Library!

[oyceter]

Having forgotten to go to the library sale yesterday, I went twice today (once for first picks, once for the bag sale). I now have even more books.

In between, I sauntered about the library looking for even more even more books, woefully handicapped by the fact that I couldn't access LJ for recs (all the internet computers were being used). I managed to actually talk to real people and ask the librarian at the Teen Zone (new one, not same one from knitting) for recs for YA books by people of color, preferably women. She thought I was a high school or college student for a bit, hee hee. I got several nice lists from her, checked out The House on Mango Street and browsed the YA section, but I figure LJ knows all.

So, anyone have recs for good books by and/or about people of color? My general preference is for books by and/or about women of color, preferably YA, preferably fantasy. I have read Stormwitch and Zahrah the Windseeker and loved them both, and I already know about Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, Gus Lee, Marjane Satrapi, Geoff Ryman, Nalo Hopkinson, Gail Tsukiyama and Kyoko Mori, although book recs for Hopkinson, Tsukiyama and Mori would be nice.

What I really want is something like Stormwitch or Zahrah the Windseeker. I want something about girls of color kicking ass and growing up. I randomly browsed through some adult books by Asian Americans (I accidentally wandered into the Ch section -- Chiu, Choi, Chu, etc.), and I put most books down despite really wanting to read more about people of color. I don't really feel like reading a sad, depressing story about people dealing with hate and race relations and the difficulty of being a POC; I know that stuff. I don't mind those elements in the book, but I want the story itself to be about kicking ass and taking charge, about women and girls finding power within themselves and changing things.

I don't mind books about female POC written by white people, though I would prefer that the books not be centered around whiteness and white people dealing with race (ex. Han Nolan's A Summer of Kings, which I may read some other time but am not in the mood for now).

All POC are good, though bonus points for Latin-American (as opposed to Mexican or Chicano), South-American, African, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian including Indian fiction, as I have read much less of those and not seen much of those recced at all.

Uh, so do these books I am hankering to read actually exist? Where can I find them? What have you guys read?

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

I can't wait to see what other folks recommend. Do these books even exist? I just read Zahrah the Windseeker myself & loved it, for the reasons you described. I would love more stuff like that (Stormwitch is on my shelf to be read soon too!).

I liked Hiromi Goto's The Water of Possibility, but it wasn't an ass-kicking sort of YA POC book.

[oyceter]

I don't know! There are some more recs down below; oracne in particular has got a list of books that I haven't read (yay!). And I want this to be a subgenre so much. I mean, I think girls kicking ass has now become a subgenre, though of course I would love more, but I want lots of books and movies and tv shows with girls of color kicking ass as well.

Thanks for the Goto rec; I haven't read that and will look it up!

[gwynnega]

How about Toni Cade Bambara--The Seabirds Are Still Alive and Gorilla, My Love? It's been years since I've read her, but it seems like some of the stories in those two collections might fit the bill...

[oyceter]

Oooo, I haven't read her! Thank you!

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

I'm stumped on the POC female fantasy YA angle, but I'm eagerly reading the comments for ideas for my own next library foray.

This is fantasy, YA, and Middle-eastern: Haroun and the Sea Of Stories by Rushdie. I really enjoyed it, though I read it a long time ago.

[oyceter]

Oh cool! I will check that out, thank you!

[minnow1212.livejournal.com]

I've been reading and enjoying some Nancy Farmer lately: I believe the author's white, but the books are set in Zimbabwe. I think I picked up the Farmer rec during this discussion:

http://minnow1212.livejournal.com/249864.html

So there might be some other things there whose descriptions strike your fancy.

[oyceter]

Ooooo, I had forgotten about your post, thank you! I should go through there and check things out.

I love Farmer's The Eye, the Ear and the Arm, but I haven't read her others. Should go look for those.

Indian authors

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

The Mahabharata! OK, so it's more about men than women, and the authorship is not attributed to a woman, but it does have some very cool female and gender-switching characters, it is fantasy, and I would be surprised if none of it was written or dictated by women, though that's something we'll never know for sure.

More normal recs:

Love, Stars, and All That, by Kirin Narayan. Not fantasy. A romantic comedy about an Indian grad student and virgin in America whose horoscope claims she'll find her true love this year; deals with cross-cultural issues, but not in a depressing way.

A lot of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's books are borderline/mainstream fantasy, plus she has two YA fantasies but those are with a boy protagonist. Her books do often deal with cultural conflicts, but not usually (in my opinion) in a depressing way. Try The Mistress of Spices.

She's not a fiction writer, but I think you would love the evocative Indian food writer Madhur Jaffrey. She has a new memoir out, which I haven't read yet but I'm sure it's excellent, like everything she writes.

Re: Indian authors

[oyceter]

Hee! I swear, I will read it, but probably not now while juggling assorted RL things.

Oh, thanks for the authors! And I have heard many things about Madhur Jaffrey and should probably check that out.

Re: Indian authors

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, you haven't read Madhur Jaffrey? She is my favorite food writer! Her book World of the East is fantabulous and I think you would like it a lot. It's a cookbook that has vegetarian recipes from all different parts of Asia. She explains neat things about the reason each food is cooked the way it is, different vegetables, stories from her childhood, interesting facts, regional variations. The explanations of different vegetables alone is priceless. And she writes a damn good recipe. World of the East has my favorite greens recipes. Mmmm, greens.

Re: Indian authors

[oyceter]

I have not! I think I should get on that! Also, you have completely won me over by telling me she explains different vegetables ^_^.

Re: Indian authors

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

The Narayan looks good! Thanks.

[estara.livejournal.com]

If we're talking about library books this one may be gettable. C.J. Cherryh - The Paladin.

On the outside it seems to be about a pseudoJapanese alternative world samurai in trouble, but in reality it's about his female apprentice and her desire for justice. It's a one-off and totally satisfying from beginning to end I find ^^.

[oyceter]

Oh thanks! I've actually read that; it was cool except for the parts when I got squicked out by Samurai Guy's occasional lust for his female apprentice.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Hmm, for the society that the book created and the way that the guy lived I actually thought his lust quite understandable. And she has ways of dealing with him to get to her aims, after all. C.J. Cherryh doesn't whitewash the power positions and that makes her heroine even stronger in my eyes.

Okay the only week bit, is when she can't understand at the end that the samurai really wants and loves her and doesn't need his high position in society back.

That was rather romance-cliche weak.

Heh, the one book I could remember right off and you've already read it.

Oh right: some more Japanese pseudo worldbuildings

Ladylord by Sasha Miller (but the heroine has a truly tough start, with rape and all to inherit her fathers position and the book is mostly about the politics and travelling - although she has a nice husband for herself at the end)

and of course all the Empire books: Daughter, Servant and Mistress of the Empire by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts, which are set in the Midkemia Universe, but on the other side of the rift on Kelewan: another last survivor of her house has to politic and disguise her ambitions and need for revenge to get her house back on her feet (in the first book by marrying and getting rid of a not very nice husband). She overcomes a lot with the help of others and gets a family and high honors in the end. I like the trilogy better than Ladylord.

I can't describe the stories that well, while they are in my possession I haven't read them in quite a while.

[oyceter]

Ahhh yes, the Empire books!

I tend to be a little picky about Japanese-inspired fantasy, just because I've read so many that make me grit my teeth and want to shake the writer and say, "Japanese culture does not solely consist of honor, suicide and bowing!" But thanks for the Sasha Miller reference, I will look that up.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

You might also check out Virginia Hamilton's YA fantasy trilogy beginning with Justice and Her Brothers. African-American writer, girl protagonist. I would be curious to hear a report on those, as I read them when I was a kid and I had the feeling that half the series was going over my head.

[oyceter]

Ooooh! Thanks! I used to see her books around as a kid but never picked them up.

[sophia-helix.livejournal.com]

Have you gotten into magical realism? I think you'd like House of the Spirits and Like Water for Chocolate and maybe One Hundred Years of Solitude.

You should also check out Jhumpa Lahiri -- her short story collection Interpreter of Maladies is wonderful, and while her full-length novel The Namesake isn't quite as good, Mira Nair's movie starring Kal Penn is coming out this month and has good reviews so far. It's not fantasy or YA but I think you'd enjoy them.

I feel annoyed that I can't think of any genre recs at all for you, but you're more well-read in that area than I am anyhow.

[sophia-helix.livejournal.com]

Oh! I knew I'd forgotten some YA I enjoyed -- Yoshiko Uchida's A Jar of Dreams and its sequel The Best Bad Thing, which I loved in elementary school. The protagonist is a young Japanese-American girl in the 1930s, and she's very well-written and rounded and interesting.

[sophia-helix.livejournal.com]

Grr... sorry to spam you, just wanted to mention that the second book is about Rinko living on a cucumber farm for the summer with a recently-widowed family friend, and while she's resistant and annoyed at first, the two of them are totally awesome and pull through and kick ass and she does a lot of growing up. Now I want to go get my dog-eared copy and reread. :)

[oyceter]

You are not spamming! More recs are good! Especially if they are covering time periods that I don't read about much. ^_^

[oyceter]

I haven't actually dipped much into magical realism, but I think I've got one or two of those sitting on my shelf unread. (See! Buying random books at library sales does pay off!)

Thanks for the recs! Non-genre is good as well, and I am excited to hear Mira Nair's got a new movie out too.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

Actually, Allende has also written a few YAs now (CITY OF THE BEASTS, FOREST OF THE GOLDEN DRAGON, etc.).

[jain]

The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce (YA fantasy) has a black protagonist, and I have a feeling that one of the other three protagonists wasn't white, but I'm not sure. (It's been...oh, wow, eight years since I read these books.) Pierce has written another four-book series set after the Circle of Magic entitled The Circle Opens that I've not read, though I've heard that it's quite good, as well.

[oyceter]

Thank you! I've actually read those, which are fun, especially the second series. Asian girl in there! Yay!

[seajules]

You've read The Years of Rice and Salt, yes? I want to say I think you have, but now I can't remember.

Margo Lanagan is more SF, and might be difficult to get hold of, but I understand she does YA. What work of hers I've read seemed to draw on Australian aboriginal culture, and was beautifully written.

[oyceter]

Ooo, I have been recced that a few times but not picked it up yet. I need to make a note of that.

And thanks for the Lanagan rec! I will check that out.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

I wasn't as enamored of Lanagan's Black Juice as many people were, but it wasn't bad. I've definitely seen her stuff in bookstores and libraries, at least around Boston.

[seajules]

I really suspect that book will be right up your alley. I love it a lot.

Author recommendation

[(Anonymous)]

Try Octavia Butler, though she's more adult than young adult.

TNT

Re: Author recommendation

[oyceter]

I've read a couple of hers, which are very good, and need to get around to reading more, but thank you!

Okorafor-Mbachu's next novel and more recommendations

[(Anonymous)]

Hi. It's Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu. I'm the author of Zahrah the Windseeker.

The issue you raise is really important. Young (and old) readers need diversity. One needs to see his or herself in the role of main character and one needs to be able to step into the shoes of other types of people. I feel that YA fantasy and science fiction could use a shot of ethnic and racial diversity (this despite the fact the I really really enjoy what's currently out there).

I guess this would be an opportunity to tell you about my second novel, The Shadow Speaker (due out in October). It's a fantasy/science fiction YA novel set in the near future in the country of Niger. The main character is a fourteen year old Nigerien girl who kicks much butt (:-D).

What about Hayao Miyazaki's graphic novel epic, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind? Talk about a female character who kicks butt. I LOVE this series. It's four books long. Of course, all the characters look...white. At least to me. All of Miyazaki's characters look white to me. So maybe these aren't exactly fantasy books featuring "characters of color." But then again, I think the characters are culturally of Japanese perspective...if that makes sense.

Another recommendation: Tiger's Apprentice by Laurence Yep? The main character is a boy, but it's a YA fantasy novel with a character of color.

And Isabel Allende's City of Beasts and Kingdom of the Golden Dragon.

Nnedi

Re: Okorafor-Mbachu's next novel and more recommendations

[oyceter]

Hi! I really liked your book!

I feel that YA fantasy and science fiction could use a shot of ethnic and racial diversity.

So very much with you there. Particularly when it comes to women of color; when I was growing up, I can only vaguely remember reading one or two YA genre books with Asian girls (I think one was Lawrence Yep's dragon series). Now there are a few more, but I wish I could rattle off a list of ass-kicking girls of color in YA off the top of my head. And hopefully things like the Carl Brandon awards at Wiscon will help getting them promoted and read, since that's where I heard about Stormwitch and your book.

I'm also torn between wanting genre books that deal with real-world racial issues like Stormwitch does with the Civil Rights movement and wanting genre books that have fantasy non-white societies, like LeGuin's Voices. Preferably both! But I do want some confrontation of racial issues and young girls deriving a sense of power from that confrontation. I was reading the backs of YA books set in ancient Persia or somesuch, which is awesome, but doesn't talk about the issues that I currently want to read about. This is of course not to say that all books should talk about Race Issues with Capital Letters, because I love the non-European-mythology genre books as well. But just that... I think if I had read more ass-kicking girls dealing with race issues in fantasy growing up, it would have been really comforting and given me something to draw on.

Which is why I'm looking for them now!

And thanks for dropping by and for the recs; I will look those up! And am looking forward to your new book!

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Here are some:

Judith Berman, BEAR DAUGHTER [I think you've read this already]
Jane Louise Curry, THE BLACK CANARY [I wanted more from this than I got, but it had some cool stuff anyway. It's a boy in this one.]
Walter Mosley, 47 [I haven't read this one yet]
Louise Spiegler, AMETHYST ROAD [alternate world-Gypsies-a good read]
Joyce Sweeney, WAITING FOR JUNE [teen pregnancy in this one, and it's a spoiler to say there's a race issue, but, well, it was pretty good. 2004 book.]
Carole Wilkinson, DRAGON KEEPER [you might have read this one?]
Paul Yee, THE BONE COLLECTOR'S SON [you might have read this one?]

[oyceter]

You rock so much. I haven't actually read anything there, but I think I own some (from you, hee!) which have been sitting unread for a while.

Also, alternate-world Gypsies! Cool!

[oracne.livejournal.com]

AMETHYST ROAD was one of the Norton jury picks for its year and is my fave of those, aside from BEAR DAUGHTER, of course.

[oyceter]

Whoo Norton awards! I am looking forward to this year's Carl Brandon's too.

[busarewski.livejournal.com]

Have you read Zimbabwean author Yvonne Vera? Not fantasy, and not YA but such beautiful language and important subjects. I was very moved by Butterfly burning and I've meant to read her other novels for ages.

[oyceter]

I haven't, thank you for the rec!

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

I feel weird randomly turning up on your lj, but I was randomly searching for discussions of female POC's in literature.

Alexander McCall Smith's Number 1 Ladie's detective agency series? It's about a middle-aged Botswanan woman running a detective agency? He is a middle-class Scottish man, but he lived in Botswana as a child and Mma Ramotswe feels like a real African woman (this is coming from a real African woman living in Britain, so you can take that with a pinch of salt).

Amin Maalouf is a Lebanese writer living in France, he writes mainly about Middle-Eastern/African men, but he has wonderful female characters. He also writes a lot of historical fiction about the Muslim world. I'd recommend 'The First Century After Beatrice' a kind-of sci-fi novel about a treatment that can make sure that men can only produce male children.

[oyceter]

Hi! It's cool that the entry turned up in a search!

Thanks for the recs! I didn't think about reading the Smith series, but that sounds good. And I haven't heard about Maalouf, so that is excellent. Thank you!

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

There are a few recs in the comments I haven't heard of, I really need some more books about POC (especially female people) and I've almost finished Air.

Although the use of faux Japanese culture in the Empire series annoyed me for a number of reasons. Mainly because it seemed cheap to use it as an exotic background while the characters themselves were clearly not Asian.

Your journal seems interesting, would you mind if I friended you?

[oyceter]

Not at all, friend away!

The Empire series annoyed me because of the cliched East vs. West thing. Also, someday there will be a Japanese-inspired fantasy that doesn't go on and on about honor, and I will jump for joy.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

Indian SF writer Vandana Singh has published at least two YAs in her YOUNGUNCLE series back in India which I think Penguin US (viking, some imprint in that umbrella) will be publishing soon.

[oyceter]

Oh, awesome, thanks for the rec!