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. For the last post of 2021, I looked at the circulation data for the YA fiction collection to see which books checked out the most. I came up with this list of the top ten most popular YA fiction books published in 2021, written by authors with diverse perspectives.

When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“Black teen Jay Murphy lives in Newport News, VA, with his sister and grandmother. Jay's mother is in prison for drug-related offenses, and his father died from an illness when he was young. Jay is an excellent student and teaches Sunday school at his church. Jay's sister, Nicole, goes to a party on a Thursday evening with her boyfriend and best friend and doesn't return home. Jay tries to cover for her as much as possible but eventually turns to the police for help. After Jay realizes the police won't be much help finding his missing sister, he teams up with his friend from church and embarks on a harrowing journey to find out what happened to Nicole.” –School Library Journal

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

One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / Hoopla / OverDrive
“Keziah Leah Smith is a YouTube vlogger and activist. She's just turned 18, and she's excited about attending her first Black Lives Matter protest—but an interaction with police at the rally ends with Kezi losing her life. Her sisters Happi and Genny and her best friends Ximena and Derek decide to honor Kezi by taking a road trip on Route 66. This special road trip was designed by Kezi as a graduation gift to herself and a way for her to reconnect with her sisters. Kezi, a Black history enthusiast, used the Negro Motorist Green Book to craft her trip. Now her sisters will take the journey for her.” –School Library Journal

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog
“Folding in elements of Andersen’s ‘The Snow Queen,' McLemore (Dark and Deepest Red) whips up a magical realist tale as spellbinding as the pan dulce creations described within this novel’s pages. Known as the pastry witch of San Juan Capistrano, queer Mexican American teen Graciela ‘Ciela' Cristales works at her family’s pastelería and has inherited her late bisabuela’s ability to ‘know what bread or sweet would leaven the heart of anyone she met.' After Ciela and a visiting ‘boy in plaid flannel' are both sexually assaulted at the same party, however, her gift disappears—and a strange season begins in which trees vanish overnight and objects suddenly turn into magical mirrored glass. But when the boy from that night, Lock Thomas, unexpectedly enrolls at Ciela’s high school several months later, with no memory of his assault, Ciela must decide whether to reveal what she knows or keep the truth to herself.” –Publisher's Weekly

Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“A girl who is tired of being in the shadows decides to shine. Skyy is used to hiding in the shadow of her best friend, Lay Li; shrinking away from her sister Essa's harsh words; and turning invisible among her peers. The only place she stands out is on the basketball court going toe-to-toe with boys who think she shouldn't be playing. While she and Lay Li are fighting and not speaking to each other, she reflects on the way her friend treated her, both during their friendship and afterward. Skyy garners the attention of Clifton, an attractive neighborhood boy, but his attention isn't enough to help Skyy love herself. Through a process of self-discovery and by listening to the stories of girls around her, Skyy learns to stand in her truth and determine what she's worth.” –Kirkus Reviews

Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“In this reflective, deliberately paced novel told from a younger sibling's point of view, Choi (Permanent Record) examines the relationship between two Korean American sisters. Ambitious older sister June and impulsive Jayne had a love-hate relationship throughout their Texas childhood, and though they both now live in New York City, they've become fully estranged. June is a corporate success, working in hedge funds, while Jayne attends fashion design school and struggles to make it to class. The silence between the two ends, however, when June reveals that she has cancer.” –Publisher's Weekly

The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver
Grades 7 and up
Library Catalog / Hoopla
“A nonbinary teen in North Carolina struggles with relationships and loss. When Ethan dies in a hit-and-run, his younger sibling, Liam, is heartbroken. In addition to the normal stages of mourning, 16-year-old Liam has other things on their mind: a crush on their brother's best friend, Marcus, an athletic White boy; feelings of exclusion after their best friends, brown-skinned Vanessa and Vietnamese Joel, disappear into a romantic relationship; and anxiety around a burgeoning music career. Liam is surprised to develop a friendship with Marcus, slowly realizing the secrets their brother had been keeping.” –Kirkus Reviews

Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“Jay knows that, statistically, about 20 kids at his small-town high school should be LGBTQ+, but he’s the only out person. To combat his dismay, he collects stats and keeps a Gay Agenda of everything he wants to do, starting with simply meeting another gay kid. His opportunities increase when the family moves to Seattle and Jay bonds with new friend Max, who offers to be Jay’s official Gay Guide and help him cross items off the agenda. When Jay’s meet-cute with Albert, a robot enthusiast and unapologetic dork, blossoms into several swoon-worthy dates, he realizes that the Gay Agenda isn’t as easy as he expected and that it’s going to take a lot of vulnerable communication with those closest to him to figure out what really matters.” –Booklist Reviews

The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / Hoopla / OverDrive
“A paranoia-driven debut novel about a relationship twisted by obsession. Logan struggles to move on after the death of his great love, Sophie. All he can do is go through the motions until he meets Delilah, a new senior who strongly resembles Sophie. Revived, Logan's obsession grows as he stalks Delilah online and in real life. Meanwhile, Delilah—whose father died in a tragic accident—feels crushed by her mother's abusive police detective boyfriend. Just when something happens to remove Brandon from their lives and she thinks everything might be turning around, Logan makes his move. As their relationship develops, Logan's control over Delilah tightens, and dark secrets and violent decisions send both characters into a complex, dangerous spiral.” –Kirkus Reviews

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog / OverDrive
“When the newest prefects are announced at Niveus Private Academy, certain choices just make sense—like the promotion of popular and perfect Chiamaka Adebayo to head prefect—but when Devon is announced as prefect, a role he neither expected nor feels deserving of, he suspects something is afoot. The narrative escalates as Devon and Chiamaka begin receiving suspicious texts from someone known as Aces, who threatens to expose their secrets to the public, endangering their chances of becoming valedictorian—and their lives.” –Booklist Reviews