I = Inclusive

 “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde

Today's topic is inclusivity in literature.

With the Trump Administration cancelling the DEI policies that sought to make it easier for minorities in the USA to be included, it's more important than ever to raise awareness for the fact that everyone needs a story that they can relate to and not just stories aimed at your stereotypical Mr. and Mrs. Mary Sue who are probably white.

There's been a lot of talk about lack of representation of minority groups in media (in the US; I can't speak as to other countries' societal problems) over the recent years, including tv, movies, and yes, even books. People aren't always white, heterosexual, or without handicap. So if you supported Trump's so-called 'anti-woke' policies, which I believe is just an excuse to legally exclude people based on bigotry, feel free to leave at any time rather than be offended by my book recs.

I'm going to start with Babel by R.F. Kuang which includes a Chinese main character named Robin Swift and has been brought to Great Britain to study at an exclusive school of magic and language. His caretaker is demanding and cruel and Robin is more of an indentured servant than an adopted son. The more Robin learns the more tempted he is to fight back against the establishment. I also found The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin to be one of the better fantasies I've ever read. The story features a black woman (I can't say African American because this story is high-fantasy and the setting most certainly isn't the United States) who happens to be a witch on a revenge mission, traveling across a continent ruled by violent seismic activity and by a tyrannical government that would prefer to keep her enslaved. The world building in both books is excellent; it just depends on whether you prefer fantasy in a world similar to our own (Babel) or in a world strange and new (The Fifth Season).

There's Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth, whose characters are homosexual, bisexual, and gender-queer. This is a ghost story about a cursed book and a haunted school whose main characters set out to film a movie and get caught up in the mystery of what really happened and whether or not history will repeat itself. I didn't find this book overwhelmingly scary; it was creepy but not nightmare inducing. It was fun as far as a horror can be fun, and imaginative, swapping timelines between a 1902 school for girls and a modern-day movie set. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is one of the few books to achieve one of my rare 5-star ratings: a retelling of Homer's Illiad. As a child, Patroclus is exiled to live in King Peleus's household to be trained as a warrior. There he meets the love of his life, Prince Achilles. This was a great book for those seeking adventure and romance or an overall emotional rollercoaster (the ending left me wrecked).

A Beauty & the Beast retelling, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, features a heroine with cerebral palsy, but don't underestimate Harper; she's no distressing damsel. She's the only one with the power to break the curse and save Prince Rhen from his terrible fate. If you're looking for inclusive stories, not only does Brigid Kemmerer give us a character with a medical disability, but Harper's brother is a gay gangster dating an African American ER doctor, so she really tried to reach out to multiple demographics in this young adult novel.

The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) is indirectly inclusive if not obviously inclusive. J.K. Rowling has become the face of an anti-trans movement with her outspoken and deeply negative views on trans people, so it's probably a little baffling as to why I've included one of her books on a post that's supposed to be about including people rather than ostracizing them.

*** I do not support, agree with, or condone her hateful opinions. ***

But I feel like it tackles discrimination itself, with an internet-famous cartoonist accused by cyberbullies of being ableist, racist, antisemitic, and transphobic. I suspect JK Rowling interjected herself into her own mystery, trying to portray herself as a victim seeing as the accused winds up dead, but I feel like it draws more attention to the topics than she intended (at least it did for me, anyways). Not to mention it highlights the very real problem of cyberbullying, but that's a different topic entirely. I tend not to judge a book by its author - I know many people won't be able to separate Rowling's work from her views - and I thought this mystery had a solid plot, but it was a 1000+ page monster... so if quick read is what you're after this definitely isn't the book for you.

Can you name a book that you thought was inclusive?