A challenge for you! I have a very specific request for recommendations, as I’m looking for a book that will pair well with one I’ve already chosen to write about in my Masters dissertation. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to think about possible suggestions, but please don’t tell me about any books that don’t meet the essential criteria below. I’ll have to read all of the options to decide which one to choose, and I don’t have time to get through a long list!
My focus is on intersectionality and protagonists who experience some kind of identity conflict caused by certain aspects of themselves seeming incompatible. For example, someone may receive conflicting messages about values and morality from family, school and friends, or a character may feel like they have to hide or emphasise particular aspects of themselves depending on the situation. This could be in relation to things like class, race, gender, intellectual ability, sexual orientation, family circumstances, health/disability, language, and so on.
The book I’m definitely using is Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. A good match would be The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, except I don’t want the second book to be set in the Americas.
Essential:
– Real world context, set between 2000 and the present.
– Not set in the Americas or featuring a Latinx protagonist.
– Main character in mid-late teens, female-identifying or assigned female at birth
– Enough complexity and depth for Masters-level analysis.
– Originally written in English.
Bonus:
– Interesting use of language, e.g. code switching, non-standard English, noteworthy literary devices.
– If it relates to race/nationality, it’d be interesting to have a character living in a less developed country than the one they/their family are from.
Thank you very much if you have any recommendations for me!
by Virtual-Two3405