

The Fire Keeper (The Storm Runner #2) | J.C. Cervantes | September 3rd | I really enjoyed the first book in this series (read my review here), so I’m excited to read the next phase of Zane’s adventures!

Genre: middle grade; fantasy
Rep: Latinx (#OwnVoices) and disabled main character; story is inspired by Mayan mythology

The Truth Is | NoNieqa Ramos | September 3rd | I hadn’t heard of this author/book until I started researching for this post, but The Truth Is, in which the main character copes with her best friend’s death and dates a trans boy whom her family doesn’t approve of, sounds really interesting.

Genre: young adult; contemporary; romance
Rep: Puerto Rican main character (#OwnVoices); transgender major character

Are You Listening? | Tillie Walden | September 10th | Tillie Walden’s art is so gorgeous and I loved both of her books that I’ve read, so OF COURSE I will be reading her next graphic novel. This one is about friendship and sexual assault and it’s set in Texas but with fantasy elements.

Genre: young adult; graphic novel; fantasy
Rep: LGBTQ+ rep (not sure of specifics, but the author tagged the book announcement on her tumblr as LGBTQ; #OwnVoices for LGBTQ+ rep)

How to Be Remy Cameron | Julian Winters | September 10th | I’ve heard such great things about Julian Winters, and his next novel, about labels and knowing yourself, sounds super good and intersectional, and also the cover is SO NICE, I LOVE IT. Also there’s a dog.

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: main character is Black, gay, and adopted (at least partially #OwnVoices)

Frankly in Love | David Yoon | September 10th | This book has the fake-dating trope and the title is a pun (because the main character’s name is Frank), so I already love it. I actually won a Goodreads giveaway for an ARC of this, which was super exciting, so I’ll be reporting back about my thoughts after my copy arrives!

Genre: young adult; contemporary; romance
Rep: Korean-American main character and side characters (I think #OwnVoices)

Stargazing | Jen Wang | September 10th | This sounds like such a cute graphic novel, and I can’t wait to read it because I adored The Prince and the Dressmaker, which is also by this author.

Genre: middle grade; graphic novel; contemporary
Rep: Chinese-American main character and side characters (I think #OwnVoices)

A Match Made in Mehendi | Nandini Bajpai | September 10th | A Match Made in Mehendi is about a girl who’s an artist and starts a matchmaking app and it sounds SO CUTE. (Also, side note: why are there so many books releasing on September 10th?? Did the publishers pick that date on purpose or is it just coincidence?)

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: Indian main character (#OwnVoices)

It’s a Whole Spiel | Katherine Locke, Laura Silverman, & more | September 17th | This is an anthology about Jewish teens and it sounds super cool and diverse and there are a ton of great authors with work in it!

Genre: young adult; anthology
Rep: Jewish main characters (#OwnVoices)

Chilling Effect | Valerie Valdes | September 17th | Space opera! Humor! Pop culture references! Kidnapped siblings! Psychic cats! Found family! Really, every word of this book’s synopsis makes it more and more appealing.

Genre: young adult; sci-fi
Rep: Latinx main character (#OwnVoices)

SLAY | Brittney Morris | September 24th | Brittney Morris’s debut sounds so awesome!! The main character is a seventeen-year-old girl who’s secretly a video game developer who has to deal with racism and “harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness.”

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: Black main character (#OwnVoices)

The Never Tilting World | Rin Chupeco | October 15th | I haven’t read anything by Rin Chupeco yet, but that does’t mean I’m not excited about this book, which is a fantasy about sisters and climate change.

Genre: young adult; fantasy
Rep: lesbian main character

Our Wayward Fate | Gloria Chao | October 15th | Gloria Chao’s sophomore novel sounds so cool—it’s a story about a girl in Indiana who’s the only Asian kid at her school, and it has romance and family dynamics, as well as snippets of a retelling of a Chinese folktale that are interspersed throughout the book.

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: Taiwanese main character (#OwnVoices)

 

The Dragon Warrior (The Dragon Warrior #1) | Katie Zhao | October 15th | Set in San Francisco, inspired by Chinese mythology, and involving a quest through different Chinatowns, Katie Zhao’s debut sounds a bit Percy Jackson-esque, which I am totally here for.

Genre: middle grade; fantasy
Rep: Chinese main character and story inspired by Chinese mythology (#OwnVoices)

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Tristan Strong #1) | Kwame Mbalia | October 15th | Another Rick Riordan Presents book, this time about a kid dealing with his best friend’s death and a story inspired by African and African-American folklore! (Also look at that COVER.)

Genre: middle grade; fantasy
Rep: Black main character and story inspired by African and African-American folklore (#OwnVoices)

I Hope You Get This Message | Farah Naz Rishi | October 22nd | I Hope You Get This Message is about what happens when aliens contact Earth and there are rumors that the world as we know it will end in seven days, and the book follows three teenagers during those seven days. (Sounds awesome.)

Genre: young adult; sci-fi
Rep: Pakistani-American Muslim main character (#OwnVoices); non-straight main character

Color Outside the Lines | Sangu Mandanna & more | November 12th | With an all-star lineup of authors, including Anna-Marie McLemore, Samira Ahmed, Eric Smith, and many more, Color Outside the Lines is an anthology that explores interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships that looks like it’s going to be a great read.

Genre: young adult; anthology
Rep: interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships

All-American Muslim Girl | Nadine Jolie Courtney | November 12th | This is an #OwnVoices novel abut a girl coming to terms with her uslim indentiy and dealing with ISlamophobia, and it sounds super timely!

Genre: young adult; contemporary
Rep: Muslim main character (#OwnVoices)

Wow, this was a super long post! I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know in the comments—which 2019 books are you looking forward to? Do you have any of these books on your tbr? And does anyone have any insight into why it seems that certain dates/months seem to be very popular as far as book release dates?

♥ Annie