Board Thread:News and Announcements/@comment-98.247.168.42-20181122042639/@comment-39279721-20190525224151

Yes! I really wonder if she ever notices the lack of representation in KOTLC. She seems to think including asian twins and a black teenager can make up for how little diversity there is. And ALL of the characters conform to gender roles- roles she claims don't exist in the elvin world. There is simply too many things lacking in her series to be as succesful as it has the potential to be. I would be willing to forgive her with the lack of LGTBQ+ in the series- if Sophie at least acknowledged it or just didn't talk about her and keefe and fitz and that kind of stuff - but because love is involved a lot in the series, she should be curious if she grew up with humans.

And a message to people who think diversity isn't important and think we should just read other books if we want that, here are some quotes from (REAL) people on scholastic about the importance of diversity in books:

Gina S.: Diverse books are important because they teach people about others. They help promote respect and empathy for all types of people.

Rachel M.: All students deserve to see themselves in books, to relate to the characters. I'm so excited we're finally coming into a time were we are seeing more and more diverse characters in that STARRING role! Students who aren't exposed to people different from them have the chance to learn through books and understand that while we may appear to have many differences, we still really truly do have much more in common. BOOKS can do this!!

Jennifer H.: Every student deserves to see themselves in the books they read. Books have the power to encourage students while at the same time enlighten other readers of the truths about lives they don’t live. And hopefully, that enlightenment will spur compassion, understanding, and change.

DeAnna S.: Growing up, I was the only mixed person in my school. I wasn't allowed to play princesses because there wasn't a dark princess. When I moved and went to a more diverse high school I was still alone because of my sexual orientation. Books allowed me to find people who are and were like me and in that never feel alone.

'''So please realize my message: SM needs to include more diversity if she wants people like this (one of them being me) to be interested, by  seeing themselves in the characters and visions books can offer. Things that KOTLC does not offer - yet. ''This is why diversity matters. '