BookTrust Represents: Teen
BookTrust Represents is our programme created to promote children’s authors and illustrators of colour.
Books play an important role as mirrors for children: these stories and characters will affect how they see themselves and the world around them, their motivation to read, and their aspirations to become authors and illustrators of the future.
However, finding books that truly reflect the diversity of families in the UK is challenging. Over the past 11 years, fewer than 2% of all authors and/or illustrators of children's books published in the UK were British people of colour.
As part of the project we have put together this booklist highlighting some of our favourite teen/ya books by authors and illustrators of colour.
-
A Change Is Gonna Come
Flip -
A Change Is Gonna Come
This must-have anthology featuring stories and poems from 12 black, Asian and minority ethnic authors deals with the subject of ch…
; Flip
-
A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars
Flip -
A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars
Real and supernatural threats mingle as a girl saved from a shipwreck tries to find justice for her dead parents. Romance and magi…
; Flip
-
Aru Shah and the Song of Death
Flip -
Aru Shah and the Song of Death
Packed with humour, wisdom and a satisfyingly twisty plot, this story will take confident readers on a magical journey. It’s fresh…
; Flip
-
Being Me by Adele Vialli
Flip -
Being Me by Adele Vialli
Adele is determined to play football for England no matter what, but life keeps on getting in the way.
; Flip
-
Bitter Sixteen
Flip -
Bitter Sixteen
Funny, sharp and totally original, Bitter Sixteen is the beginning of a trilogy about a tremendously appealing smart-mouthed Welsh…
; Flip
-
Black Sheep
Flip -
Black Sheep
Dwayne is sixteen, disengaged from home and school, and a reluctant member of a Brixton gang. When he meets ambitious Misha, the t…
; Flip
-
Chasing the Stars
Flip -
Chasing the Stars
Blackman's skilful retelling of Shakespeare's Othello in a futuristic space setting is thrilling and romantic. The characters are …
; Flip
-
Follow Me Down
Flip -
Follow Me Down
Adamma isn't too impressed to be leaving her life in New York for an exclusive English boarding school. But then she meets Scarlet…
; Flip
-
Heart-Shaped Bruise
Flip -
Heart-Shaped Bruise
Lying forgotten on top of a wardrobe at the Archway Young Offenders institution is a notebook. Inside its pages, the notorious Emi…
; Flip
-
Inheritance
Flip -
Inheritance
As a newly-independent Singapore struggles to establish its own identity and economic stability, a single father in the Punjabi Si…
; Flip
-
Liccle Bit
Flip -
Liccle Bit
At school Lemar, also known as Liccle Bit due to his height, is like any teenage boy. He's in love with a girl who barely notices …
; Flip
-
Long Way Down
Flip -
Long Way Down
Written in verse, Long Way Down is breathtakingly gripping and spectacular. You almost read it without breathing; the ac…
; Flip
-
On the Come Up
Flip -
On the Come Up
On the Come Up is a classic in the making, an inspiring coming-of-age story that gets right to the heart of what it means to …
; Flip
-
Rani and Sukh
Flip -
Rani and Sukh
A vivid, fast-moving take on the Romeo and Juliet story, exploring the experience of young urban British Asians as they negot…
; Flip
-
Rose, Interrupted
Flip -
Rose, Interrupted
A dramatic, thoughtful and compelling coming-of-age novel, in which 17-year-old Rose must learn to navigate the unspoken rules of …
; Flip
-
Stay A Little Longer
Flip -
Stay A Little Longer
Since Aman’s father died, nothing has been the same. Then she befriends a new neighbour, who is lonely too. This warm, o…
; Flip
-
That Asian Kid
Flip -
That Asian Kid
Fifteen-year-old Jeevan witnesses two teachers snogging (and more) in the woods, and films it on his phone. But should he share th…
; Flip
-
The Boy in the Black Suit
Flip -
The Boy in the Black Suit
When Matt’s mum tragically dies from cancer, it feels like all the joy is sucked out of his life. Then he meets a girl called Love…
; Flip
-
The Hate U Give
Flip -
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give is rightly named by many critics as one of the most important books of 2017. It's a profound, deeply compelling mo…
; Flip
-
The Hidden Star
Flip -
The Hidden Star
Part mystery, part quest, this book uses magic realism to tell an absorbing story about friendship and courage, which is filled wi…
; Flip
-
The Jungle
Flip -
The Jungle
Mico is a young African boy who's lost his family and livelihood, and is trying to get to safety in England. Stuck in the notoriou…
; Flip
-
The Novice
Flip -
The Novice
If you enjoyed Eragon by Christopher Paolini or you are a fan of The Hobbit then this is the book for you.
; Flip
-
The Poet X
Flip -
The Poet X
Xiomara, a teenage girl of Dominican heritage, is starting to notice boys, but her strict Catholic parents have decided on no cont…
; Flip
-
You Must Be Layla
Flip -
You Must Be Layla
Layla's first week at her new school isn't going well - she's the only child there to wear a Muslim headscarf, and she's already b…
; Flip
-
You’re Not Here
Flip -
You’re Not Here
17-year-old Jake Marlesden's soldier brother has been killed while out in action in Afghanistan, and Jake is in love with Leila Kh…
; Flip
-
What Sunny Saw in the Flames
Flip -
What Sunny Saw in the Flames
The first book of a fantasy adventure series set in contemporary Nigeria, this book is full of jeopardy, juju and mythical monstro…
; Flip
-
Wolf Light
Flip -
Wolf Light
Three girls, far apart in the world, are born with magical powers into a sisterhood. Together, they must defend the planet they sh…
; Flip
