Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!
For those of you who didn’t know, here in the US, July is Disability Pride Month! I myself didn’t know about it until this year, which is a little embarrassing, but better late than never, I suppose. I hardly see anyone in the bookish community talking about disability rep in books – especially where YA is concerned – so I wanted to make a post of my own with some YA reads with disability rep of all kinds. Unfortunately, not all of them are from disabled authors, but it seems like there’s such a dearth of disability rep in YA as a whole, so for now, I’ll share these ones, and I’ll always be on the hunt for more books by disabled authors in the future. But as with all of my posts like this, AMPLIFY DISABLED VOICES 24/7/365!
And if you’re looking for book bloggers who talk about disability, disability rep, and breaking down ableist tropes, I’d highly recommend checking out Luminosity Library and The Inside Cover. (They’re both amazing!! Show them some support!!)
So let’s begin, shall we?
YA READS FOR DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH
GENRES: Fantasy, romance, LGBTQ+, adventure
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Kaz Brekker (otherwise known as the “morally gray” teen idol of the YA book fandom) uses a cane for mobility (and it’s a really snazzy cane, too), and his experiences are based off of Leigh Bardugo’s own experience with osteonecrosis.
Sick Kids in Love – Hannah Moskowitz
GENRES: Contemporary, romance, LGBTQ+, realistic fiction
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I just finished this one up a few days ago, and it was INCREDIBLE! I don’t usually jump for rom-com, but this was one of the most tender books I’ve read in a while. Gave me all the warm fuzzies…
The protagonist has rheumatoid arthritis, and the love interest has Gaucher’s disease. And lemme tell you, I GOT SO EXCITED THAT WE HAVE A DISABLED, BISEXUAL LOVE INTEREST. BI DISABLED CHARACTERS?? NO KIDDING, MY BRAIN DID THE “WOOOOOHOO” FROM SONG 2 WHEN I REALIZED IT…
Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens – Marieke Nijkamp et. al. (anthology)
GENRES: Anthologies (short stories), realistic fiction, LGBTQ+, fantasy, science fiction
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s been a while since I’ve read this one, so I can’t recall the stories that stood out to me, but this one has a whole load of perspectives from disabled authors, and there’s stories of all genres!
Mooncakes – Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu
GENRES: Graphic novel, urban fantasy, paranormal, LGBTQ+, romance
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
THIS GRAPHIC NOVEL IS THE CUTEST. What’s not to love about a love story about a queer, hard-of-hearing witch and a nonbinary werewolf? The art is so lovely, I highly recommend this one for everybody.
GENRES: Fantasy, science fiction, LGBTQ+,
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Again, it’s been a while since I’ve read this one, but I LOVE how diverse this one is; we have the dual POVs of an epileptic Latino character with a missing leg and a mute bisexual girl who uses sign language to communicate. It’s an interesting blend of fantasy and sci-fi as well!
GENRES: Contemporary, romance, realistic fiction
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Adam, the love interest of this novel, has multiple sclerosis, and both of the protagonists are Muslim; there’s a lot of great conversations about Islamaphobia and other pertinent issues in this one, but it’s also a really sweet romance!
The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily – Laura Creedle
GENRES: Contemporary, romance, realistic fiction
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one’s a romance between a girl with ADHD (the author has ADHD as well!) and an autistic boy, and like Love from A to Z, tackles a lot of discussions surrounding mental health and disability while still being a sweet romance!
Aurora Rising (Aurora Cycle, #1) – Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
GENRES: Science fiction, space opera, LGBTQ+, romance
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(There is no escape from the Aurora Cycle-posting on this blog…)
Even though Finian’s disability is fictional (bc, y’know, he’s an alien), he uses mobility aids, and we get to see a lot of his inner thoughts surrounding his disability. Disability in realistic fiction is all cool and good, but it’s even better to see casual disability rep in fantasy and sci-fi too!
GENRES: Contemporary, realistic fiction, LGBTQ+, romance
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Queens of Geek features a protagonist with Asperger’s and an anxiety disorder, and there’s lots of queer and POC representation in this one as well! If you love stories set at Comic Cons with lots of pop culture references, then this one’s for you!
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! What are your favorite books with disability rep? Favorite disabled authors? Any recommendations for me?
Today’s song:
That’s it for this post! Have a wonderful rest of your day, take care of yourselves, and happy disability pride month!
The Bookish Mutant 