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Multicutural Fiction

One thing I would love to see more in YA is multicultural fiction.

By this, I don't mean fiction where authors shove in some non-white minor characters. I want to read about main characters who have a different culture than me, and also about main characters who are Asian like me. I want to read about characters who struggle with their identity or something else related to their culture and race, about characters who have the same kind of problems other teens do.

What do you think about multicultural fiction?

8 comments:

Steph: Short and Sweet said...

I think it would be awesome to see more books that are multicultural. Usually those books are great too.

Lisa @ Read.Breathe.Relax. said...

I would love to read more multicultural fiction! I just tried to think of a book where the main character had a different background than myself, and I couldn't think of any!

Have you heard about the Diversity in YA movement going on? The Story Siren and The Book Smugglers are hosting this meme and are reading books where diversity is highlighted!

We Heart YA said...

I completely agree! I'm half-Asian, and I grew up not really seeing characters like me in books. I think it's changing a bit -- and as a writer, I'm trying to help -- but I think it's going to take time before the bookshelves reflect the diversity of the real world.

In the meantime, I suggest you check out Diversity in YA: http://www.diversityinya.com/

They did a great round-up on Asian-American YA books the other day, and it was founded by two Asian-American writers, Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon. Their books are supposedly great!

Melody said...

I would love to read more! I'd especially love to see more bi-racial characters (like me!) that don't necessarily fit into the stereotypical tug-of-war between cultures. Like, I'd want a multi-cultural story where the cultures aren't the *story*. Does that make sense?

Cialina at Muggle-Born.net said...

I like to see more Asian characters but I don't necessarily just want these books to be a statement about race. It can just be any other book out there on the market but HEY THIS PERSON'S Asian!

Izzy G. said...

Lisa, We Heart YA: Oh wow! I haven't heard of that but thanks for telling me about it! It looks awesome :)

Melody: I know exactly what you mean. It's great to read a book where someone is cultural but that's not the main focus.

Cialina: Yeah, I agree! I want more books where the person just happens to be Asian, or African American, or anything else.

Alison Can Read said...

Have you read Cindy Pon's books? I also loved North of Beautiful, where the love interested is Chinese adopted. There's also Operation Redwood where the main character is half Chinese.

Julia @ That Hapa Chick said...

I LOVE multicultural fiction. Whenever I discover a book with multicultural characters I automatically like it. Haha. XD

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