Isn't that a cool cover? I was instantly drawn in by the cover and the title. Now I am excited to read Sarah Dalton's new book. Here's the blurb to get you excited too. 

What is Mary Hades about?:

Not many seventeen year old girls have a best friend who’s a ghost, but then Mary Hades isn’t your average teenager.

Scarred physically and mentally from a fire, her parents decide a holiday to an idyllic village in North Yorkshire will help her recover. Nestled in the middle of five moors, Mary expects to have a boring week stuck in a caravan with her parents. Little does she know, evil lurks in the campsite…

Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.

Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?

The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single My Daylight Monsters. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.

Buy Links for Mary Hades

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K23CWYW
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00K23CWYW?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mary-hades-sarah-dalton/1119391892?ean=2940149290413
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mary-hades
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/434073
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sarah_Dalton_Mary_Hades?id=d0x8AwAAQBAJ
https://www.omnilit.com/product-maryhades-1495992-251.html

Think back to the last four books you read. How many protagonists were non-white, non-straight, non-mainstream characters? If you are like me, the answer probably is close to zero. Sure some books have an African American best friend and that is great, believe me. But, the sad reality is most published books from the big 5 houses are written by white people for white people. And that isn't right. 

Now, don't get me wrong. I love white people. I'm a white person (though my strongest heritage is Middle Eastern). However, there is something so limiting  about exclusively reading books about people who look like me. I want to explore new cultures and see new places; it's part of why I read. I do seek out diversity in books and feel like a more well-rounded person because of it. However, I read mostly Young Adult books. And the sad fact of the matter is most, if not all of the heroines and heroes I have read lately in Young Adult are white. They are straight. They are as main stream as apple pie. And that has to change. 

This month authors are banding together to ask for more diversity in books. Today I join the movement wholeheartedly. If you want to join with me, please check out We Need Diverse Books to learn about their campaign. The campaign goes like this: May 1: Tweet about it, May 2: Chat about it, May 3: Buy books. And tweet using the hash tag #WeNeedDiverseBooks. Stars like Veronica Roth and Marie Lu are already on board and more are jumping on everyday. Come along to support diverse books. 

(On a side note, my book, Eyes Ever to the Sky, has a Bolivian American main character. You can find out more here.)