Black Girls Don't Date Vampires

As I was reading through my Tumblr, I came across an article by the Huffington Post called “America Lacks Multicultural Literature.” Feel free to read it yourself; it is an interesting read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tejas-desai/america-lacks-multicultur_b_5311322.html. 

Though I agree that most of the protagonists and characters in American literature are white, I can off the top of my head think of some multicultural characters, especially in adult fiction which I will discuss in a later blog post.

 Thinking younger, however, I have a more difficult time. Like a good amount of adults and teens (mainly female), I go through teen paranormal novels like candy. Amanda Hocking, Meg Cabot, Lauren Kate, Jessica Sorenson, and other authors are my dealers; their paranormal romances, my crack cocaine. I can usually go through one on a busy weekend or in a night if there is nothing else to do. Needless to say, my guilty pleasure has taken me through many, many young adult novels…....….not one of which had an African American protagonist.

When these high school protagonists are described, they are usually long-haired brunettes that are awkwardly lanky, most of them with notably “honey” eyes. Honey eyes are an extremely overused cliché that should never, ever be used. However, none of these girls, the fixations of the paranormal hottie who loves them beyond time and space, have any color.

I could never begin to tell you why this is, just that I have noticed it. Black girls don’t date vampires, werewolves, angels, what-have-you. Neither do any other minorities, such as Native Americans or Asians. Some may be Latina, but only in looks. I am near begging for a good paranormal romance in which the protagonist is not a white female from an upper-middle class family who usually has both of her parents in the picture. 

For a genre that allows for so much diversity in their paranormal character: Vampire, werewolf, shifters, angels, ghosts, time travelers, elves, mermaids, selkies, etc, I just wish they did the same for the human character.

So, my question is, do you agree with me that there is a lack of racial diversity? Can you think of any true teenage paranormal romances with a Black/Native/Asian/Latina/Other race? Please feel free to post in the comments and I would love to read them!

Desai, T. (2014, May 12). America Lacks Multicultural Literature. The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tejas-desai/america-lacks-multicultur_b_5311322.html

Pictures:

 Sorensen, J. (2011). The Fallen Star. United States: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

 Cabot, M. (2011). Abandon. New York: Point.