Diversity Spotlight Thursday is a weekly meme created by Aimal! Every week, you come up with one book in each of three different categories: a diverse book you have read and enjoyed, a diverse book on your TBR, and one that has not yet been released. You can check out the announcement post for more information.
The Girl With the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
★★★★☆
This book features a Jewish main character, a POC love interest, and a best friend who identifies as lesbian. I really enjoyed this book and the fact that it’s about time traveling via balloons is pretty cool.
Synopsis:
When sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she’s caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic. She meets members of an underground guild in East Berlin who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the Wall—but even to the balloon makers, Ellie’s time travel is a mystery. When it becomes clear that someone is using dark magic to change history, Ellie must risk everything—including her only way home—to stop the process.
Love On My Mind by Tracey Livesay
I don’t know much about this one except what the synopsis says and that it features an interracial couple. It looks adorable and I have heard good things! I’ve been wanting to read a cute romance for a while, this one might be the one I pick up next!
Synopsis:
Successful PR executive Chelsea Grant is one assignment away from making partner at her firm and nothing will stand in her way. Her big break? Turn a reclusive computer genius into a media darling in time for his new product launch. He may have been dubbed the “sexiest geek alive” but he has no patience for the press—and it shows. Piece of cake, right? Only problem is… his company doesn’t want him to know they hired her.
After a disastrous product launch two years ago, tech CEO Adam Bennett knows the success of his new device depends on the media’s support. When a twist of fate brings the beautiful PR specialist to his door, Adam hires Chelsea to help turn his image around. Their attraction is undeniable and the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep things professional.
But when Adam discovers Chelsea’s deception, will she risk everything for her career or is love the real thing on her mind?
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Expected Release Date: September 26th
From the synopsis alone it sounds like our main character might have social anxiety? Which is always a must read for me. Not only that but we have a half-Japanese protagonist that I’m so excited for! I haven’t read many books featuring Japanese characters and I really want to pick up more.
Synopsis:
Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. With a mother who makes her feel unremarkable and a half-Japanese heritage she doesn’t quite understand, Kiko prefers to keep her head down, certain that once she makes it into her dream art school, Prism, her real life will begin.
But then Kiko doesn’t get into Prism, at the same time her abusive uncle moves back in with her family. So when she receives an invitation from her childhood friend to leave her small town and tour art schools on the west coast, Kiko jumps at the opportunity in spite of the anxieties and fears that attempt to hold her back. And now that she is finally free to be her own person outside the constricting walls of her home life, Kiko learns life-changing truths about herself, her past, and how to be brave.
From debut author Akemi Dawn Bowman comes a luminous, heartbreaking story of identity, family, and the beauty that emerges when we embrace our true selves.
bookandwords 
Ooh, I have the Red Balloon one and I’m looking forward to reading it!!
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Lovely choices! I haven’t read these yet but it’s always cool to have some diverse recs 🙂
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