Representation in Novels

Yesterday was my first day of vacation. I slept for a much needed ten hours (I refuse to get the flu or any of the many other illnesses students brought into my classroom last week) and then flipped through my kindle to find a book to read. I found Not Your Sidekick and the description said something about teens and superpowers. Sounds like a perfect first day of vacation read. Pretty early on I find out the main character is bisexual, but this isn’t a coming out story. The book isn’t about her sexuality, she just happens to be a part of the LGBTQ community. Later on the author mentions her brown skin, but it’s not a book about struggling to fit in as a person of color. In fact, slowly across the two books (yes I read two books yesterday, it was awesome. Since the third book in the trilogy isn’t out yet I’m writing rather than reading today.) we find out that three of the four main characters have brown skin. We also find out that one is trans and another has two moms. These details all come up as they are relevant. The book is about super powers and conspiracy and dating. The characters are whole people. It’s not “an LGBTQ book” but instead is a futuristic fantasy book with representation. However, I’m sure that when I first downloaded it I chose it because it was in the LGBTQ category of some book list. Books like this are hard to come by. I’m so glad I found it again and finally read it because our GSA is currently fundraising so we can donate books with LGBTQ representation to the school and city libraries. What are some books you’ve read that rock the rainbow?

p.s. Rock the Rainbow is our new GSA slogan on our awesome wristbands and keychains: