Bitch Magazine is running a new discussion series on their blog: “Do Girls of Color Survive Dystopia?” Asian mama Victoria Law worries that her daughter—a voracious reader with a penchant for speculative fiction—won’t see herself in the books she loves. In the comments section I left a link to our African American spec fic list of novels, and Stacy Whitman posted her list too. An anonymous teen left this comment at the end:
I’m a teenager and your daughter might like Legend by Marie Lu, which has an Asian American protagonist and love interest. It’s a dystopian retelling of Les Miserables, and it’s quite good. I read religiously and even I can’t think of a YA book with a black girl hero. When I grow up, I’ll write one.
Please do! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that The Deep, with its kick-ass black girl hero, will be out before the end of this year…
Don’t miss Alaya Dawn Johnson’s The Summer Prince!