“Because having your story told as a woman, as a person of color, as a lesbian, as a trans person, or as any member of any disenfranchised community, is sadly often still ad radical idea. There is so much power in inclusive storytelling, in inclusive representation.”
— Kerry Washington
The following novels are written by people of color. Often, but not always, the backgrounds of these authors make their way into their books in one way or another that I find extremely beautiful and significant.
Read on to discover something new and perhaps broaden your horizon along the way.
Disclaimer: Please note that I have organized these novels into this list so that people specifically looking for books written by writers of color find it easily accessible. That being said, please note that these novels are comprised of more than just the background of their authors and should be taken as literary achievements on their own like any other book in their category.
Darius the Great is Not Okay
Title: Darius the Great is Not Okay
Author: Adib Khorram
Review: 8/10
Synopsis: Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.
Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab.
Adib Khorram’s brilliant debut is for anyone who’s ever felt not good enough—then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.