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Fantasy

#OwnVoices

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I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “own voices.” I’m going to talk about what it means, why it’s important, and offer a few title suggestions.

Corrine Duyvis created the #OwnVoices hashtag in 2015 to promote children’s and young adult books written by someone from a marginalized or under-represented group who writes characters based on their own experiences, and from their own perspective. The number of #OwnVoices authors and their stories is growing, but their stories are still often told by authors with an outside perspective.

#OwnVoices is about bringing awareness to under-represented authors and what they bring to the world of writing through their lived experiences. It’s about bringing awareness to readers that there are so many more experiences in the world than our own; and that we become better people, citizens, and friends when we read beyond their own experiences. It’s about reaching the children and teens that pick up book after book, never seeing themselves or their experiences represented by the main characters in a book.

Use #OwnVoices on social media or in your search engine to find a selection of titles. Take a look at #WeNeedDiverseBooks on Overdrive or Libby to find a selection of #OwnVoices ebooks and audiobooks. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Published May 5, 2020
ebook and audiobook
Who It’s For: Teens

Alternating between the Dominican Republic and New York, the reader experiences what loss does to two teens, and how forgiveness brings them together and helps them to heal. I have started reading this and the poetic verse of Elizabeth Acevedo does not disappoint.

Find the ebook or audiobook.

 

 

Saving Savannah by Tonya Bolden
Published January 14, 2020
Book
Who It’s For: Teens

Set in the early 1900s in Washington, D.C., Savannah is a member of the upper class. She soon gets a view into how the other half lives, and is inspired to fight for changes. Step back in time to 100 years ago when people were fighting for change, just as they are today.

Find it in the catalog.

 

 

I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee
Published June 16, 2020
ebook
Who It’s For: Teen

Skye wants to be a K-pop star, and she’s going to audition no matter what people say about her weight. She has something to prove, and she’s going to do it in front of the world. Confident Skye brings on the fun and body positivity in this light-hearted rom-com.

Find the ebook.

 

 

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala
Published April 23, 2019
Book
Who It’s For: Teens

The stories of Esha and Kunal are based on ancient Indian history and Hindu mythology. Secretly, Esha is the Viper, an assassin bent on taking down General Hotha. Inevitably, Kunal, a soldier and the nephew of General Hotha, crosses paths with the Viper.

This first book in the series is full of romance, action, and magic.

Find it in the catalog.

Six of Crows

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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Format: Book, eBook, Audiobook
Who it’s for: Teens, Adults

In Ketterdam, a center of international trade, Kaz Brekker and his crew fight to survive in the underworld of the city. At its core, Six of Crows is a heist story. A wealthy merchant offers an obscene amount of money if Kaz and the others can travel to a nearby nation, break into the Ice Court, and free a scientist being held prisoner. Complicating matters is disagreement among the crew about what should be done with the prisoner when (if) they get him out.

The crew is Jesper, Matthias, Wylan, Nina, Inej, and Kaz: “a gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse.” The story is told in alternating viewpoints and you really get to know these characters and their backgrounds. Six of Crows takes place in the Grishaverse, the same fantasy world featured in Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy, and some of the characters will be familiar to those who’ve read her other works.

Six of Crows is the first book in a duology. It ends in a cliffhanger – be ready to immediately dig in to Crooked Kingdom! Netflix is creating a series based on Bardugo’s Grishaverse, so these characters will soon be making their way to our television screens as well.

Find Six of Crows in the catalog.

Anya and the Dragon

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Cover of the book "Anya and the Dragon"Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Publication Date: September, 2019

Format: Book

Who it’s for: Kids

Set in a fantasy world based on 10th-century Russia, this is the story of Anya, the only Jewish girl in a small village. Things are already hard for her family- other villagers discriminate against them for their faith, and her father was drafted into the Tsar’s army. Now the family is about to be evicted from their home if they can’t pay the tax, and they don’t have the money. But the Tsar is offering a reward for anyone who can find a dangerous river dragon that’s said to live nearby, and Anya is determined to do whatever it takes to get the prize and save her family. She teams up with a boy named Ivan (who has seven older brothers also named Ivan), and they set out to hunt for the monster. There are others on the same quest, including a cold-hearted Viking named Sigurd who wants to kill the dragon before it can be captured. Anya and Ivan discover that the lands around their village are full of hidden magical creatures, and that nothing is what it seems- not even the dragon. They’ll have to make choices about right and wrong, duty and loyalty, and fight to save what they hold dear.

Find this book in the catalog.

 

The Power of the Dark Crystal

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The Power of the Dark Crystal
Format: eBook, Book
Who it’s for: Teens, Adults

If you’re a fan of the classic Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal and/or the Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance you will be pleased to know the story of The Dark Crystal does not end (or begin*) there.

The Power of the Dark Crystal graphic novels are a sequel to the film. Jen and Kira have ruled the mystical world of Thra for a great many trine [off and on] but their hard-earned peace lies in jeopardy when the fireling Thurma, arrives from a subterranean world and threatens to crack the Crystal of Truth and release the evil Skeksis upon the land once more. Thurma has only one ally, the gelfling Kensho, who trusts that together they can save both their worlds from destruction. Much like the original film, this series is a story about love, overcoming obstacles, and the importance of environmental stewardship.

If you enjoy The Power of the Dark Crystal, Kensho and Thurma’s saga continues in the graphic novel series Beneath the Dark Crystal.

And if you really can’t get enough of The Dark Crystal you might try J.M. Lee’s YA series of novels about Thra, starting with Shadows of the Dark Crystal, which features several characters from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and seems to take place concurrent with the TV show.

*There is also The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths shedding light on how the world of Thra began. Witness the birth of Aughra, and her son Raunip, the arrival of the urSkeks, as well as the Great Division, among other “historical” events.

See everything The Dark Crystal in our catalog.

The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

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The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell
Format: Book
Who’s It For: Teens and Adults

Amelia van den Broek stood out like a sore thumb compared to her beautiful and polished cousin Zora. Broken Tooth, Maine was worlds different from Baltimore, Maryland in 1889. Yet at a gathering, Amelia felt an instant connection to her dinner partner, Nathaniel Witherspoon. An impoverished artist, Nathaniel was paid to even out their party. Was he drawn to Amelia too or was this just how he was earning his wage? Although Nathaniel was below her social circle, Amelia admired his dark looks and witty repartee. “May I call on you?” he queried, “Or will you call on me?” Amelia reluctantly declined, yet opened the door after he departed. How did he disappear so quickly?  Amelia continued to run into Nathaniel  with her cousin and her circle of friends: at the park, near the theater. Was this just a coincidence?

One day, Amelia saw a golden vision at sunset. Her cousin was dancing in a particular dress with her beau at a ball. To her cousin’s delight, this did happen.  Zora’s friends wanted their futures foretold too. Eventually Amelia’s predictions had tragic results. Was the “Mystic from Maine” the cause of these events or just the messenger? And since Amelia didn’t have visions of Nathaniel or her own future, would he be in it?

This book grew on me. I enjoyed the historical setting. The fantasy aspects gave the story a provocative twist. The characters were creatively and clearly delineated. The domino effect of events built suspense. And “vesper” means both prayer and evening, such as Amelia’s sunset visions.  I found myself re-reading the book and liking it more each time. Romance and fantasy fans, unite!

And it’s the first book in a series!

The Last Namsara

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The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
Format : Book
Who it’s for: Teens

This fast paced, world building novel draws you in at the very start of the story. We meet Asha, an Iskari and the most feared dragon slayer in Firgaard. Between chapters, the author lays out the deep history and myth of the world, explaining not only Asha’s backstory but that of the belief system of the characters who inhabit the world. Ciccarelli does a wonderful job of keeping these sub-chapters short to the point and immensely enjoyable.

Asha has the ability to give dragons their fire, which is poisonous, by telling them the Old stories. Such stories were banned generations ago when the dragons betrayed the inhabitants of Figaard. Yet Asha uses these stories to lure and kill the dragons, presenting their heads to her father, the Dragon King of Figaard. Though she is greatly feared, she is betrothed to the sadistic commandant, who has little regard for her prowess. Only by defeating the most powerful dragon, the one who scorched the side of her face with his fire, can Asha find her freedom. In her quest, she discovers there is far more truth in the ancient stories than she ever dreamed.

Find it in the catalog.