#young adult fiction
By Tochi Onyebuchi
I was asked recently on a panel what my thoughts were regarding the idea of a black Superman. There was a brief flutter of confusion on the panel, as I and another panelist wondered if some bit of casting news swept us by, but we soon realized the question was more theoretical than anything else. Questions about race and casting and storytelling generally are.
If I recall correctly, my answer was a bit of a deflection. I’d asked the questioner and the audience to, instead of engaging with a non-white Superman, ask themselves why Superman had been made white to begin with. This all-powerful demi-god, who could leap tall buildings in a single bound and who possessed untold amounts of strength, why, if he could already do so many things, was he also made white?
Increasing diversity in storytelling often comes with the built-in assumption that it is writers of color or disabled writers or non-binary writers who are doing the work. These people telling their own stories. The idea is that, the more these stories make it into the marketplace, the more a reader’s eyes will be opened to human possibility, the more likely they are, when they see a person of color or a disabled writer or a non-binary writer, to act with humaneness, rather than hatred. A story from a black author about a black boy makes its way into the hands of a young white reader and, suddenly, the pathway to bigotry is blocked by the empathetic undertaking that is the reading of a book.
But this is supposed to be a group project.
For me, sometimes what increasing diversity in storytelling entails is simply imagining ourselves outside of what we usually see. This can mean black superheroes and female corporate moguls, but it can’t be simple race- or gender-swapping. If the character is not a heterosexual, cis-gendered, white male, let’s make sure they are a fully realized character whose non-whiteness, for instance, isn’t just a splash of paint from an errant paintbrush. When I think back to that question about Superman, I find myself wishing from time to time that I’d answered along these lines, that I’d challenged the audience to imagine what it would look like in 2018 for a black man in America to be able to deflect bullets.
As powerful and as necessary as #ownvoices stories are, I can’t quite let white authors off the hook. In my estimation, it is not enough for them to sit back while the rest of us launch ourselves forward, telling stories that should have already been told, making up for lost time. I think white writers, male writers, should be called upon to interrogate their privilege, and to do so publicly and to do it in their storytelling. For so long, our heroes have looked a particular color. They should ask why, and they should ask it loudly.
Which brings me back to Superman. In many ways, this undocumented immigrant is the embodiment of white, male privilege. No mountain can stop him from getting where he needs to go. People around him are mosquitoes he can flick away with a finger. And, as Clark Kent, he wears glasses he doesn’t even truly need, a fashion accessory more than a health necessity. Of all the forms this alien could have chosen, he chose white. And I think all of us should be asking why.
I wrote Beasts Made of NightandCrown of Thunder not only to imagine a kid the same color as me saving the world, but also to imagine him fighting the awesome anime battles I watched as a teen and being the object of someone’s affection. I wanted to see a black boy fight monsters and be flirted with.
I talk at length about what it can mean, in a cosmic sense, having a hero of color in a world drawn from a non-Western mythos; the implications for diversity; my hopes with my readership. But lost in all of that is this selfish desire I’d had at the very beginning: I’d written Taj’s story for myself as much as for anyone else. Taj wasn’t just a black protagonist. He had my insecurities and my youthful bravado and my halting attempts at caring for my younger siblings. An undercurrent to a lot of questions I get is why did you make Taj black? which is a funny way of saying why did I make Taj me?
Because skin is everything that comes with it. Color carries the context of lived experience.
I don’t ascribe to any “color-blindness” that isn’t diagnosed by a doctor. Someone may insist that it shouldn’t matter what color our heroes are, but I disagree. It does matter. Because skin color has context. It informs our symbols, such that bullets bouncing off the chest of a black man make an entirely different sound than they do bouncing off the chest of a white man, even if the difference is pitched at a frequency only some of us can hear.
Tochi Onyebuchi’s fiction has appeared Asimov’s, Obsidian, and Omenana and is forthcoming from Tor.com, Harper Collins, and Razorbill. His non-fiction has appeared in Nowhere Magazine, the Oxford University Press blog, Tor.com, and the Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy, among other places. His Nommo Award-winning debut young adult novel, Beasts Made of Night, was published by Razorbill in Oct. 2017. Its sequel, Crown of Thunder, was released in Oct. 2018.
His books are available for purchase.
We’re honored to host a cover reveal today for A THOUSAND BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS, an anthology edited by WNDB’s own Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman and featuring stories from a diverse group of talented authors. Congratulations!
More information from the publisher:
Star crossed lovers, meddling immortals, feigned identities, battles of wits, and dire warnings. These are the stuff of fairy tale, myth, and folklore that have drawn us in for centuries.
Fifteen bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.
Compiled by We Need Diverse Books’s Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, the authors included in this exquisite collection are: Renee Ahdieh, Sona Charaipotra, Preeti Chhibber, Roshani Chokshi, Aliette de Bodard, Melissa de la Cruz, Julie Kagawa, Rahul Kanakia, Lori M. Lee, E. C. Myers, Cindy Pon, Aisha Saeed, Shveta Thakrar, and Alyssa Wong.
A mountain loses her heart. Two sisters transform into birds to escape captivity. A young man learns the true meaning of sacrifice. A young woman takes up her mother’s mantle and leads the dead to their final resting place. From fantasy to science fiction to contemporary, from romance to tales of revenge, these stories will beguile readers from start to finish. For fans of Neil Gaiman’s Unnatural Creature sand Ameriie’s New York Times–bestselling Because You Love to Hate Me.
so honored and thrilled to be included in this anthology which releases next summer with Greenwillow Books! <3 cindy
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Here is the gloriously creepy cover for A Line in the Dark (coming 10/17/17)! I am so grateful to @autostraddle for revealing it this morning and so thrilled by the reaction it’s been getting. I’ll leave you with a few links:
* Behind-the-scenes details on the cover process
*My Q&A at Autostraddle along with the cover reveal
* Pre-order links :) at Amazon,Barnes & Noble, or iBooks
This is one of my *favorite* Malinda Lo novels. I am SO excited for A LINE IN THE DARK release in the fall! And check out this creepily stunning cover. Congrats, Malinda!!! <3 cindy
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“I liked him right away because he sat at the kitchen table and read books for hours.”— Judith Ortiz Cofer, American History
if it’s a phase, so what? if it’s your whole life, who cares? you’re destined to evolve and understand yourself in new ways you never imagined before.
- gabby rivera ; juliet takes a breath
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ON THE FAVES SHELF | done dirt cheap by sarah nicole lemon
all the same people. all the same places. it was up to her to change it. no one else could.
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Symptoms of Being Human
by Jeff Garvin
When you start any novel, what do you notice first about the narrator? I imagine concurrent to style of voice, you make immediate assumptions about gender. I, in fact, often actively search for narrators of a certain gender. I imagine there are some readers out there that actively avoid narrators of a certain gender. Actually, the old chestnut that they like to sell writers is that girls will read stories about boys and girls, but boys are only interested in stories about boys. #alternativefact
So, then, what do you do when the narrator’s answer to “boy or girl” is a simple nod?
Riley is starting at a new high school halfway through the four arduous years, a terrifying plight for any narrator, but exacerbated more acutely by the fact that Riley identifies as “gender fluid,” - as male or female or anywhere along the spectrum on any given day. Compound this situation by a congressman father running for re-election and an accidental fame-by-blog-post scenario and you’ve got the makings of a modern cyber hero - and heroine - tale.
The book came out five minutes ago and has already been recognized as a 2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection by American Library Association, among Most Anticipated Debuts by Barnes & Noble, and in 5 YA Novels You Need to Read in the First Half of 2016byHuffington Post. The list of notable mentions is exhaustively long this far. And why?
Well, it’s a fun read to be sure, but what is perhaps most notable about this book is that like all good fiction, it manages to implicate the reader in its exploration. Heck, the gender-fluid narrator is even self-critical. Why are we all so eager to categorize? To label? To break down? Is a thing defined less scary? More relatable? Or is it simply habit? A result of a lifetime of pronouns we’ve been fed and regurgitated? Or, it is more insidious? Is it segregated children’s toy aisles and blue and pink cake reveals and seventy-seven cents on the dollar? Why do we see the world how we do, and why do we cling so ferociously to our arbitrary classifications?
Symptoms of Being Human is destined to join the ranks of the young modern underdog tales like Wonder, Eleanor & Park,andCurious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It’s a story we’ve never heard before from a narrator we didn’t know we needed - a narrator who invites us to see the world from a slightly less-defined perspective.
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If you read my January update or follow me on social media, you’ve probably caught the unofficial announcements…
THERE’S ONLY ROOM FOR ONE PERSON AT THE FRONT OF THIS LINE http://www.maximumpop.co.uk/mp-book-events-launch/
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Brimstone
So I finally completed my new book Brimstone and it’s available to read for free on Inkitt and Wattpad. I’m looking for some people to beta read for me and would appreciate any feedback!
To read on Inkitt click here.
To read on Wattpad click here.
Kasdeya Angelov can’t seem to escape the prophecy that surrounds her unique pedigree, being the child and true heir to Lucifer’s realm. Held in isolation behind the walls of Brimstone Preparatory School, Kas discovers a sinister plot behind her coming of age ceremony where she is to gain full access to her abilities. Struggling to accept the darkness within her, she’s plagued by dangerous psychic attacks, monstrous demons, and ancient secrets that threaten to resurface.
But before she can reach her ceremony, she must endure the trials of Brimstone that prove to be just as deadly. In a race against time, Kas forms alliances with fellow students to aid in the battle to forge a new destiny for herself, one that doesn’t include the influence of her esteemed father. With the balance between the realms at stake, Kas must make the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect those she’s grown to love, an emotion a demon never thought was possible.
So I don’t normally do this but I’ve been working on writing a fantasy novel and would like feedback. I decided to put it on the website Inkitt.com so people can read it for free. If you would like to check out what I’ve been working on, please visit the website here. I have only published the first chapter but I have more written. I hope to publish a chapter once per week to get started. Below is a synopsis of the book. It’s called Brimstone.
“Kasdeya can’t seem to escape the prophecy that surrounds her unique pedigree, being the first born child of Lucifer. Held in isolation behind the walls of Brimstone Preparatory School, she discovers a sinister plot behind her coming of age ceremony where she is to gain full access to her abilities as the next ruler of Hell. With the aid of her new found friends, she’s determined to fight back against her fate but will the influence of her growing dark powers be too great to resist?”
Interview with Axie Oh — Author of XOXO
Today on our blog, @theshenners’ interview with Axie Oh on her latest release, XOXO, a love letter to kpop!
Hello! Hope everyone’s summer/winter is going well and that everyone is staying safe. Today’s post features Co-Host Shenwei’s interview with author Axie Oh. Her newest YA novel, XOXO, recently released on July 13th!
About XOXO
Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop…
Interview with Sarah Kuhn – author of From Little Tokyo, With Love
Interview with Sarah Kuhn – author of From Little Tokyo, With Love
Today’s post features Co-Host Shenwei’s interview with author Sarah Kuhn. Her newest YA novel, From Little Tokyo, With Love recently released on May 11th!
About From Little Tokyo, With Love
Celebrated author Sarah Kuhn reinvents the modern fairy tale in this intensely personal yet hilarious novel of a girl whose search for a storybook ending takes her to unexpected places in both her beloved LA…
Interview with Emery Lee – author of Meet Cute Diary
Today on the blog: @theshenners’ interview with @emeryleewho – author of Meet Cute Diary
Today’s post features Co-Host Shenwei’s interview with author Emery Lee. Eir traditional published YA debut, Meet Cute Diary released on May 4th!
About Meet Cute Diary
Felix Ever After meets Becky Albertalli in this swoon-worthy, heartfelt rom-com about how a transgender teen’s first love challenges his ideas about perfect relationships.
Noah Ramirez thinks he’s an expert on romance. He has to…
Interview with Misa Sugiura – author of Love & Other Natural Disasters
Interview with Misa Sugiura – author of Love & Other Natural Disasters
Today’s post features Co-Host Shenwei’s interview with Asian/Pacific American Award-winning fiction author Misa Sugiura. Her third and most recent book, Love & Other Other Disasters just released on June 8th!
About Love & Other Natural Disasters
This delightfully disastrous queer YA rom-com is a perfect read for fans of Jenny Han, Morgan Matson, and Sandhya Menon.
When Nozomi Nagai pictured…
Profile Basics:
Preferred Nickname: Donna
Preferred Writing Type: Novels
Preferred Genre(s) to Write
Genres: Fantasy,Science Fiction,Thriller,Suspense,Adventure,Action,Literary,Contemporary
Subgenres: Young adult, young adult fiction, young adult sci-fi
Preferred Genre(s) to Read
Genres: Fantasy,Suspense,Action,Romance
Subgenres:
Favorite Book(s) and Author(s): J.K. Rowling, James Patterson, Harry Potter, Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Ten Best Days of my Life
Favorite Music Genre(s)/Artists(s): Pop, Top 40, The Fray, Sara Barielles
Favorite Fandoms:
Favorite Movies: The Outsiders, The Breakfast Club, Zombieland, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan
Favorite TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy, Big Brother, Veronica Mars, iZombie, Shameless
Favorite Anime: High school of the dead
Favorite Comics:
Favorite Video Games: A Way Out, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, The Sims 4, Astrobots
Hobbies/interests other than writing: Tumblr, reading, go for walks with my dog, hiking, swimming
Writing Habits
Number/Names of WIPs: At least once a week during writing time I go to the same cafe and try and write as much as I can. I always listen to music while writing and if I come up with a good idea I can’t walk away from during a certain song I might play that album on repeat.
Favorite book about writing:
Planner, Pantser or Plantser? Planner
Favorite Outlining Method:
Do you write on a schedule or sporadically? I always schedule but end up going more sporadic as time goes on.
Any creativity rituals that you use: At least once a week during writing time I go to the same cafe and try and write as much as I can. I always listen to music while writing and if I come up with a good idea I can’t walk away from during a certain song I might play that album on repeat.
Your Writing Community
Tumblr: @donzysguidetofreedom
Current writing/creative communities you participate in: Nanowrimo
NaNoWriMo Community Name (if applicable): Dmfitzy08
Wattpad Community Name (if applicable):
fanfiction.net Community Name (if applicable):
AO3 Community Name (if applicable):
DeviantArt Community Name (if applicable):
Patreon Community Name (if applicable):
