Review of Race in Young Adult Speculative Fiction

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Race in Young Adult Speculative Fiction is noteworthy for the sheer variety of the novels that are under scrutiny, as well as for its large geographical scope. Though slightly imbalanced when it comes to the representation of Latinx and Asian communities, the volume’s inclusive intent is truly something to be acclaimed: the chapters take us from Nigeria to Australia, from Ireland to the US, while also exploring both Western writers’ and First Nations authors’ works. The genres of the novels examined are as varied as the definitions of ‘race’ they suggest since genres such as dystopian fiction, fairy tale, detective fiction, steampunk, Neo-Victorian fiction, Indigenous Futurism, and even BL (Boys Love) manga overlap and intersect.

Drawing from a strong body of theoretical works focusing on science fiction and YA fiction, as well as other topics such as the representation of women in such literature, the book also leaves ample room for the inclusion of the work of racialized theorists and academics, such as W.E.B. Du Bois’s concept of ‘double consciousness,’ Grace Dillon’s seminal work on defining Indigenous Futurism, or Kwaymullina’s take on decolonizing literature not only as a writer but also as a teacher. The wide range of the contributors’ status is also appreciable; authors range from established professors to PhD candidates, sometimes even current YA fiction writers. This range enhances a feeling of dynamism that matches the contemporary surge of attention concerning matters of race in both literature and scholarship and cannot but be telling regarding the growing contemporary interest in and demand for YA literature.

This collection is easy to navigate, with four clear and well-devised sections that emphasize the book’s obvious didacticism: I. Defining Diversity, II. Erasing Race, III. Lineages of Whiteness, IV. Racialized Identities. Those general topics are addressed, according to the different novels that are studied, without essentializing YA literature from one specific country, continent, or point of view (western, Indigenous, or racialized). For example, while focusing on representations of whiteness and their legacy when it comes to power relations, the third section contains three chapters that each adopt a different standpoint: one focuses on Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices series’ intricate relations of domination and the depiction of Asian masculinity inspired by Chinese worldviews and culture, another explores disease-induced dis/ability in an American adventure that takes its origin in Chicago (the Divergent series by Veronica Roth), and the last chapter studies the rewriting of colonisation and its oppression of First Nations Peoples through stereotyping and appropriation (Chaos Walking, Patrick Ness).

Starting from racial representation and the question of the definition of the Other, the collection does not simply debunk racial stereotypes nor does it take for granted postracial worlds that could too easily be equated with utopias. By first questioning the treatment of whiteness and how it is reified in stories which mostly rely on white protagonists (even though they may debunk patriarchal hierarchies), it then moves to a reflection on what it really entails to set a story in a postracialized society; while warning against adopting a colorblind approach to racial issues, it emphasizes the erasure of race as dubious and even counter-productive as it more often than not re-establishes racist ideology and reproduces domination. In fact, erasing race appears to be complicit in neoliberalism’s systemic racism and reproduces structures of western colonialism and racism.

Talking about race is not as easy as advocating for a more diverse cast of characters, whether they be of different skin colors, backgrounds, ethnicities, species or classes. The chapters do not abide by a mere Manichean way of looking at the question of race in YA dystopian fiction, questioning and qualifying rather than asserting; they rather perfectly delineate it and do not shy away from tackling the shortcomings of the novels, informing their study with a critical reflection. A few examples would be the rewriting of white heteronormative and patriarchal power relations and hierarchy in Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series, the lack of LGBTQ diversity (ch.3&5), or of historical contextualization regarding imperial oppression. The use of English as universal language is also criticized as going against the wish for diversity, while picturing the Asian Other as one homogeneous whole recalls the 19^th century’s anthropological considerations (ch.8).

Overall, Race in Young Adult Speculative Fiction makes a good effort at drawing attention to intersectionality: not only are racial hierarchies considered, so too are gender and sexual dynamics, strongly drawing from feminist and queer studies, as well as disability studies. Even though there is a noticeable intent to approach intersectionality, one mild reproach could be that rather than really grounding their study in intersectionality, some articles seem to use those topics as metaphors for racial concerns. A running dialogism between concepts—rather than a mere juxtaposition, considering them as if they were similar—could have helped the readers not to feel sometimes confused because the topic shifted from race to the representation of disability, for example. The threads weaving together those themes felt sometimes loose and could have been tightened a little more if the metaphors were pedagogically repeated and rearticulated throughout the chapters.

To conclude, this book’s targeted audience encompasses academics and students interested in YA fiction but also focusing on science fiction and speculative fiction, ranging from subgenres such as Neo-Victorian steampunk to Indigenous futurism. It could also be used to broaden the research fields of academics not particularly versed in YA fiction but showing interest in postcolonial and decolonial approaches, whose concerns would converge with the general theme of the book, that is to say the depiction of race and the struggles for self-representation and epistemological justice. Having said that, readers should be warned that there will surely be novels that will be added to their TBR list after closing Race in Young Adult Speculative Fiction.

Laura Singeot is an associate professor in Cultural and Visual studies at Reims University, France. She is interested in the representations of Indigeneity in contemporary Indigenous literatures from Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand, from novels and poetry to dystopic Young Adult fiction and Sci-fi. She is also researching new museology and Indigenous visual art, especially digital and new media art, focusing on its integration into global networks of creation, curation and reception. Her methodology rests on a comparative transdisciplinary approach, drawing from concepts theorized in decolonial thought.