43 - An "own voices" book

[Cathy]

Would Holding The Man count, or is that more memoir?

[Nicole]

I'm wondering, can a dystopian novel be 'own voices'?

I'm currently reading Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich and was planning it for this promt.
The author and the main character are both Native american (Ojibwe).
It kind of feels weird to me now, because its not really a realistic account of a marginalized group of people because its set in an End-of-World-senario.
Does that make a difference for the genre?

I'm a bit torn now, so please help with your opinions!

[Nadine in NY]

Yes absolutely, dystopian can be own voices!! I think the point is to bring diversity to all types of books.

[Heather L]

Re(read) today for this challenge: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

[Becky -]

Would Crazy Rich Asians work for this prompt?

[Shelley]

I read Native Son for this. It was written in 1940 about the black experience in the 1930s, and it was a very rough read. The main character is not a sympathetic individual, but the entire point of the book is that the circumstances of his existence deserves sympathy. Very powerful, but an extremely rough read.

[Nadine in NY]

I read Native Son in HS and all I really remember now is rats nibbling on his toes. That may have been the start of my musaphobia.

[Ruth]

I haven't read it yet, starting it tonight. But, I need to read The Way to Rainy Mountain for my literature class. I'm thinking it might count for this prompt? If not, it's ok. Just thought, if it would fit in somewhere, it would help me. Not as much reading time now that I've gone back to school LOL.

[Drakeryn]

Becky - wrote: "Would Crazy Rich Asians work for this prompt?"

Maybe. (How's that for a clear answer?) It focuses on Chinese people in Singapore, where Chinese people are the majority, so that part doesn't count.

BUT (going by the movie) the main character is Chinese-American, and the story deals heavily with how she's caught between cultures, and she doesn't "fit" with Singaporean Chinese even though they are, ethnically, her own people. The author is also Chinese-American, and has experienced the same kind of alienation, so I would count it.

[Kirsten]

The author of The Hate U Give has a new one out that I'm going to read for this prompt, it's in transit to my library already and I'm excited to read it! On the Come Up

[L Y N N]

I originally listed Less for this one, then deleted it. I somehow assumed Greer was also a gay male so it would count but could locate nothing to confirm that. But I'm curious if anyone else could provide additional information. Thanks in advance! (I'm just curious since it was my assumption!)

[Katy]

Lynn wrote: "I originally listed Less for this one, then deleted it. I somehow assumed Greer was also a gay male so it would count but could locate nothing to confirm that. But I'm curious if an..."

I think he is gay. He posted this yesterday: My moms old ERA medallion! Other gay boys tried on moms pearls...I tried on this. Happy #InternationalWomensDay2019… https://t.co/DTL5hDRmcb

So, the phrase "other gay boys" would say to me that he is also gay.

That's hardly courtroom level proof, though.

[Miss Monica]

Would Shrill work for this?

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman

[Nadine in NY]

I wouldn't count Shrill, since it's a book of essays. ownvoices is fiction in which the character shares a marginalized identity with the author - or at a big stretch, a memoir. While West does refer to events in her life, Shrill is more a book of essays than a memoir, to me.

[Jess]

I thought I'd found a book for this but unfortunately not.

Dalila really gave the impression of being 'own voices' as the author seemed to know a lot about the refugee process and all I could find out about him was that he was South African so I thought he was possible a black South African who immigrated to Scotland during apartheid.

However, looking into it some more he's a white South African who came to Scotland to study. So nope! He's clearly done a lot of research though (including interviews with refugees) as the book felt very genuine and I would still recommend it. I used it for 'based on a true story' instead.

[Christina]

I'm currently reading If I Was Your Girl which I had planned for debut novel, but I think I'll use it for own voices instead (which I wanted to read To All the Boys I've Loved Before for, but I'm not sure if I really want to anyway)

[Johanne]

Christina wrote: "I'm currently reading If I Was Your Girl which I had planned for debut novel, but I think I'll use it for own voices instead (which I wanted to read [book:To All the Boys I've Loved..."

If I Was Your Girl is perfect for own voices. I met her when she visited Denmark, and we arranged for her to meet school classes (age 14-15) at the library where I work. She was really warm, open and honest (but still vulnerable). It went really well, and the kids had an eyeopening learning experience.

[Karissa]

I'm reading The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan. Both the author and main character are Taiwanese-American.

[Lynette]

I just read hood struggle, by Kevin Guillard (also listed here as Hood Struggle - not sure why they can't be combined). He writes of the Baton Rouge ghetto living experience from a teen male point of view. The writing uses ghetto speak, but does not feel uneducated or ignorant. This is an experience/ground-level-witness selection more than a plot line book. While the evident mindsets and living styles provoke a lot of thought, the reading is compelling and succesfully communicates the individual's reality of existence.

[Nadine in NY]

Lynette wrote: "I just read hood struggle, by Kevin Guillard (also listed here as Hood Struggle - not sure why they can't be combined). He writes of the Baton Rouge ghetto living ex..."

It looks like the author can't decide if his name is Devin or Kevin? He self-pubbed once as Devin and once as Kevin. It's listed twice because of the different author name, I would guess.

[Heather]

Would The Underground Railroad count?

[Kate]

I'm struggling with this one, would autobiographies count? I got one today that a woman has written and she has OCD, depression and bulimia

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

I think it's been mentioned before in this thread, but I'm curious what others think of using To All the Boys I've Loved Before for this prompt. It kind of feels like cheating to me, because the character mostly has a nice middle class life, and the only time her ethnicity comes up in a negative way at all is around her options for Halloween costumes.

On the other hand, my first choice for this prompt had been a memoir which it seems is kind of cheating also.

I currently have TATBILB down for book with 'love' in the title, but if I switch things around I can have one more prompt checked off than I do now, because I've now read two books with love in the title.

[Drakeryn]

I think it's perfectly valid. The minority experience is not a unified thing; sometimes it's doom & gloom & prejudice & dystopia, but other times (and for other people) it's just ordinary life. Ownvoices should capture that whole spectrum. If ownvoices were only gloomy then it would give a wrong impression of people's experiences.

[Nadine in NY]

Raquel wrote: "I think it's been mentioned before in this thread, but I'm curious what others think of using To All the Boys I've Loved Before for this prompt. It kind of feels like cheating to me..."

it's 100% valid. The author AND the main characters are Asian American. Plenty of Asian Americans live nice middle class lives. I thought her Korean culture came up several times, (but I might be confusing this book with I Believe in a Thing Called Love -which I LOVED, by the way!! - they both have "love" in the title and I read them within a month of each other so I get them confused. ) Doesn't she wear a special outfit for a festival dinner at her grandmother's house? And doesn't her father try to make Korean food at home a lot, which is why their neighbor likes to come over for dinner?

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Okay, that makes sense. There are some of the positive mentions of Korean culture Nadine brought up, I think I was just confused because somewhere above ownvoices was defined as author/character from a *marginalized* culture, which to me, does imply a certain amount of difficulty.

But if it's really just an author/character who's in some way a minority, then it's more about getting a window into the life of someone who's life is different from mine in a specific, able to be labeled way. That feels much simpler to me because it's just a slightly more formalized version of something I enjoy about reading anyway.

Thank you!

[Marcia]

I've read The Storyteller for this prompt. Jodi Picoult describes her family as non-practicing Jewish just like the main character so I feel like this counts.

[Aimee Dars]

I just came across this list of own voices mysteries by Asian /Pacific Islander Americans.

https://www.booklistreader.com/2019/0...

[Nadine in NY]

Aimee Dars wrote: "I just came across this list of own voices mysteries by Asian /Pacific Islander Americans.

https://www.booklistreader.com/2019/0......"


Thanks! That's a good list! I'm going to repost it over on the AAPI discussion too :-)

[Shannon]

So I'm trying really hard to fill most of the prompts with books I already own--I can't for all of them, but I'm searching my own shelves first.

The closest I have for this prompt is Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

Now, I'm all for allowing a bit of wiggle room but I'm curious about what y'all think. I totally understand that own voices is meant to be for marginalized peoples--so do you count those struggling with mental illness in the family as marginalized? This is a fictional take on Sonya Sones' own experience with her sister's mental breakdown. And I already own it.

I know I could use it for the "novel based on a true story" prompt, but I already have something I really want to read for that one.

I know the final say is up to me, I'd just like to hear y'all's thoughts.

[Jackie]

Shannon wrote: "So I'm trying really hard to fill most of the prompts with books I already own--I can't for all of them, but I'm searching my own shelves first.

The closest I have for this prompt is [book:Stop Pr..."

I remember reading that book back in middle school! Wow what a memory trip. I don't think this book really qualifies as 'own voices', partly because it's only barely fictional. Also because it's not really about her sister, it's mostly just about her; and I don't think that the families of people who suffer from mental illness have to deal with all that much discrimination compared to the person who has been diagnosed. Certainly the family is going to be deeply affected by the situation and they will have their own struggles, but they're not really being marginalized.

Just my personal opinion though; the fact that I still remember the book oh so many years later probably says something good about it.

[Shannon]

Jackie wrote: "I remember reading that book back in middle school! Wow what a memory trip. I don't think this book really qualifies as 'own voices', partly because it's only barely fictional.

Those were all my concerns with choosing it as well. I may just have to go with a library book for this prompt and read the book anyway (without using it for this challenge).

[Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer]

Can someone tell me if Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner fits this category? Thank you!

[Britany]

I would say no Dedra. 😕

[Danielle]

I am thinking about The Mothers. Does anyone know if that would work?

[Nadine in NY]

Yes I think The Mother’s would work

[Melinda]

Could I use The Round House by Louise Erdrich for this category?

[Nadine in NY]

Melinda wrote: "Could I use The Round House by Louise Erdrich for this category?"

Definitely yes!

[Trish]

For anyone still looking for ideas, these are Hugo/associated finalists this year that while they're SF or fantasy, I'd also class them as "own voices" books .

An Unkindness of Ghosts, Rivers Solomon
Dread Nation, Justina Ireland
Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi

[Tallie]

Just found this amazing list of novels recommended by educators that tackle racial injustice. Thought it would be perfect for this prompt

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/10-...

[Lynette]

China Achebe wrote a trio of books of colonial Nigeria days. each can be read as a standalone. I'm halfway through Arrow of God right now, which would also work for a book told from multiple points of view.

[Lynette]

The third of Chinua Achebe's Nigerian trilogy works great for this prompt, and can be read just fine as a stand-alone. (good for an own-voices choice, multiple POV, and African author)

Arrow of God

[Amy]

I know authors of this category are typically included in the marginalized group. However, I’m wondering if this category would also include a book that was written by someone who interviewed group members and wrote the story on their behalf. If so, I think Beneath the Tamarind Tree — A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram would be appropriate.
I’m interested to know what the community thinks.

[Jackie]

Hmm, I don't know...On the one hand, I think this sort of thing could count. For example, I think Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" would count as own voices. Although Hurston was never a slave, her grandparents were, and so her interviews of Cudjo (the last surviving slave brought to America from Africa) carry the weight of that shared history. I don't know anything about Isha Sesay and so I don't know if she has any personal connection to the events of her book.

[Јована]

would Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster work or am I stretching it too far

[Angela]

Anyone read The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood? Seems like this might fit.. I'm starting it soon, will report back.

[Ilham]

I read and loved “Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows” by Balli Kaur Jaswal. This was a former Reese Witherspoon Book club pick and one that has been on my TBR pile for a while. Finally read it on my flight to Halifax :)

This is primarily set in the Punjabi diaspora community of Southhall in London, England. And it features the protagonist Nikki, who as a young modern feminist of Punjabi origin bristles against the traditional thinking of family and a female’s virtue in her culture. There are also depictions of racism, both casual and/or unintended and overt, in this story. A fun beachy read with snippets of erotica, read and written by Punjabi widows (which was a surprise), whom no one expects to have any sexual longings and feelings as they are seen to be nothing without the identity of a married woman.

[Angela]

Angela wrote: "Anyone read The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood? Seems like this might fit.. I'm starting it soon, will report back."

I DNF'd this at only 10%. The olde english narration of one of the characters is unbearable, and I couldn't see myself spending any more time with it. How disappointing.

[Barbara]

I listened to the audiobook version of Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. Very good sci-fi. I can't believe I missed it when it came out.

[Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer]

I'm thinking Frankly in Love works for this prompt?? But I would love to have someone reassure me.