The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth ThomasMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had the pleasure of hearing Ebony Elizabeth Thomas speak at the inaugural Augusta Baker Lecture presented by the University of South Carolina in 2020. At that time, I had already purchased her book after reading an article by her in one of my SLIS classes. After the lecture, I was excited to read it, but I took my time getting around to it!
Thomas provides a clear, thoughtful, and thought-provoking look at race in speculative fiction, particularly in the world of YA publishing and film. I appreciated how she sets out the role of "the dark other" in speculative fiction and then explains, using the depictions of four popular speculative fiction characters, how our commonly accepted spec fiction canon limits and diminishes the roles of black characters (and specifically black girls and women) and subjects them to a violence that mirrors the violence we see around us. These depictions can be harmful to readers whose experiences are marginalized and alienate such readers from further engaging with speculative fiction.
Thomas's discussion of the role of fan fiction throughout the book and most intently in the final chapter provided me with a whole new perspective on the value of fan fiction. I was already interested in exploring fan fiction with my middle school readers, but after reading this book, I am even more excited about it.
Definitely a must-read for anyone who works with children and young adult readers. (And, wow, how lovely is the cover art??)
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