![]() (It’s the first of a series one hopes that Elloren will be more woke in book two.) But when she goes off to college, she begins to question her beliefs, an ideological transformation she’s still working on when she joins with the rebellion in the last of the novel’s 600 pages. The Black Witch centers on a girl named Elloren who has been raised in a stratified society where other races (including selkies, fae, wolfmen, etc.) are considered inferior at best and enemies at worst. It was written for the type of white person who considers themselves to be not-racist and thinks that they deserve recognition and praise for treating POC like they are actually human.” “It was ultimately written for white people. ![]() ![]() The hype train was derailed in mid-March, however, by Shauna Sinyard, a bookstore employee and blogger who writes primarily about YA and had a different take: “ The Black Witch is the most dangerous, offensive book I have ever read,” she wrote in a nearly 9,000-word review that blasted the novel as an end-to-end mess of unadulterated bigotry. ![]() The Black Witch, a debut young-adult fantasy novel by Laurie Forest, was still seven weeks from its May 1 publication date, but positive buzz was already building, with early reviews calling it “ an intoxicating tale of rebellion and star-crossed romance,” “ a massive page-turner that leaves readers longing for more,” and “ an uncompromising condemnation of prejudice and injustice.” ![]()
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![]() Overall, Homeland has some incredibly imaginative worldbuilding and a pretty compelling central premise: Drizz’t struggling to be a moral person in a society that’s constantly pushing him to be evil. He also must avoid the machinations of his mother, the devious Matriarch of House Do’Urden. Before he can escape, however, he has to survive the brutal Drow martial academy known as the Melee Magthere, where he learns to fight with his signature scimitars. Despite being surrounded by greed and murder, Drizz’t develops a strong moral code (thanks in part to his weaponmaster father Zaknafein) and vows to escape the city to find his true calling. Salvatore on Drizzt Do'Urden, Escapism, and 2018ĭrizz’t is born into this world of darkness and deceit. Salvatore on Drizzt Do'Urden, Escapism, and 2018 Interview: R.A. Menzoberranzan’s society is so immersed in lies, assassinations, and betrayals it makes Westeros look like Muppet Babies. Homeland focuses on Drizz’t’s early life and education in Menzoberranzan, the home of the Drow, where the Spider Goddess Lolth oversees the constant, clandestine wars going on between the ten noble Drow houses. ![]() He’s by far Salvatore’s most famous character, and the Dark Elf Trilogy explores his life before appearing in the popular Icewind Dale Series (which actually came out first). ![]() ![]() ![]() If you could boil down the appeal of old-school D&D to a single popular character, it’d be Drizz’t Do’Urden, the Drow Ranger protagonist of the Dark Elf Trilogy. ![]() ![]() ![]() Set during the middle of the nineteenth century, when the illegal slave trade was at its height, The Slave Dancer not only tells a vivid and shocking story of adventure and survival but depicts the brutality of slavery with unflinching historical accuracy. But it’s one final horror, when the Moonlight nears her destination, that will change Jessie forever. Over the course of the long voyage, Jessie grows more and more sickened by the greed of the sailors and the cruelty with which the slaves are treated. Jessie’s job is to provide music for the slaves to dance to on the ship’s deck-not for amusement but for exercise, as a way to keep their muscles strong and their bodies profitable. The Slave Dancer ABOUT THIS BOOK It is 1840, and 13-year-old Jessie Bollier plays his fife on the docks of New Orleans to earn pennies for his mother. There, the Moonlight picks up ninety-eight black prisoners, and the men, women, and children, chained hand and foot, are methodically crammed into the ship’s hold. ![]() When he wakes up, Jessie finds himself aboard a slave ship, bound for Africa. One night, on his way home, a canvas is thrown over his head and he’s knocked unconscious. Paula Fox is a contemporary writer, but The Slave Dancer is set in 1840, in New Orleans, and on the slave ship The Moonlight. Thirteen-year-old Jessie Bollier earns a few pennies playing his fife on the docks of New Orleans. In this iconic, wrenching Newbery Medal winning book, a young Louisiana boy faces the horrors of slavery when he is kidnapped and forced to work on a slave ship. ![]() ![]() ![]() The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. ![]() So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. ![]() Percy Jackson meets Tristan Strong in this hilarious, action-packed middle grade contemporary fantasy that follows a young boy as he journeys across China to seal the underworld shut and save the mortal realm. ![]() ![]() ![]() Keyes brings this idiom to life in her comedic books that tackle incredibly poignant, and often difficult, subject matters.ĭespite her books being about addiction, abuse, or other hardships, there is a relatable nature to Keyes’s characters and her honest depiction that will have readers laughing. There is a saying that if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. It is part of the reason she has become so critically and commercially successful, as well as popular among readers. ![]() She brings humanity and nuance to her characters and setting. Keyes manages to write about death, addition, domestic abuse, and rehab in a way that is somehow heartwarming. This first-hand experience and talent for storytelling means that Keyes can write about heavy subjects in a realistic, authentic way. Just as Keyes began writing, she entered rehab for alcohol addiction. Marian Keyes is one of the most successful Irish novelists of all time, and it was her lived experience before she became an author that has given her such an authentic knack for the craft. She casts a bright light on subjects that are often regarded as taboo to discuss, and this is part of the reason why she is so highly-regarded by critics and fans alike. Keyes writes about mental illness, addiction, and romance in a way that is refreshingly authentic and realistic. From her Walsh Family series to her standalones, all of the Marian Keyes books in order share similar themes. ![]() Marian Keyes manages to write simultaneously heart-wrenching and hilarious stories. ![]() |