Growing up, I rarely saw anyone on TV or in books who was South Asian. When reading, the characters never had a last name or family like mine, nor like those of other ethnic groups. It wasn’t until I watched Never Have I Ever on Netflix, and later when I saw Simone Ashley get casted to play Kate Sharma in Season 2 of Bridgerton, that I finally got to see an underrepresented group. And they were main characters, not just sidekicks or stereotypes. This visibility sparked something in me, and since then I have been looking for more stories with characters that reflect the richness and authenticity of South Asian cultures. More stories that go beyond arranged marriage tropes and academic pressure narratives. More young adult books where South Asian teens can be witches, rom-com leads, superheroes, and warriors. I hope to see a change in the book industry promoting more South Asian representation in their stories. So, here are a few recommendations you may have heard of, but you may not have known have a South Asian protagonist.
Nishat, a Bangladeshi-Irish teen girl living in Dublin, struggles with bullying in her Catholic school. She comes out to her muslim parents, who disapprove. Nishat is torn between choosing to be herself or mask herself, in fear of losing her relationship with her family. However, the pretending becomes even harder once her childhood best friend, Flávia, walks back into her life, transferring to Nishat’s school. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat struggles with her feelings for her.
When a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, Nishat decides on Henna. Flávia also decides to do Henna, appropriating Nishat’s culture. Along with school stress and Flávia’s sabotage, the girls’ lives get more tangled together, and Nishat realizes her feelings for Flávia may be more than just a crush. As she gets to know her more, she finds there may be more to Flávia as well.
This story sounds heartbreaking yet hopeful, and I cannot wait to finally read it.
This story takes place in a world inspired by ancient Rome, where Laia resides with her grandparents and older brother. The family scrapes by in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets and know better than to challenge the Empire, as they’ve seen what it has done to others. But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, rebels promise to rescue her brother, and in exchange she must risk her life as a spy in the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier, but the most unwilling. Elias dreams of being free from the tyranny and the life he’s been forced to suffer. When Laia and Elias meet, they realize they must work together in order to change the fate of the Empire.
It’s Paris in 1889. Wealthy hotelier and treasure-hunter Séverin Montagnet-Alarie is great at uncovering dark secrets, but has one of his own. When an elite society, Order of Babel, coerces him to join their mission, Séverin is offered a treasure—his true inheritance. In order to receive it, Séverin must hunt down an artifact that the Order seeks. He calls on a few experts to help him in his journey: an engineer with a debt to pay, a historian banished from his home, a dancer with a mysterious past, and a brother in arms. Together, they will explore the heart of Paris and might find something that could change the course of history—if they manage to stay alive.
When I first heard of this story I judged it solely based on the title, thinking it was a werewolf romance, so when I researched it, I was astonished by the synopsis, and now I cannot wait to read this.
Overall, I am very excited to add these books to my TBR, and hope one of them makes it to yours. It is so crucial that we make ourselves self-aware of others around us and support diverse groups. I hope to see more books written with South Asian main characters in the future.
Anasofia Alejandro, Pine Reads Review Writer