Which Top Fiction Books 2022 Feature Diverse Main Characters?

Leigh Bardugo’s 'Hell Bent' (the sequel to 'Ninth House') continues with Galaxy ‘Alex’ Stern, a biracial, working-class dropout who can see ghosts, navigating the occult underbelly of Yale. Her background is constantly at odds with the elite institution. Also, 'I’m Glad My Mom Died’ by Jennette McCurdy—a memoir, so not fiction, but it dominated 2022 talks. Her perspective growing up in a controlled, exploitative environment is brutally candid. For pure fiction, 'The Cartographers’ by Peng Shepherd has a Chinese-American cartographer unraveling a mystery, blending family history with magical maps.

I actually kept a whole list on my phone because I was trying to be intentional about reading more diversely last year. A standout for me was 'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' by Gabrielle Zevin. The core friendship between Sam and Sadie, with Sam being Korean-American and dealing with a disability, felt so nuanced, never like a checklist. It’s about creativity and partnership, and their identities are woven into that, not the sole point.

Another one that gripped me was 'The Daughter of Doctor Moreau' by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Carlota’s perspective as a mixed-race woman in 19th-century Mexico completely reframes the classic story. The setting itself is a character. It’s historical fiction with a gothic, almost fever-dream quality, and the power dynamics around her identity are central to the plot’s tension.

For something completely different in tone, 'Kaikeyi' by Vaishnavi Patel reimagines the queen from the Ramayana. It’s a mythic retelling from a vilified woman’s perspective, diving deep into her ambition and the political machinations of a court. The world-building is steeped in Indian mythology, which was a fresh and immersive experience for me compared to the usual Greco-Roman fare.

I’d also toss in 'Babel' by R.F. Kuang. The core group of translators at Oxford are all from marginalized backgrounds—Chinese, Indian, Haitian. The book is a relentless examination of colonialism, language, and power through their eyes. It’s an academic dark fantasy that’s as much a thesis on exploitation as it is a story, which won’t be for everyone, but the character perspectives are undeniably the engine of it all.

Gotta mention 'Sea of Tranquility' by Emily St. John Mandel. One of the main narrative threads follows a British expat in early 1900s Canada, but the novel’s real strength is its sprawling, centuries-spanning structure that connects an eclectic set of characters across time, including a Korean woman living in a moon colony. It’s less about focusing on one diverse protagonist and more about weaving a tapestry of human experience that feels inherently varied and global.

Another favorite was 'Nettle & Bone' by T. Kingfisher. The protagonist, Marra, is a nun who’s decidedly not cut out for convent life, and she sets off on a gritty fairy-tale quest with a crew that includes a gravewitch and a demon-possessed chicken. It’s a fantasy that subverts the princess narrative, focusing on an older, weary sister taking pragmatic, often messy action. The diversity is in the genre itself—giving us a heroine who isn’t young, isn’t beautiful in a conventional way, and is fueled by sheer stubborn love rather than destiny.

2022 was a surprisingly strong year for this. A real highlight was 'If I Survive You' by Jonathan Escoffery—linked stories about a Jamaican family trying to make it in Miami, dealing with racism, financial stress, and that fraught sense of belonging. The prose is sharp and often painfully funny. It doesn’t feel like it’s trying to be 'important'; it’s just brutally honest about a specific experience.

Then there’s 'Our Missing Hearts' by Celeste Ng. The main character, Bird, is twelve and biracial, and his mother, a Chinese American poet, has disappeared. The story is a quiet, dystopian folktale about racism and surveillance, seen through the confused, determined lens of a child. The diversity here isn’t just backdrop; it’s the reason for the family’s persecution and the source of their resilience.

Also loved 'The Marriage Portrait' by Maggie O’Farrell. Lucrezia de’ Medici, a real historical figure in Renaissance Italy, is the focus. It’s a claustrophobic, luxurious dive into the life of a teenage duchess trapped in a political marriage, showcasing a different kind of diversity—the utterly constrained experience of a young woman of immense privilege yet no power.