Please welcome Sonia Patel with her book list of Sexual Violence Diversity Books for Young Adults.
We are giving away 5 copies of her book, Jaya and Rasa, a Love Story. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.
Sexual Violence Diversity Books for Young Adults
1. Rani Patel In Full Effect by Sonia Patel
My debut novel is about how a Gujarati Indian American teen growing up on the rural Hawaiian island of Molokai uses her love for hip hop and rap to navigate the emotional and interpersonal sequalae of incest and rape. The main character, Rani, is based on a mix of my experiences, those of patients I’ve treated and girls/women I’ve known. [young adult, ages 13 and up]
2. Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story by Sonia Patel
My second novel is about the love the grows between a transgender Gujarati Indian boy and a sex trafficked mixed ethnicity girl after their chance meeting on a mountain trail in Hawaii. Both characters are based on amalgams of real patients I’ve treated and their experiences. [young adult, ages 13 and up]
3. Push by Sapphire
I love the main character in this book, a black teenager growing up in Harlem. Her story is brutal and realistic. I’ve heard similar stories in my work as a child & adolescent psychiatrist. [young adult, ages 13 and up]
4. Sold by Patricia McCormick
I like that this book offers a realistic look at sex trafficking injustices against youth outside of the U.S.A. In this case the main character is Nepalese. [young adult, ages 13 and up]
5. Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
This book presents the perspective of a teen boy navigating ordinary life while dealing with the aftermath of sexual abuse. There aren’t that many YA novels addressing the scars boys also get from sexual trauma and I like how this book helps fill that void. [young adult, ages 13 and up]
6. Bait by Alex Sanchez
This book offers a teen boy’s reaction to sexual abuse in a messy, realistic way. I liked that it showed his anger as being both turned inward and outward. [young adult, ages 13 and up]
7. I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson
This is a unique story in that it presents the topic of incest through the story of an interracial friendship. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. [young adult, ages 12 and up]
8. Girl Detached by Manuela Salvi
This book is about a teenager who has trouble speaking up-literally in that she stutters and in that she is shy. She ends up sex trafficked. I applaud the realistic portrayal of how vulnerable teens can end up manipulated into extremely dangerous situations. [young adult, ages 14 and up]
5 Book Giveaway of Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story
We are giving away 5 copies of her book, Jaya and Rasa, a Love Story. Please fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter. We can only ship to U.S. addresses and AFO boxes.
Sonia Patel lives and practices psychiatry on Oahu. She is especially passionate about helping teens work through emotional issues, gender issues, sexuality issues, abuse of all types, and/or family conflicts, to improve their self worth, relationships, and moods. When she’s not in the office, she’s probably hanging out with her spouse, two children, and dog. Or writing. If she’s not doing those things, you can find her climbing some lush Oahu mountain. Or head noddin’ to some hip hop in her beat-up pickup truck.
To learn more about her, please check out her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
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Thank you for shining light on these books and thus these issues.
Thank you for this list. So much. As for the giveaway entry comment, my favorite book dealing with sexual violence is The Small Backs of Children by Lidia Yuknavitch, but it’s not YA.
This is needed so much. I wish I had things like this to read when I was young and confused. I am a survivor and hope to able to talk about this when my daughters are old enough to understand. Thank you!
Thank you for this list. I don’t really read YA books and my kid is only 9 so I have a few years to go…but it’s never too early to start a collection of books.
a hard topic but important!