YA Fantasy book lists for characters of color

Shweta · Jul 3, 2009

Hiya!

I'm trying to compile YA fantasy reading lists by/about people of color. While aware that's a broad and underspecified term, and everyone has a color, but it's a place to start

Basically I realized I was even less clueful about this in YA fantasy than in general fantasy, so I want a list. If it's useful to other people that's an added bonus.

Anyway, I realized you fine folks might have suggestions I'd have missed, so wanted to ask you. Any added suggestions beyond what's on those lists already? (I'm linking rather than repasting because they get rather long, but could post the lists here if that'd be better...)

Amarie · Jul 3, 2009

Shweta,

I have a book on my to read list called Sisters of the Sword by Maya Snow.
It's set in Japan and is about two girls training to be samurai. It's not really fantasy, except in the sense it probably never would have occurred, but it looks like a good book. It might be considered more upper MG than YA though. Sorry I can't be of more help, but I'll keep looking around.

Shweta · Jul 3, 2009

Looks interesting, Melia, thanks

Wouldn't work for this list, but I'll keep an eye out for it, at any rate.

Kitty Pryde · Jul 3, 2009

I know one that's not on your list: Pemba's Song. http://www.amazon.com/dp/054502076X/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

Have you checked out the Happy Nappy Bookseller: http://thehappynappybookseller.blogspot.com/ It's mostly kids and YA lit by/about POC, some other books too.

Kitty Pryde · Jul 3, 2009

Thought of another, Nation by Terry Pratchett. MC is a Pacific Islander. ish. I haven't read it yet but Amazon calls it a YA fantasy.

Shweta · Jul 3, 2009

Kitty Pryde said:
I know one that's not on your list: Pemba's Song. http://www.amazon.com/dp/054502076X/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

Have you checked out the Happy Nappy Bookseller: http://thehappynappybookseller.blogspot.com/ It's mostly kids and YA lit by/about POC, some other books too.

Kitty Pryde said:
Thought of another, Nation by Terry Pratchett. MC is a Pacific Islander. ish. I haven't read it yet but Amazon calls it a YA fantasy.

Yay! Thank you much. I haven't seen that blog yet and am very happy to be pointed to it, and those books are going on the list

SarahMacManus · Jul 3, 2009

Kitty Pryde said:
Thought of another, Nation by Terry Pratchett. MC is a Pacific Islander. ish. I haven't read it yet but Amazon calls it a YA fantasy.

Nation is fantastic! And yes, it would fit the list.

eyeblink · Jul 3, 2009

Would Locas (Love and Rockets) count for your graphic novel list? It certainly has fantasy elements as well.

Shweta · Jul 4, 2009

eyeblink said:
Would Locas (Love and Rockets) count for your graphic novel list? It certainly has fantasy elements as well.

Is L&R YA?

eyeblink · Jul 4, 2009

Older end maybe, though probably not. I'm only partway through reading a *huge* hardcover compilation of it, but if I remember rightly, Maggie and Hopey start the series as older teens.

Shweta · Jul 4, 2009

eyeblink said:
Older end maybe, though probably not. I'm only partway through reading a *huge* hardcover compilation of it, but if I remember rightly, Maggie and Hopey start the series as older teens.

I haven't read all of it. I thought they were early 20s, though. Not that that stops it being older-end YA.

I didn't see any fantastic elements in what I read, but I'm not counting that for graphic novels, so why not

eyeblink · Jul 4, 2009

Shweta said:
I didn't see any fantastic elements in what I read, but I'm not counting that for graphic novels, so why not

There's the occasional dinosaur wandering about, and one character has small horns growing out of his head. Also, Maggie has a job as a spacecraft mechanic.

Zoombie · Jul 4, 2009

Um...does my novel E.L.F count? It deals with racism and interracial couples...kinda.

eyeblink · Jul 4, 2009

One for your SF list, if you put one together...

British Front by Eric Brown. This is one of the many "reluctant reader" YA books published in the UK by Barrington Stoke - YA in terms of content, but short books (about 10k words) and simple language. A boy and a girl get transported into a right-wing future Britain. The boy (who narrates) is a British Asian and he is treated badly because of this.

Momento Mori · Jul 4, 2009

Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses quartet (beginning with Noughts and Crosses) is AU rather than straight out fantasy, but does focus on Afro-Carribean characters, with a mixed race character being the focus of the last couple of books. Malorie is herself Afro-Carribean.

Don't know whether it's quite what you're looking for, but Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori Quartet (beginning with Across The Nightingale Floor) is set in 17th/18th century Japan and is a historical fantasy (one of the main characters has special powers).

MM

gonovelgo · Jul 4, 2009

Momento Mori said:
Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses quartet (beginning with Noughts and Crosses) is AU rather than straight out fantasy, but does focus on Afro-Carribean characters, with a mixed race character being the focus of the last couple of books. Malorie is herself Afro-Carribean.

I tried reading the first book in the series and was hugely disappointed. I'd say take a look for the intriguing concept, but it really didn't do anything for me.

Momento Mori · Jul 5, 2009

gonovelgo:
I tried reading the first book in the series and was hugely disappointed. I'd say take a look for the intriguing concept, but it really didn't do anything for me.

Yeah, I'd agree with that. I think it does improve in the later books but the first is a bit too Romeo and Juliet for me.

As an additional recommendation, UnLundun by China Mieville has an Afro-Carribean main character and I thoroughly enjoyed that novel as he takes a lot of the YA cliches and subverts them. Plus he has Binjas. And I loved the Binjas.

MM

gonovelgo · Jul 5, 2009

I've had UnLundun sitting on my bookshelf for more than a year now, just gathering dust. The phrase 'he takes a lot of the YA cliches and subverts them' is going to have me scrambling to read it as soon as possible

Also I loved Perdido Street Station, so I guess that helps too.

Shweta · Jul 5, 2009

eyeblink said:
There's the occasional dinosaur wandering about, and one character has small horns growing out of his head. Also, Maggie has a job as a spacecraft mechanic.

How did I miss that?

Zoombie said:
Um...does my novel E.L.F count? It deals with racism and interracial couples...kinda.

Linkie?

Momento Mori said:
Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses quartet (beginning with Noughts and Crosses) is AU rather than straight out fantasy, but does focus on Afro-Carribean characters, with a mixed race character being the focus of the last couple of books. Malorie is herself Afro-Carribean.

Cool! That needs adding, yesyes.

Don't know whether it's quite what you're looking for, but Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori Quartet (beginning with Across The Nightingale Floor) is set in 17th/18th century Japan and is a historical fantasy (one of the main characters has special powers).

MM

Got 'em.

Bought the first book, too.

Momento Mori said:
Yeah, I'd agree with that. I think it does improve in the later books but the first is a bit too Romeo and Juliet for me.

As an additional recommendation, UnLundun by China Mieville has an Afro-Carribean main character and I thoroughly enjoyed that novel as he takes a lot of the YA cliches and subverts them. Plus he has Binjas. And I loved the Binjas.

MM

Hm. I found UnLundun really clunky writing, unfortunately. If it subverts cliches maybe I'll pass it on to someone less oversensitive to prose than me

I think he's on the list, but if not will add him.

Momento Mori · Jul 6, 2009

Shweta:
I found UnLundun really clunky writing, unfortunately.

:shocked gasp:

But ... but ... Binjas!

Ahem.

Fair enough.

I don't think anyone here's recommended the Magic or Madness Trilogy by Justine Larbalestier (beginning with Magic or Madness), which tells the story of a mixed race girl.

I was also wondering if maybe Ysebeau Wilce's Flora Segunda series might come within what you're looking for. I'm offering that tentatively because you can see the influences of Mexican and Peruvian mythology within the text, but the characters are 'colour-blind' when it comes to descriptions.

MM

Torgo · Jul 6, 2009

Daughter of the Flames by our own Zoe Marriott.

Shweta · Jul 6, 2009

Thank you guys so much

Not ignoring anything here, just have to get a dissertation chapter to my advisor before the next list update.

Fillanzea · Jul 6, 2009

Rogelia's House of Magic by Jamie Martinez Wood is about three Latina young women learning how to use magic. Kind of predictable, but I'd recommend it to younger YAs who liked Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

I noticed that you have Cynthia Leitich Smith's Eternal on your list as one that doesn't have POCs -- actually, the heroine is Chinese-American.

David Macinnis Gill's Soul Enchilada is a quite good recent novel about a biracial girl whose late grandfather's classic Cadillac is about to get repossessed by the devil.

Shweta · Jul 6, 2009

Fillanzea said:
Rogelia's House of Magic by Jamie Martinez Wood is about three Latina young women learning how to use magic. Kind of predictable, but I'd recommend it to younger YAs who liked Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Cool

I'm not going for a recommended list, really, so much as just a list, as a starting point.

I noticed that you have Cynthia Leitich Smith's Eternal on your list as one that doesn't have POCs -- actually, the heroine is Chinese-American.

Ah, very good to know. I read the summaries on her webpage and they didn't seem to mention non-standard ethnicities for any of the characters.

Do you know about Tantalize?

David Macinnis Gill's Soul Enchilada is a quite good recent novel about a biracial girl whose late grandfather's classic Cadillac is about to get repossessed by the devil.

Yay! Will... try to get to a point where I can update tomorrrow.

gonovelgo · Jul 7, 2009

I've been following this thread for ages without remembering that every single character in my own WIP has brown skin (and what I continuously picture as vaguely Asian features, but I'm not one for huge amounts of physical description). So, uh...look out for it on bestseller lists soon?

YA Fantasy book lists for characters of color

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