Library Fangirl

Student, geek, and future library technician to-be.
Compulsive hoarder of tasty chocolate, kitty cuddles, and really good stories.

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It Matters If You’re Black or White: The Racism of YA Book Covers →

If a YA book features a white, female protagonist (and this accounts for a not insignificant portion of YA released each year), it seems inevitable that the book cover will display an idealized and airbrushed masterpiece of her on the cover. And when a YA book actually does have a protagonist of color, too often one of three things seems to happen:

The cover is “whitewashed” and shows a Caucasian model instead of a person of color;

The cover depicts someone whose race seems purposefully ambiguous or difficult to discern; or

The character is shown in silhouette