Diversity Spotlight #2

Diversity Spotlight Thursday is hosted by Bookshelves and Paperbacks, and involves featuring 3 diverse books every week. I'll be participating once a month so I don't run out of recs too quickly, but I hope I'm able to convince you to get your hands on these books, and maybe in the process get some recommendations too! This week I have a pair of sci-fis (one of which is a duology, so you get a 2-in-1!) and an upcoming contemporary, all by authors I've read and loved before.



A Book I Have Read (or in this case, a duology!)
Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson | Review | Goodreads
Diversity note: mentally illness + synesthesia
The Ultraviolet duology is literally one of my all-time favourites. The first book is about a girl named Alison who is sent to a mental facility after a series of events she cannot remember. The one thing she can recall is seeing her classmate Tori disintegrate before her eyes, and she believes she is the cause and possible killer. Alison has synesthesia, which is a real neurological condition that in Alison's case, causes her to percieve letters as colours and words as tastes. It was a really interesting condition to read about, even though the later parts of the novel do begin to incorporate some paranormal sci-fi. I do think the clarification that Alison was mentally ill but that her synesthesia wasn't what made her mentally ill could've been better clarified, but I read this book all in one sitting and really enjoyed it!

Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson | Review | Goodreads
Diversity note: asexual protagonist
Ultraviolet was a solid 4 star read. But Quicksilver? LITERALLY ALL THE STARS. It's got a very different voice and a new focal character but it was sososooooooo much better. Although it might be a tad easier to understand if you read both books, it also works just as well as a standalone. I connected so much more to the protagonist and I loved how the author dealt with her asexuality, because that's one sexuality that seems to get no attention in fiction. I could go on forever about this book but I'll stop here, because any more would spoil Ultraviolet big time!




A Book on my TBR
Flase Hearts by Laura Lam | Goodreads
Diversity note: black bisexual protagonist
I'm waiting for the UK paperback of this to come out even though it's already been released in hardback (curse you, expensive hardbacks). But this is a book I'm rediculously looking forward to and I haven't heard much about. It's a diverse sci-fi about previously conjoined twins. It sounds dark and really interesting so I'm hoping it will be as great as Lam's book Pantomime, which I really enjoyed (and I can't wait to continue the series for) if not better. I'm in dire need of some more good sci-fi at the moment, and I'm always in need of more diverse books to read, so this seems right up my street.




A Book Not Yet Published
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate | Goodreads
Diversity note: Asian-American bisexual protagonist
Release date: 2nd May 2017
This book sounds like so much fun. It's about a girl who dresses in drag to join her school's all-male a cappella choir so she can be finally noticed for her unique voice. It reminds me of Jane in the final season of Glee who attempted joining an all-male a cappella choir before being kicked out because of her gender, but also of my friend who has a uniquely low voice that often theatrical roles don't cater to. As a contemporary, this book isn't quite the thing I would normally read, but niether was Redgate's Seven Ways We Lie and I thoroughly enjoyed that book. So I'm highly optimistic that Noteworthy will exceed my expectations, especially with a diverse narrative added to the mix.

What about you? What books would you put for these 3 categories? Have you read any of the ones I've listed? What did you think? Is there anything you would recommend to me?