Readers and Book Bloggers: We invite readers and book bloggers to read diverse MG and YA books throughout the summer (you choose the books!) and write an essay (at least 500 words) about your experience. You can post it on your website, Blogger, LiveJournal, Tumblr, or on Facebook; we only ask that your post be publicly readable.
What to read: You can read whichever diverse books you like! By diverse we mean: (1) main characters or major secondary characters (e.g., a love interest or best friend kind of character) who are of color or are LGBT; or (2) written by a person of color or LGBT author.
I used to like answers and conclusions. The wrap up of a plot and a clear cut solution. Then I read Kafka on The Shore. After Dark. Kitchen. And I knew that I was embarking on the discovery of a genre I'd never known before.
A genre filled with the likes of Haruki Murakami. Kenzaburo Oe. Banana Yoshimoto. Natsuo Kirino. Yoko Ogawa. Writers who speak of matters of the heart in a whole new way.
In pursuing my passion for Japanese authors and their works, I have hosted the Japanese Literature Challenge for the past four years. And now it is time for the Japanese Literature Challenge 5. The requirements are the same: read one book from June 1, 2011 until January 30, 2012. If you want to read more than one, wonderful. If one is all you can manage, wonderful. Once you've read it, you may wish to post your review on the JLC5 review site.
Diversity in YA:
The Japanese Literature Challenge 5: