Rather, the books I’m interested in promoting are those that move beyond mere representation (or worse, tokenism) to portraits of diverse individuals that are authentic, unique, and relatable. What this means is that while I love Cho Chang as much as the next Harry Potter fan, her presence does not qualify the series as being an example of diversity. By diversity, I mean books that bring a rich, nuanced understanding of a particular viewpoint or experience to their readers a viewpoint traditionally ignored or made invisible by the mainstream media. To that end, I’ve decided to devote a monthly post to highlight author and books that truly exemplify the diversity we wish to see reflected in our literature at large. So how can YA librarians actively support this campaign? Simpleâ€¦by reading more widely, by book talking and recommending diverse books, by promoting a culture of empathy, and by educating ourselves on the many layered and complex issues that accompany being both allies and agents of change. We Need Diverse Books’ mission is straightforward: â€œto promote or amplify diversification efforts and increase visibility for diverse books and authors, with a goal of empowering a wide range of readers in the process.â€ Sparked by an initial Twitter exchange between Ellen Oh and Malinda Lo, the movement quickly grew to encompass a wide array of authors, librarians, publishers, bloggers, and readersâ€”a group fittingly representative of the diversity they seek to promote.

In April of this year, the We Need Diverse Books campaign took the YA literary world by storm.

Tell me how a crush should feel