The "Books with POC MC's" Recommendations Thread

I read a number of diverse romances lately, and these were the ones I liked best:

A Gentleman in the Street - Alisha Rai
A Bollywood Affair - Sonali Dev
His Road Home - Anna Richland
Captive Bride - Bonnie Dee

Also, Jeannie Lin has written some good historical romances set in China.

Recently read The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo and absolutely loved it. It's magical realism and sold as an adult novel, but I think could be a crossover with YA. It's set in colonial Malaya in the late nineteenth century and is about a young Chinese woman and her search for love and her fight to determine her own life path. Really loved this one.

Great recoomendations, y'all!

I plan on buying a few. Well,a LOT is more right.

Some time ago, I read The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, and loved it. It's a pre-Civil War historical fiction about John Brown, but the protagonist (who is also the narrator) is a young Black boy, and most characters are Black.

Also reading right now The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I think it is a Fantasy world, but reads like a historical fiction with an Arabian setting and is a YA re-telling of Arabian Nights. All characters are Arabian except one who is Thebian and one who is Moorish. Pretty good so far. A few things I'm not totally pleased with, but diverse in character and setting and well written.

I really liked Crazy Rich Asians (Kevin Kwan).

Does anyone know the race of the title character in Marissa Meyer's Cinder (book 1 of the Lunar Chronicles)? I saw her as Asian, or possibly mixed white/Asian, but she is described ambiguously.

The heroine of book 4, Winter (due out Nov 2015) is definitely black according to her brief appearance in book 3.

Well, today is the launch of The Secret Life of Winnie Cox! See my avatar for the new cover! Reviews already on amazon, and on blogs. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014R2JUTI/?tag=absowrit-21

and another great review here: http://shazsbookboudoir.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/emmas-guest-review-sharon-maas-secret.html?m=1

Alaya Dawn Johnson! The Summer Prince is set in a dystopian Brazil with all of the non-white faces that entails.

I'm reading two right now: AW's own SL Huang's Root of Unity.
The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman
The Scarlet Kimono by Christina Courtney--haven't read it, but it's up next on my TBR.
And not to toot my own horn, but Pearl has a POC MC.

Currently reading Maya Angelou and Walter Mosley.

I've read The Scarlet Kimono and then went on to finish the trilogy with The Gilded Fan and The Jade Lioness by Christina Courtenay. They are historical romances with huge doses of adventure and action, taking place in the 17th century in England (the first book starts there and ends in Japan, the second book starts in Japan and takes place in England during the Civil War, and the third takes place in Dejima and other places in Japan).

I've just finished reading Queen Sugar, in hardback, no less! The race of the MC is so subtly brought into the story I didn't even realise she was black until much later -- which was an extra plus. as I was reading the book more for research than for anything else! The writer is also black. On her website it says that the book is being adapted for a TV series. It's a wonderful book, though maybe a bit slow for modern tastes. So well written it could be a contender for a major prize. The cover is interesting. The hardback cover does not have a person on the cover so you can't tell it's a "black book". I think that's good. I'm warming to the idea that you can maybe only get significant numbers of white readers if you don't let them know the MC is black. Draw them in by other means and wow them with the story, charterers and writing. The paperback has black silhouettes.

I just started Malinda Lo's Huntress, whose protagonists are fantasy-Japanese. The mashup with fantasy-Celtic sidhe mythology was a little jarring at first, but it works. Plus lesbians! Elves and lesbians and characters of color written by an author of color. Three great tastes that taste great together.

aruna said:

I really enjoyed the "Marriage Bureau for Rich People" series! It's light reading, but very moving; set in South India, it has an all-Indian cast and you can learn a lot about the relationships between Hindus and Moslems beyond the usual cliches. These are shortish, amusing, sometimes painful books about everyday Indian life.

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Ah, I knew there would be something I could use for research in this thread!

I just finished Tidewater by Libbie Hawker, which is historical fiction based on the Pocahontas story, though the novel is far more accurate to what actually happened than anything conjured up by Disney. Pocahontas is a little girl when the English begin settling Jamestown and she befriends them, learns English, and is a particular friend of John Smith. Smith is a viewpoint character, but so are Pocahontas and her uncle Opechancanough and the majority of the story belongs to them.

Zoo City by South African writer Lauren Beukes. Urban fantasy set in Johannesburg.

Imani All Mine, by Connie Rose Porter. It may be out of print (I took it out of the library a few years ago), but it's terrific. The MC is a fifteen year old who gets pregnant and...I'll just say it's a heartbreaker.

I've started a Supernatural/Urban Fantasy Web Serial featuring a black male MC who does magic that's loosely associated with Ng'aka and Sub-saharan African sorcery. Magic is based on culture and human concepts too, so don't be suprised to see a Pyromancer using Sex-powered Brujeria or a Hydromancer using Conquest-powered Indigenous Shamanism. (Rough examples) https://ethnicmagic.wordpress.com/

Not sure how much of his works have been translated into English, but you might like Louis Cha's The Deer and the Cauldron -- historical Imperial politics fantasy set in Ancient(ish) China. Protagonist is a smart-mouthed low-born Chinese guy who smooth-talks his way into the Forbidden City. The story follows his shennanigans in the Imperial court.

For those who would like to read more about fantastical martial arts in historical China, you might like Ode to Gallantry -- the (short-ish) series revolves around identical twins who're mistaken for each other (a lot). One twin is a naive but kind-hearted man; the other is an infamous rich jerk. The former is kidnapped and taught Kung Fu by Master Xie Yanke. The latter gets into all kinds of trouble. As the story evolves, various sects are introduced, and the twins are central to all of them. They end up on a mysterious island that reveals a lot about everything, but the story doesn't conclude there.

aruna said:

I've just finished reading Queen Sugar, in hardback, no less! The race of the MC is so subtly brought into the story I didn't even realise she was black until much later -- which was an extra plus. as I was reading the book more for research than for anything else! The writer is also black. On her website it says that the book is being adapted for a TV series. It's a wonderful book, though maybe a bit slow for modern tastes. So well written it could be a contender for a major prize. The cover is interesting. The hardback cover does not have a person on the cover so you can't tell it's a "black book". I think that's good. I'm warming to the idea that you can maybe only get significant numbers of white readers if you don't let them know the MC is black. Draw them in by other means and wow them with the story, charterers and writing. The paperback has black silhouettes.

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I've heard that this book -- Queen Sugar -- has now been filmed for TV. Good -- can't wait to see it.

Also my latest book. which is in my avatar, is now out and available.

Not sure if anyone's mentioned Steven Barnes here. Streetlethal and Blood Brothers are but a couple of his books featuring POC's. I really liked The Descent of Anansi.

My contribution is below. I grew up reading fantasy and sci fi and there is a dearth of PoC's in fantasy.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/0986276200/?tag=absowrit-20

Urban fantasy with multicultural (african/native am) teen girl main character.

I recently read Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson. It was marvelous.

I also don't think I saw The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, by Ayana Mathis, on this thread. Another great one.

Anything by Patricia Grace or Witi Ihimaera is guaranteed to be a good read with predominantly Māori characters. Huia Publishing also publish high-quality fiction by Māori and Pasifika writers (not all of which has a POC theme).

My personal favourites are 'Tū' by Patricia Grace, set during WWII and post-war years, and 'The Whale Rider' by Witi Ihimaera (made into a movie about 10 years ago), which is a great story about the clash of generations over the role of women as leaders.