Diverseathon 2017: I'm Participating/TBR

Happy Thursday everyone! I know that I usually do a TV show/movie review today; however, I wanted to make a special announcement to let you guys know that I will be participating in #diverseathon for the second time! This event started as way for the bookish community to expand their understanding of making sure that we encourage ourselves and others to read diversely. This year they are particularly focusing on people picking books related to #ownvoices which I think is great. So below you'll see the books that I have decided to read for this amazing readathon.

Here is the information for those hosting the readathon:

Host of the Readathon:

Christina Marie: http://www.youtube.com/krazytina05
Monica: http://www.youtube.com/shemightbemonica
Simon: http://www.youtube.com/savidgereads
Squibble Reads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G50d6cQ_Cko

Instagram & Bloggers:
Mara: http://instagram.com/bookmarauder
Naz: http://readdiversebooks.com/read-dive...

When it comes to readathons I try to be diverse in not only topic but also genre so below you'll see children's books, adult fiction, comics/graphic novels, picture books, and young adult.

 Picture Book: I'm a huge fan of reading picture books and what's great is that this is actually a translated picture book. I haven't heard much about it so this will be my first time really experiencing the work of this author.

Summary: In early-1900s Japan, Misuzu Kaneko grows from precocious bookworm to instantly-beloved children’s poet. But her life ends prematurely, and Misuzu’s work is forgotten. Decades later her poems are rediscovered—just in time to touch a new generation devastated by the tsunami of 2011. This picture book features Misuzu’s life story plus a trove of her poetry in English and the original Japanese.

Big Catch:

At sunrise, glorious sunrise
it’s a big catch!
A big catch of sardines! 

On the beach, it’s like a festival
but in the sea, they will hold funerals
for the tens of thousands dead.

Comic Book/Graphic Novel: It's so awful that it has taken me this long to get to the graphic novel; however, I am glad that I definitely have a reason to pick it up and learn more about both the Civil Rights Movement and John Lewis.  

Summary: Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president.

Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis presents March, a graphic novel trilogy, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole).

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

Book One spans John Lewis’ youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.
Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1950s comic book "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story." Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations. 

Adult Fiction: I'm really excited for this one not only because it contains a Latina main character, but also because it includes her journey and process in coming out to her family and friends. This seems like it's going to be a really interesting book to read.

Summary: Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that’s going to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. She’s interning with the author of her favorite book: Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women’s bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff. 

Will Juliet be able to figure out her life over the course of one magical summer? Is that even possible? Or is she running away from all the problems that seem too big to handle? 

With more questions than answers, Juliet takes on Portland, Harlowe, and most importantly, herself. 

Young Adult: This book got quite a bit of buzz last year and I'm really excited to dig into it! It's a mix of Latino/Latina culture and paranormal/fantasy elements. I'm just really excited to read it especially since it contains some LGBT elements. 

Summary: Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

I fall to my knees. Shattered glass, melted candles and the outline of scorched feathers are all that surround me. Every single person who was in my house – my entire family — is gone.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can’t trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange markings on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland…

Beautiful Creatures meets Daughter of Smoke and Bone with an infusion of Latin American tradition in this highly original fantasy adventure.

Graphic Novel/Comic: This is the graphic novel I've been dying to read for a while. And I'm so glad that now is the time to do it.

Summary: A story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's story and history itself.













Children's Fiction: I've read a lot of mythology in my life, but not one that contains one dealing with Asian culture. I think that this book will be extremely interesting and it also contains a some beautiful illustrations.

Summary: The moon is missing from the remote Village of Clear Sky, but only a young boy named Rendi seems to notice! Rendi has run away from home and is now working as a chore boy at the village inn. He can't help but notice the village's peculiar inhabitants and their problems-where has the innkeeper's son gone? Why are Master Chao and Widow Yan always arguing? What is the crying sound Rendi keeps hearing? And how can crazy, old Mr. Shan not know if his pet is a toad or a rabbit?


But one day, a mysterious lady arrives at the Inn with the gift of storytelling, and slowly transforms the villagers and Rendi himself. As she tells more stories and the days pass in the Village of Clear Sky, Rendi begins to realize that perhaps it is his own story that holds the answers to all those questions.

Newbery Honor author Grace Lin brings readers another enthralling fantasy featuring her marvelous full-color illustrations. Starry River of the Sky is filled with Chinese folklore, fascinating characters, and exciting new adventures.