By Willow Symonds
Staff Writer
Diversify Your Bookshelf introduces readers to books written from marginalized perspectives, including racial minorities, LGBTQ+ people, disabled individuals, and more. These books come in all genres and targeted age groups, so there’s something for everyone.
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht (2021)
Genre: Science-Fiction Adventure; LGBTQ
Angel de la Reza, a former United Republic of Worlds marine, now works as a mercenary. She travels to a job on Persephone Station, a seemingly backwater planet colonized by large mining corporations, where her temporary employer, Rosie, runs the shady Monk’s Inn. While on her assigned mission, Angel meets Kennedy Liu, an artificially intelligent android with human empathy. Kennedy is also a foreigner to Persephone Station, and she’s here to find answers for existence. The two outsiders band together, but they didn’t expect to face a whole army: Serrao-Orlov, a company hellbent on getting their way. “Persephone Station” features an all-female and non-binary cast in this fast-paced space opera, with world-building and a story drawing inspiration from high-tech Japanese aesthetics and wild Westerns.
Act Cool by Tobly McSmith (2021)
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary; LGBTQ
16-year-old August Greene moves in with his cool aunt in New York City, both to escape his transphobic parents and to audition for the elite School of Performing Arts. The position he gets in the theater department is a dream he never thought possible, but the classes and musicals require much more from him than he anticipated. While dealing with petty classmates, demanding teachers, and complicated relationships, he begins to question his place at the new school – and in life. Will August act his way through this, or will he find his real self hiding under the characters he plays? “Act Cool” is a breezy read with enough humor and heartbreak to get readers emotionally invested.
Convenience Store Woman by Sakaya Murata (2016)
Genre: Contemporary; Humor
At the age of 36, odd Keiko Furukura has spent almost two decades working at a city convenience store. Keiko feels content just where she is in life, single and enjoying her job, but her family and the few friends she has want her to pursue more. While the unpleasant co-worker who got fired within days is no one Keiko wants to befriend, they do have one thing in common: neither fits societal expectations, and they can use this to help each other from the people trying to dictate their lives. Translated from Japanese, “Convenience Store Woman” fits so much characterization and personality in less than 200 pages, making it memorable for any reader.