In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. This month I've collected a list of YA mysteries.

This month, I'm happy for another opportunity to talk about Slay by Brittney Morris. We discussed this exciting mystery at our last Project LIT book club for teens in the spring, and it was unanimously declared a favorite. The main character, Kiera Johnson, is an honors student and a talented coder. Secretly, Kiera is also the developer of a wildly popular online gaming platform called SLAY, an innovative creation that celebrates Black culture and provides a safe space for Black gamers. When a dispute over resources in the game turns deadly, Kiera faces media scrutiny and a threatening anonymous troll. The suspense is high throughout the book: who is the troll? How will Kiera protect the world she created?

I was also delighted to discover that Brittney Morris has a version of the SLAY game on her website, which is pretty cool. You can check it out here.
Want to get a copy of Slay from the Library? You can find it here:
Library Catalog / OverDrive

I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / hoopla
“A small town erupts when a child goes missing from the neighborhood in which a still-unsolved kidnapping occurred years earlier. It's been 10 years, but 17-year-old Dee is still haunted by the day her best friend, Sibby, was kidnapped as they played together in the woods. Anxious and risk-averse, she leads a double life as the anonymous host of a viral true-crime podcast that highlights missing person cases. Her ardent listeners, who call themselves the “Laptop Detective Agency,” have successfully used tips she's received to solve several cases across North America, but Dee's never wanted to put Sibby—and herself—under their scrutiny. Navigating high school and her budding romance with edgy new girl Sarah is complicated enough. But after a young girl goes missing, the media makes a connection between the incidents, and an LDA tipster suggests that Sibby is still alive, Dee is forced to face the past.” –Kirkus Reviews

The Silence of Bones by June Hur
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“Can a poor, illiterate orphan girl in the late 1700s make a difference in the patriarchal and conservative society of Korea? Sixteen-year-old Seol's parents have died, and as the youngest of three siblings, she has been sent to Hanyang, the capital of the southern province of the Korean peninsula, to work and to look for her long-lost brother who is assumed dead. Placed in the police bureau, she assists in the investigation of a series of gruesome murders that are stumping lead Inspector Han.” –School Library Journal

Spin by Lamar Giles
Grades 7 and up
Library Catalog / hoopla / OverDrive
“Two African-American teens who dislike each other find themselves working together to solve the murder of a mutual friend. Kya Caine and Fatima ‘Fuse' Fallon were both in the orbit of Paris Secord, aka DJ ParSec. Kya and Paris were friends from their neighborhood, while Fuse's skill with social media made her the ideal person to promote this music among #ParSecNation fans. On the night Paris is murdered, both girls happen on the scene within minutes of each other; her death is a blow, and their shock and pain run deep. When they are briefly kidnapped by #DarkNation, a group of violent, extreme fans, they put their differences behind them to find the killer.” –Kirkus Reviews

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“Enchanted Jones wants to be a star, but her life is ordinary, until a real-life fantasy unfolds when superstar Korey Fields sees her sing at an audition. It seems her dreams of stardom are within reach, but the dream gradually turns into a nightmare, and one morning, she wakes up with blood on her hands next to Korey's dead body. Enchanted has to endure the character assassination (and victim blaming) that ensues with Korey's death.” –Horn Book

Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“Micah declares herself a liar and calls her own reliability as a narrator into question on the first page of this dark, gripping page-turner. When Zach, the boy with whom she might or might not be romantically involved, goes missing, Micah tries to tell the story of her tortured relationships with Zach and her classmates, teachers and family. Is Micah a killer? Quite possibly yes, but she weaves lies and truths together so artfully that even as she admits her deceptions, she becomes an increasingly compelling and sympathetic character. Micah's fractured first-person narrative skips around chronologically, further deepening the confusion about what has really happened in her life.” –Kirkus Reviews

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“This #OwnVoices novel is a character-driven crime thriller packed with Ojibwe culture and high-stakes tension with themes of identity, trust, and resilience. The journey of 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine is told in four parts overlaid by the four directions of Ojibwe medicine wheel teachings. Daunis should be focused on a fresh start at college after her uncle's untimely death. She is sucked back into the world of ice hockey and starts slowly falling for Jamie, one of her brother's new teammates. Soon she finds herself living two disparate lives: one as a loving daughter, niece, and granddaughter in her family and tribal community, and one as a confidential informant to the FBI as they investigate a deadly new drug. She dangerously furthers the investigation on her own after witnessing a murder, and ultimately must choose between protecting the people she loves or protecting her tribal community.” –School Library Journal