Diversity Spotlight Thursday #1

Hi! So this week I'm participating in a meme called Diversity Spotlight Thursday. Hosted by Aimal at Bookshelves and Paperbacks, the rules are, you make a post about the following: 

1.  A diverse book you've read and enjoyed

2.  A diverse book that's already been released but you haven't read

3.  A diverse book that hasn't been released

I'm so excited to participate in this meme because reading diverse books is something that I'm very passionate about. This year, one of my reading resolutions was to read as many books by marginalized authors as possible. So far, it's been a really enjoyable and enlightening experience, and I've discovered many amazing new authors and books in the process. 

1. A diverse book I've read and enjoyed:
For the first category, I've chosen Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson.

Summary:  
"Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? She wouldn’t say.

Mary survived six years in baby jail before being dumped in a group home. The house isn’t really “home”—no place where you fear for your life can be considered a home. Home is Ted, who she meets on assignment at a nursing home.

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary must find the voice to fight her past. And her fate lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But who really knows the real Mary?"
 
Allegedly is by far one of my favorite books I've read this year. It's seriously one of the most gripping books I've ever read. I was desperate to get to the bottom of what really happened to Mary. This book deals with a lot of hard topics: abuse, violence, mental illness, and racism, but it is also a touching story of self-discovery. I was hesitant to read it at first because I thought it might be too gritty for my taste, but I took a chance, and I'm so glad I did. I highly, highly recommend it.

2. A diverse book that been released, but you haven't read yet:
For the second category, believe me, I had a hard time choosing what book to post about. But in the end, I decided to post about one of the biggest YA books of 2017: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

Summary: 
 "Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life."

I have been clamouring to read this ever since I first heard about it. I've heard nothing by glowing reviews for it, so I can't wait to read it. It's been hugely successful in the US, and it's even gotten a movie deal. I'm hoping to get my hands on it soon, and I really hope it's worth the hype.

3. A diverse book that hasn't been released yet:
For the third category, I've chosen Want by Cindy Pon. 

Summary: 
 "Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits, protecting them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined to change things, no matter the cost.
With the help of his friends, Zhou infiltrates the lives of the wealthy in hopes of destroying the international Jin Corporation from within. Jin Corp not only manufactures the special suits the rich rely on, but they may also be manufacturing the pollution that makes them necessary.
Yet the deeper Zhou delves into this new world of excess and wealth, the more muddled his plans become. And against his better judgment, Zhou finds himself falling for Daiyu, the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. Can Zhou save his city without compromising who he is, or destroying his own heart?" 

I will say this book is a little out of my comfort zone, since I don't usually read Sci-fi. I actually read another book by Cindy Pon and didn't like it so much, but this sounds so different from her other work that I'm willing to try it. This is the thing I like about reading diverse books: stepping out of your comfort zone and reading something you might not usually read. 

Do you have any diverse book suggestions? Feel free to give your thoughts in the comments!