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Best Multicultural Young Adult Books for Teens

7 Great Multicultural YA Books & Kid Lit Blog Hop

Posted on April 1, 2015May 14, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

These are the Young Adult books from the 2015 Notable Books for a Global Society. Part I from the list of picture books is here and Part II of middle grade books is here.

Best Multicultural Young Adult Books for Teens

Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal by Margarita Engle

Did you know that there was an Apartheid system in Panama during the construction of the canal? Whites were paid in gold and those of color, much lower wages —  in silver. Margarita Engle’s background as a botanist and agronomist is evident as she tells a story of the ecological impact of the Panama Canal as well as the Civil Rights story that is largely unknown.

I have an interview with Margarita Engle on Silver People at the Multicultural Children’s Book Day blog. [novel in verse, ages 12 and up]

I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached

Zeina Abirached, author of the award-winning graphic novel A Game for Swallows, returns with a powerful collection of wartime memories. [young adult, ages 12 and up]

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

In light of what happened in Ferguson, this is must read for us all!

When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white.

In the aftermath of Tariq’s death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle

“The hour has come to speak of troubled times. It is time we spoke of Skullyville.” Thus begins Rose Goode’s story of her growing up in Indian Territory in pre-statehood Oklahoma. Skullyville, a once-thriving Choctaw community, was destroyed by land-grabbers, culminating in the arson on New Year’s Eve, 1896, of New Hope Academy for Girls. Twenty Choctaw girls died, but Rose escaped. She is blessed by the presence of her grandmother Pokoni and her grandfather Amafo, both respected elders who understand the old ways. Soon after the fire, the white sheriff beats Amafo in front of the town’s people, humiliating him. Instead of asking the Choctaw community to avenge the beating, her grandfather decides to follow the path of forgiveness. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

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. [young adult, ages 12 and up]

Like Water on Stone by Dana Walrath

It is 1914, and the Ottoman Empire is crumbling into violence.
Beyond Anatolia, in the Armenian Highlands, Shahen Donabedian dreams of going to New York. Sosi, his twin sister, never wants to leave her home, especially now that she is in love. At first, only Papa, who counts Turks and Kurds among his closest friends, stands in Shahen’s way. But when the Ottoman pashas set in motion their plans to eliminate all Armenians, neither twin has a choice.
After a horrifying attack leaves them orphaned, they flee into the mountains, carrying their little sister, Mariam. But the children are not alone. An eagle watches over them as they run at night and hide each day, making their way across mountain ridges and rivers red with blood. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

p.s. Related posts:

Top 10: Best Native American Young Adult Books

OCD Characters in Children’s and Young Adult Books

Young Adult Post WWII Jewish War Story: What I Saw and How I Lied

Antiracist Books for Kids, Teens, and Adults

Amazing Adolescent with Cancer Young Adult Book

Top 10: Best Young Adult Books of 2010 (ages 12-18)

Best Young Adult (YA) Non Fiction

Top 10: Best Young Adult Books

Young Adult Book Lists

Best Young Adult Books for Teens

Five Books to Get Your Young Gamer Reading

Young Adult Genre Too Violent and Depraved?

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Best Multicultural YA Books & Kid Lit Blog Hop

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Welcome to the 57th Kid Lit Blog Hop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children’s books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists. So, you are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors!

This week, we are excited to be including a Facebook Linky Party to be held in conjunction with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. These linky parties are designed to give you the opportunity to connect with and grow your network of fellow kid lit bloggers, authors, and parents through your various social media platforms.

We are pleased to welcome back Tiffiny from the blog Spark and Pook as a PERMANENT HOSTESS. Thrilled to have you on board Tiffiny – big welcome to you!

 

Hostesses:

Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger

Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger

Stacking Books

BeachBoundBooks

Pragmatic Mom

Music, Teaching and Parenting

Reading Authors

The Logonauts

A Book Long Enough

Spark and Pook

 

Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!

 

Kid Lit Blog Hop & Linky Party Rules *Please Read*

1. LINKY PARTY: Add the link to your Facebook fan page in the Facebook Linky Party list below. Be sure to visit at least the two links directly before yours as well as your hosts’ Facebook fan pages. Be sure to like pages that interest you and show your colleagues some love by liking or sharing one of their posts.

2. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.

* Don’t link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*

* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *

* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*

* Feel free to link more than one post.*

3. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!

4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you’re linking up. If you’d prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!

5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop/Linky Party? If you’ve joined us before, you are welcome to join us again! Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.

Happy Hopping!

 

FACEBOOK LINKY PARTY

(Please do not link a blog post here – see below for the Kid Lit Blog Hop)

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

 

 

Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.

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cover for Sumo JoeChanging the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes by Mia WenjenAmazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me

The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship: An Insider’s Guide

How To Coach Girls by Mia Wenjen and Alison FoleyAsian Pacific American Heroes

2 thoughts on “7 Great Multicultural YA Books & Kid Lit Blog Hop”

  1. Cheryl Carpinello says:
    April 10, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    These are absolutely fabulous for middle school and high school students! From experience, I know there are not many multi-cultural books for those ages. Thanks for sharing on the Kid Lit Blog Hop!

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      April 13, 2015 at 8:22 pm

      Thanks so much Cheryl!

      Reply

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