- Ariel H.
- Thursday, June 23, 2022
SYNOPSIS:
⚔️Take a journey with Bree Matthews as she struggles with life after her mother's death and prepares to embark on a journey at the University of North Carolina in their Early College program--a journey that will alter how she views the world and herself. With her father and her best friend as her support system, and the fighting urge to erase and avoid the memories of her past and leave her small town behind, Bree finds herself seeking guidance from places and people she wouldn't have imaged associating with. Legendborn is truly a book series that is worth the hype! If you're a fan of Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone, then you'll enjoy this diversely cast debut novel from Tracy Deonn.
WHY THIS NOVEL MATTERS:
⚔️Legendborn matters for multiple reasons. For starters, we can start with the most obvious:
- Protagonist is a Black female in a YA fantasy. 👧🏿 There aren't enough fantasy or science fiction novels that have a Black female as a main character. As time goes on we are getting more, but we aren't nearly as far as we should be.
- Not to mention she's the main love interest, that isn't utilized as a plot device (used to move the story along). It's quite common, especially for Black female characters to be used in such a way and then discarded for the next best thing, that usually isn't BIPOC. This helps add to altering the narrative in a positive way, because even to this day, Black women are still battling stigmas and unnecessary beauty and interpersonal relationship standards that are ignorantly rigged.
- LGBTQ+ character line up. From main characters to secondary characters, Tracy Deonn made sure there was representation everywhere. And again, made sure not to use them as plot devices as well or just awkward one-dimensional characters that are just...there.
- She handled certain serious conversations very well...non-spoiler example: racism and going to a pre-dominantly white college (PWC). Remember the synopsis? UNC - Early College program. Intrigued?
- Our main character is a 16-year old, that acts her age.
- The YA romance triangles. ❤️
Great Discussion Questions:
- What grasped your initial interest about this book?
- When did you know you'd like/love this book? Or when did you know you weren't going to like/love this book, if you finished?
- What was the biggest message that stood out to you about this story?
- What do you wish was discussed more?
- What do you think about the protagonist? And the antagonist
- What feelings are evoked while reading?
- What do you think was the author's purpose for writing this book?
- Were the characters in the story relatable?
- What diversity did you see? And do you feel it was well written?
- What are the core themes of the story? And do you think these themes made this story more relatable?
- How does this book go about discussing race and racism? And are you pleased with the outcome? Why?
MEET THE AUTHOR:
⚔️Tracy Deonn, grew up in central North Carolina and is an alum of University of North Carolina. She received three degrees from UNC and has also assisted with teaching post-graduation. As you continue to read the YA novel, you'll be shocked to find out there are some similarities between author and protagonist, Briana "Bree" Mathews. Deonn allows the reader to really understand some of what Bree is going through and really connect with the audience. She was looking for ways to stand out and represent, which she most definitely did.
If you liked/loved this novel, check out these other titles (Science Fiction, Literary Fiction, Young Adult) :