It’s important to learn about other people's lived experiences and to get a better understanding of who people are. Here are eight books about, and written by different, minority groups; they highlight the lives of LGBTQ+, Muslims, Native Americans, people with disabilities, Asians, and the Black communities to highlight not only the struggles they face but also their joys. The books show the beautiful ways in which they choose to be who they are and live authentic lives in a world that might not always be as welcoming.

One: You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen (Released February 8, 2022)

“In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a terrorist attack rocks, the country and anti-Islamic sentiment stirs, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths. Sabriya has her whole summer planned … in color-coded glory, but those plans are [discarded] after a terrorist attack near her home. When the terrorist is assumed to be Muslim and Islamophobia grows, Sabriya turns to her online journal for comfort. You Truly Assumed was never meant to be anything more than an outlet, but the blog goes viral as fellow Muslim teens around the country flock to it and find solace and a sense of community.”

Laila Sabreen is a young adult contemporary writer who was raised in the Washington DC area. She currently attends Emory University where she is double majoring in Sociology and English. Her love of writing began as a love of reading when she used to take weekly trips to her local library. You Truly Assumed is her debut contemporary novel.

Instagram: @lailasabreenwrites

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Two: Cut to Bloom by Arhm Choi Wild (Released April 6, 2020)

“What does it take to unlearn the survival instinct of trauma? What does it take to choose our tools instead of wearing down the ones we've been handed? In Cut to Bloom, Arhm Choi Wild attempts to forge answers to these questions by navigating the hyphen, sometimes chasm, between the Asian and American identity, between queerness and the politics of belonging, between survival and the possibility of choice.”

Arhm Choi Wild is the winner of the 2019 Write Bloody Prize for Cut To Bloom. The author received an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and the author’s work appears or will be in Barrow Street, Blackbird, The Massachusetts Review, Pleiades, Split this Rock, and more. They were shortlisted for the Poetry International Prize and received the Ellen Conroy Kennedy Poetry. The author works as the Director of the Progressive Teaching Institute and Diversity Coordinator at a school in New York City.

Instagram: @arhmchoi

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Three: My Heart To Find by Elin Annalise (Released November 29, 2020)

“Cara Tate is twenty-five years old, shy, asexual, and desperate to find love. But there’s a problem: Cara’s chronic Lyme disease has caused brain inflammation and OCD that makes her afraid of anyone touching her. Plus, finding other aces isn't easy—especially when there's no guarantee of a connection. But there is one man Cara knows who is ace and for whom she feels something. One man who she might just be able to hug ... or more. If she can summon the courage to defy the control of her OCD.”

Elin Annalise writes romance books, with many of her characters being asexual. She graduated from Exeter University, where she studied English literature. She’s a huge fan of koi carp, cats, and dreaming.

Instagram: @elinannalise

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Four: A Hundred Other Girls by Iman Hariri-Kia (Release Date: August 9, 2022)

“A modern story about the shifting media landscape and one Middle Eastern-American writer finding her place in it. Noora’s life is a little off track. She's an aspiring writer and amateur blogger in New York--which is a wonderful way of saying that she tutors rich Upper East Side kids and is currently crashing on her sister's couch. But that's okay. Noora has Leila, who has always been her rock, and now she has another major influence to lean on: Vinyl magazine. The pages of Vinyl practically raised so when she lands a highly coveted job as assistant to Loretta James, Vinyl's iconic editor-in-chief, Noora can't believe her luck. Her only dream is to write for Vinyl, and now with her foot firmly in the door and the Loretta James as her mentor, Noora is finally on the right path ... or so she thinks.”

Iman Hariri-Kia is an Iranian-American, New York-based writer, editor, author, activist, and musician. She is the 2017 recipient of the Annabelle Bonner Medal and a nationally acclaimed journalist. She works as the Deputy Editor of Her Campus, where she is an editorial site lead and expert in all things Gen Z. She oversees content strategy and executes larger brand initiatives. Her work also appears in Teen Vogue, Bustle, HuffPost, and other outlets.

Instagram: @imanharirikia

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Five: Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (Released August 20, 2019)

“Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran. Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's about to take his first-ever trip to Iran, and it's pretty overwhelming—especially when he's also dealing with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life. In Iran, he gets to know his ailing but still formidable grandfather, his loving grandmother, and the rest of his mom's family for the first time. And he meets Sohrab, the boy next door who changes everything.”

Adib Khorram is a queer, Iranian-American author. He was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and currently lives. Darius The Great is Not Okay received the William C. Morris Debut Award, Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award. His follow-up book Darius The Great Deserves Better was an Indie Bestseller and received a Stonewall Honor. When he isn’t writing you can find him learning to do a Lutz jump or steeping a cup of oolong.

Instagram: @adibkhorram

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Six: Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Released October 9, 2018)

New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith writes about a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school and first love. “When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town.”

Cynthia Leitich Smith is a New York Times best-selling author of fiction for children and young adults. A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, she writes fiction for children about the lives of modern-day Native Americans. Hearts Unbroken won the American Indian Library Award. She also writes picture books and YA gothic fantasies. She hosts a website for Children's Literature Resources.

Instagram: @cynthialeitichsmith

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Seven: We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib (Released June 4, 2019)

“Samra Habib has spent most of her life searching for the safety to be herself. As an Ahmadi Muslim growing up in Pakistan, she faced regular threats from Islamic extremists who believed the small, dynamic sect to be blasphemous. From her parents, she internalized the lesson that revealing her identity could put her in grave danger. When her family came to Canada as refugees, Samra encountered a whole new host of challenges: bullies, racism, the threat of poverty, and an arranged marriage...So begins an exploration of faith, art, love, and queer sexuality, a journey that takes her to the far reaches of the globe to uncover a truth that was within her all along. ”

Samra Habib is a writer, photographer, and activist. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Advocate, and she has a photo project, "Just Me and Allah," which documents the lives of LGBTQ+ Muslims, which has been featured in Nylon, i-D, Vanity Fair Italia, Vice, and The Washington Post. We Have Always Been Here, her first book, won the 2020 edition of Canada Reads and the 2020 Lambda Literary Award.

Instagram: @Samra.habib

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Eight: Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield (Released May 4, 2021)

“Hurricane Summer is a powerful coming of age story that deals with colorism, classism, young love, the father-daughter dynamic—and what it means to discover your own voice in the center of complete destruction.” Asha Bromfield is an actress and writer of Afro-Jamaican descent. She is known for her role as Melody Jones, drummer of “Josie and the Pussycats” in CW’s Riverdale. She also stars as Zadie Wells in Netflix’s show, Locke and Key. She is pursuing a degree in Communications and lives in Toronto. In her spare time, she loves studying astrology, baking vegan desserts, and taking walks with her dogs. Hurricane Summer is her debut novel.

Instagram: @ashabrom

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Article + Opening Image by Sahar Kariem, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Design Intern, PhotoBook Magazine

Diversify Your Bookshelf With Eight, Powerful Reads