Diverse Books Opinion
One afternoon when my fifth-grade class was at the library for our weekly visit, my friend Jessica handed me a purple paperback book. “I just finished this,” she said. “It’s SO good. You have to read it.”
One of Heartstopper’s central themes is that it’s rude, even dangerous, to speculate on someone’s else’s sexuality. But some fans aren’t getting the message.
This version of pillow fighting is a semi-professional fight club where anything goes as long as the pillow is the first point of contact. It’s more roller derby or WWE-style wrestling than a pillow fight in pajamas at a girls’ night sleepover.
The power of books, reading, and a good library help create brave spaces.
When we write, research, and even read about things that truly excite us, the job is suddenly fun. In fact, it’s no longer a job. It is a joy.
Charlotte was my student in a university fiction course during the pandemic. A couple years later, I was delighted to find out that my publisher had chosen Charlotte to illustrate my cover!
With a mother who grew up in Istanbul and a father who grew up in Montana, I spent much of my childhood traveling between those settings, figuring out how to exist in both, and grappling with questions of identity and belonging.
Ultimately, the answer is more. More books, more choices, more different experiences represented, more depictions of what life can be like.
Because there is no single authentic story.
When I think of a writer’s toolbox, I get a picture of Batman’s utility belt. No matter what situation Batman is facing at the time he has exactly what he needs in his utility belt.
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