Is The “We Need Diverse Books” Movement Doing Itself In?

Hey, don’t you love it when I start off Monday with a controversial post?! *big grin and double thumbs up* Well, this is a topic that’s been riling me for a while now — sorry that it’s formed itself into a post on a Monday.

Unless you’ve been living under the figurative rock, you’ve probably heard about this idea that we, the reading public, particularly in countries with lots of immigrants, really need to have books/movies/TV shows that reflect these minority groups. Now, before anybody jumps down my throat, I LOVE THIS IDEA.

So, I’m not here to get on that soapbox. My soapbox is about the quality of the literature and film being created in the name of inclusion — and the fact that, unfortunately, some of it, in my humble opinion, doesn’t help the cause.

Here are some examples of don’t’s that I’ve come across.

The Hate U Give. I only recently read this, after hearing about it for months. The intense hype was making me nervous, and I was right to be on edge. While I do not for an instant feel police violence due to racism is acceptable, I have major issues with a book that constantly paints non-black people as the bad guy, seems to glorify a culture that really shuts down the validity of other groups, and just propagates this current, very unsteady, real life argument, without offering any concrete tactics towards resolving it.

Labyrinth Lost. While my issues with the quality of this novel had a LOT to do with the numerous typos and meandering plot and lack of character development, here’s what bugged me when it came to diversity. The story represents Central American brujas (basically, witchcraft from Latino and Caribbean roots), and the depictions in Labyrinth Lost of ritual animal sacrifice and spells to connect to the land of the dead put a bitter taste in my mouth. This hardly seemed like good publicity for real life Hispanic communities, most of which are Catholic/Christian nowadays.

Aru Shah and the End of Time. I read Aru Shah and the End of Time this weekend, and I am still fuming. This novel makes a complete mockery of Hindu mythology — and it’s written by an Indian-American author. On top of that, the protagonist makes it clear early on that she doesn’t like “not fitting in” with her white/non-Hindi classmates, and gives the impression that she feels ashamed of her heritage. That is just sad. Having lived for a few years in England, which has a bunch of Hindu residents, I’ve witnessed the importance of their ancient customs in 21st century life, and after reading this book, I can’t help but wonder what they’d think of it, and whether it would be favorable.

A Thousand Nights. Now, maybe it’s because I have very little knowledge of the original Arabian Nights/1,001 Nights tales, but this retelling just did not make sense to me. The very concept of a woman being able to stop a ruthless egomaniac of a tyrant from killing her by telling him a story every night just seemed prepostorous. I’ve read glowing reviews of this novel, but I just can’t understand the appeal. And that irks me, because when a diverse novel seems so closely stuck to the narrative tradition that ethnic outsiders had difficulty relating to, well, that means the risk is posed for exactly the same thing happening today.

Rebel of the Sands. Rebel of the Sands went down as one of my biggest disappointments of 2017. I found the premise intriguing, and really wanted to like the story. But the recurring theme of intense sexism and accepted mistreatment of women seriously got under my skin. I don’t care that it’s historically accurate — can’t you determine that a fantasy set in ancient Persian culture can be non-chauvinist? Writing the opposite only perpetrates the notion that all Arab nations/peoples are anti-women’s rights.

Okay, enough complaining — now onto some good examples from this movement.

Children of Blood and Bone. My major issues with this novel were the unnecessary length (stop making each debut 500 pages, publishers!) and the wandering plot. But as a diversity title, it ROCKS. The world-building of a fantasy African kingdom is just awesome, and it incorporated a bunch of African nature religion beliefs and legends, and created such a rich and interesting culture. Also, the way that the maji characters are discriminated against for being different — and looking different, as they have white hair and often a lighter skin tone than the rest of the natives — is a perfect representation of the (frequently-overlooked) modern prejudices in today’s Africa.

The Sandwich Swap. The Sandwich Swap is a sweet picture book, inspired by experiences Queen Rania of Jordan had with non-Muslim/non-Arab students at the international school she attended as a child. I first read it when I was finishing my Early Childhood Education degree, and on the hunt for diverse books, as part of our classwork.

Biblioburro. This is based on a true story about a man in Columbia who started a traveling library, hoping to tackle low literacy rates in rural areas of Central and South America. (It’s an issue that many of us blessed enough to live in well-educated countries may forget about.)

All The Crooked Saints. Yes, I’ve heard the criticisms about a white author penning this tale set in the Colorado desert with Hispanic protagonists. No, I don’t agree with them. I think Maggie Stiefvater did a great job of portraying a sample of Hispanic/Latino culture in mid-20th-century America, without being condescending, or preachy. The Sorias do speak Spanish, and are Catholic, but that’s only a small part of their characterizations. She focuses much more on what makes them as human as everybody — their hopes and fears, their family dynamics, their weaknesses and eventual growth.

A Bucket of Blessings. This is a picture book I recently discovered in my local library, searching for new bedtime books for Muffin. I fell in love with it while reading it to him. It’s a retelling of an Indian folktale, with unique illustrations and a relateable voice for today’s children, of all ethnic groups.

I also recommend…

Books:  Blue Tights; The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson; Inside Out and Back Again

Movies:  The Book of Life; Kubo and the Two Strings; Moana