I Wish There Were More Books About...

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 I find myself in a pensive mood as the Chicagoland area is expected to get hit with another 4 to 9 inches of snow later today. It's also Friday and I've had a very busy week at work. I was looking over my very large reading stack and got to wondering about the holes in YA literature. As you may have noticed, I tend to ask this question from some of my authors in my interviews because I do think there are some glaring holes that need to be filled. So, I started to ask myself "I wish there were more books about..." Below are some of my wishes and I love to know what yours are too.

I Wish There Were More Books About..

• GLBT teens who are main characters and just are
• Multicultural fiction that feature young adults from other continents beside North America and Europe. 
• Male protagonists that are featured in books other than sports, science fiction, or fantasy
• Ethnic minority kids who don't fall under their stereotypes and are the main characters
• Strong female characters in realistic/contemporary fiction who aren't boy crazed and or desperately seeking to become popular. 
• A paranormal romance without a love triangle and/or a creepy, stalker-like love interest. 
• A paranormal romance where the heroine doesn't give up her own identity and interests for the sake of her love interest. Actually, this could go for realistic fiction too.
• Smart romance books that have depth and appeal to both male and female readers.
• Dystopian novels that doesn't regurgitate the same themes from Brave New World or 1984
• Retellings of other popular classics that are not from Jane Austen's works or Pride and Prejudice in particular. I think Jane would be with me on this one.
• Retelling of other myths besides the Greek and Roman
• High fantasy books that are YA appropriate so I can offer them to teens at my public library
• Interracial romances that don't end up in tragedy and/or constantly trying to defend themselves to others in their community.

 What about you? What would you like to see differently in YA? What are you tired of? Let's discuss!