Multiracial or mixed-culture identity protagonists
Books where the protagonist is mixed-race/biracial/multiracial or has multiple cultures based on the circumstances of their upbringing. This adds a layer to characters that I find myself drawn to reading about, having mixed heritage myself. Recs welcome!
created by zimbreezy
last updated August, 2026
Comments
hiii! idk if this fits but i've always read katniss everdeen from the hunger games to be biracial. her mother is described as pale-skinned and blonde and blue eyed, while her father is olive-skinned and dark-haired and grey eyed. i love this list as a biracial person myself!!
Oh interesting, I didnāt remember that aspect of the book. I did a little searching and it sounds like her mother and father come from different social classes as well. She seems intentionally a bit ambiguous in terms of ethnicity, and given the contrast of parental backgrounds I think itās fair to add to the list. I was not aware before this that the movie casting of Katniss (as much as I loved J. Lawās performance) could be considered āwhitewashingā of her character.
Thanks for the suggestion āŗļø
yes!! her different look from her sister (who is far more white passing) is also important to the story imo, so it definitely reads as racial coding to me. iād personally say that katniss is indigenous + white due to her coding, and i am of the belief that her casting (& others from the seam) = whitewashing, though i love jennifer lawrence and still think she does an incredible job.
Love this!!! I made a list a while back of stories with multiracial + queer main characters (and also poems, but that's not related). Making this comment now so I can easily find this list again and share some recs ā¤ļø
Off the top of my head, one of my favorite books I read this year with a biracial Filipino-White American was I'd Rather Burn than Bloom. It was SOOOOO good!!
Thanks for the comment and rec! I added Iād Rather Burn than Bloom. Iām looking forward to more recs!
