Rated YA-MA discussion
Reading Challenges
>
Challenge 2 of 2018: Diversity is the spice of life

Barb 6/6 *********FINISHED!
Casey
Gabriella 6/6 *********FINISHED
Jennifer 6/6 **********FINISHED
KD 6/6 ***********FINISHED
Laurel 6/6**********FINISHED!
Laurel Round 2 -6/6 ******FINISHED!
Melanie 6/6 ******FINISHED
RA 2/6
Zhye

Finished!
Read 6/6






![laurel [the suspected bibliophile] (laurelthereader)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1645808644p1/7494844.jpg)
The possibilities (view spoiler)(view spoiler) :















Round 1 (#ownvoices) Read 6/6






Round 2 (anything goes but MC must be diverse) Read 6/6







I didn't finish the last challenge but I did find some great new books in it.

Love your name! How is it pronounced? - Welcome to the group!


I gave it 4/5 stars. I enjoyed it very much, and I loved the artist's way of weaving words. Very beautifully done


Updated post #12


Brilliantly written satire of beauty pageants and corporate America. A bit challenging for the first 30-40 pages, but once you get used to the over-the-top storytelling, you won't mind at all.
Updated post #12

https://www.audiobooksync.com/
They have a lot of great books that fit this challenge this summer. It started yesterday, so take a look. Next week's book is Solo by Kwame Alexander, so a definite fit for this challenge :)
If you're not familiar with SYNC it tries to pair a classic with a more contemporary book each week. Both books are free and only available for download during their prospective week.





Written in verse, and free on AudiobookSync this week.
Loved the music references, and the description of Ghana.
Updated post 12.


Fast-paced, science, space, and interesting characters. 4 star read!
Updated post 12.

Finished -



Updated post 7




Updated post #4

Also on that note, is there anybody interested in hosting the next quarter challenge? You would just have to come up with a theme (I could help if you have no ideas) and update the participants' progress. If nobody is interested the other options are:
* for me to post the new challenge a month early but on the honor system participants do not start it until July 1.
* Skip the 3rd quarter challenge
* Have the third quarter challenge be a 2 month challenge starting in August and ending after September
Any input would be appreciated


An interesting fantasy world and magic system set in a strong Afro-centric universe.

I think posting it a month early would be fine. We more or less use the honor system already. Also, the topic used to be posted prior to the start of the challenge, granted not a whole month before, but eh.
And, as for not a lot of participation/posts, yes, this spring has been crazy busy. At least for me it has been.

![laurel [the suspected bibliophile] (laurelthereader)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1645808644p1/7494844.jpg)

It's like The Handmaid's Tale and The Feminine Mystique had a baby and the baby was present day Saudi Arabia. It is excellent!


It's like The Handmaid's Tale and The Feminine Mystique had a baby and the baby was present day Saudi Arabia. It is excellent!"
Congratulations Laurel! Glad you finished, feel free to do round 2 :) It has been strange for me to not participate in this one - especially since I have a high interest in diversity. Can't wait till life settles down and I can jump right in with you all!
![laurel [the suspected bibliophile] (laurelthereader)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1645808644p1/7494844.jpg)

It's like The Handmaid's Tale and The Feminine Mystique had a baby and the baby was pre..."
Thanks! I might try to do round 2, but they won't all be YA if that's all right.
Hopefully life settles down quickly for you and the move goes well!

I feel like if you are doing round 2 you can read YA or adult since you already finished the YA part. This is going above and beyond.
![laurel [the suspected bibliophile] (laurelthereader)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1645808644p1/7494844.jpg)
My rules for this one are: anything goes but the MC must be diverse (where Round 1 I wasn't doing LGB [bc I'm gaaaaaaaaaaay] and the books had to be #ownvoices)
Read 5/6





Post #5 is updated
![laurel [the suspected bibliophile] (laurelthereader)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1645808644p1/7494844.jpg)
These are some that I've read throughout the quarter that didn't count for Round 1 :)
And some I read after round 1.




This was an amazing book in verse! If you haven’t, you should read it too.

This was marketed as a book in verse, but it read as a standard narration. It was still good.


Great book
Also, I just realized I am only halfway through this... I thought I was on book 5, but alas it was only #3.
9 more days, 3 books - I can do this!

I did finish!
MA- book #4

This falls lightly into the horror category. It has mermaids, but not the singing Ariel kind. They have the carnivorous, man-eating kind. It was a pretty good read.
YA- book #5

Sherman Alexie is a Native American YA author. I have yet to read a book by him that I do not like.
YA- book #6

Korean main characters with heavy urban mythology world building.
Books mentioned in this topic
Driving by Starlight (other topics)Dread Nation (other topics)
Spinning (other topics)
The Crossover (other topics)
Dawn (other topics)
More...
The second quarter challenge - Diversity is the spice of life runs from April 1st through June 30th. The idea is to expand your thinking or understanding, by reading books from different walks of life. These could be books that: highlights a culture or religion other than your own - whose main characters are persons of color - the author is a person of color - main characters are LGBTQ - or lifestyle is different from what you have experienced ( gangs, poverty, homelessness, disability or immigration)
I do not mean to make assumptions about anybody's race, religion, lifestyle or experience. This is meant to be all inclusive and if I have left anything out feel free to add to the list of diversity. ( let's face it most popular books are written by white authors and have white cis gendered characters living a mainstream kind of lifestyle.) I want to break the mold and read outside of the box.
Rules breakdown:
♦ Audio books are allowed.
♦ All of the books MUST be at least 150 (paper) pages in order to qualify for this challenge. If the kindle or eBook pages are different than the paper count, please provide the correct number, so no books are left out unjustly. If you are reading an ebook only book, the word count MUST be a minimum of 45,000.
♦ 5 out of 6 of your books for this challenge must be YA.
I'll be keeping track of participant’s progress (as much as possible) in post #2. Participants will be listed alphabetically by their name and the number of their original post in the challenge.
When posting your progress, please remember to use the number attached to your original post as well. (This will be especially useful to save me from mixing up folks with similar names).
When posting the Title of your book let us know what the diversity was.
It is also nice, but not necessary, to tell us what you thought of the book just in case it grabs the interest of another member also.
A few lists you can browse through are:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...