Diverse Book Blog Tag!

Perhaps you've heard of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks twitter hashtag, or have seen some of the diverse book buzz going around -- especially in MG, YA, and NA. It's important for all types of people to be represented in publishing, whether it's representing more diverse characters or publishing more diverse authors. 

"Diverse" is a rather wide umbrella that can include a lot of things: ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity, LGBT+, body types, and disabilities to name a few. For this blog tag...

1. Post a diverse book.
2. Say why you liked it.
3. Explain what the diversity meant to you.
4. Link to the post that tagged you and tag someone else!

My book is...

What it is/Why I liked it

This is the first book in The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. It's an MG fantasy/steampunk series of 7 books about a kid named Arthur who's chosen to be the heir to the universe because of a bureaucratic hiccup. The Architect of said universe has disappeared and Her creations are fighting amongst themselves over who gets to control things. Arthur unwillingly attempts to fulfill his Chosen One role in order to get the minions of his competitors to leave him, his family, and Earth alone. I really enjoyed the extremes of imagination that went into this book and the whole series. It was a wild ride from start to finish and it never did what I expected.

Diversity

Arthur comes from an unconventional family. His dad has a few kids from different mothers from his rock band days, his mom has kids from a previous marriage, Arthur is adopted, and his parents have kids together. Not all of the siblings are close in age or in ethnicity, but they all consider themselves to be part of the same loving, functional family.

Also, Arthur has asthma. His is a pretty serious case, and (spoiler) it's the impetus behind the entire plot. When I first read this book, it was gratifying to see an asthmatic protagonist. I could sympathize with people not taking him seriously, and how he struggled with physical activities that most people take for granted. I used to do a lot more sports, but it was always harder for me, and it got frustrating when even my relatively mild case of asthma stopped me from being as good as I wanted to be or having fun. Having an asthma attack is terrifying, and Mister Monday did a scarily good job of showing that.

I now tag Patrice at Whimsically Yours!

Have you read Mister Monday? What do you think about diversity in books?