Isabella is half-black and half-white, but she identifies as black. At first, this revelation throws her white mother for a loop; luckily, she becomes 100% supportive of her daughter's idenity. Not everyone else is quite as accepting.

Izzy is tired of fielding quizzical looks when she is with kin, as if people are wondering where she belongs or whose child she is. She loves both her parents and staunchly faces the world, firmly ensconced between them.

Then they break up. Her parents are separating.

The reverberations of this news shake the girl to her core.

Isabella's dad commences dating a black woman, and her mother is increasingly spending time with a white man. Things are going as well as can be expected while Isabella is shuffled back and forth each week like a load of laundry. Living in two places with three backpacks (one for music items) can be a drag, but at least Izzy wins a new awesome big brother, Darren. Izzy idolizes Darren; similarly, she seems to be the apple of his eye. The two miss each other during the weeks they are apart.

Izzy is just getting used to the new normal when her parents decide to get married. All four of them… on the same day. The girl does not know how to deal with all of this. She is thrilled that the relationships are being made official… but two weddings in one day?!

Blended by Sharon Draper, 2018

I loved this juvenile novel about race in America.

Sharon Draper's website

Books about mixed-race people
 

Amal is unhappy that her father requires her to stay home and keep house while her mother is ill. She is disappointed about missing school, which she very much enjoyed attending. She was at the top of her class, but her performance will surely slip as the result of many bookless days spent at home doing chores. She will fall behind her classmates. She thirsts for knowledge and her friends, but it is not to be right now. 

Then something worse manages to happen: Jawad Sahib, ruler of her village, steals a pomegranate from her.

Amal makes the mistake of demanding it back.

The girl wants that lovely, delectable, tantalizing piece of sweet fruit, and her situation becomes one of "enough is enough." Amal is tired of this despot ruining everyone's frame of mind in the village, and she simply says no. For this, she pays dearly.

A frightening chain of events threatens to eclipse her life. She is abducted from her home and forced to work in a gilded, luxurious estate. Amal is treated harshly, not allowed to leave, and forced to work for nothing. Keeping the flame of hope alive is difficult, but she presses on, nonetheless.

Three young women, Nazreen, Fozia, and Seema, make up a new sort of family for Amal. She attempts to look out for them, and they provide some emotional sustenance for one another. Amid the brutality of the Sahibs, the girls are able to find some light and joy underneath the cruel reality of indentured servitude.

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, 2018

I love the cover art and the snapshot of life in Pakistan for young girls.

Aisha Saeed's website

Books about girls' education

WeNeedDiverseBooks.org
 

Liv is sure of one thing: he is a boy. Born Olivia, Liv feels male through and through. Big problem, because everyone treats him as though he is a girl. The dress code at Bankridge School is like a nightmare to him. Girls must wear skirts, while boys can wear pants.

One day, Liv breaks the mold and sports a pair of pants and a skirt. The school administration is not impressed, to say the least, and sends Liv to the restroom to change clothes.

Throughout most of their childhoods, Liv and Maisie have been best friends forever. Then, inexplicably, something changes. It seems as though no one except for his family accepts Liv for who he is. At school, Jade and Chelsea make Liv's life miserable. Their comments, looks, laughter… all of it is Schoolyard Bully Central. It does not help one bit that the school is completely opposed to any discussion of a change in the dress code.

Then, friends Jacob, Liv, Marion, and others join forces to change the culture of the school. They are on a mission, wanting a school that is open to gender fluidity and freedom of expression. They want their learning space to be reflective of 21st-century diversity. These kids are activists, and are determined to succeed in making their community more progressive. 

The Pants Project by Cat Clarke, 2017

As always, I love books about the LGBTQ community. 

Cat Clarke's website

Books about transgender kids

LGBT Community Center NYC