Emily’s Comments (group member since Jan 01, 2019)

Emily’s comments from the BYL Reading Challenge group.

Historical fantasy is a fun genre to explore. If you aren't familiar with it, historical fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy that encompasses the Middle Ages, as well as sometimes other eras, and simply represents fictitious versions of historic events.


Some suggestions:

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz

This can be any book, any genre, from any country, so long as it was written by a person of color.

Some suggestions:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
The Downstairs Girl by Stacy Lee
Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Each country has books that are considered classic literature, books that should be required reading for all of their citizens.

Some suggestions:

Twenty Love Poems and Songs of Despair by Pablo Neruda (Chile)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia)
Coming to Birth by Marjorie Oludhe MacGoye (Kenya)
Romance of Three Kingdoms – Luo Guanzhong (Ming Dynasty China)

This can be any award, any genre.

Some award winning novels:

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
The Last Girl by Nadia Murad
Coming on Home Soon by Jaqueline Woodson
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin

I love graphic novels as a medium, and they are great for reading challenges, because they are typically very fast reads!

Some suggestions:

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Persopolis by Marjane Satrapi
March series by John Lewis
Soviet Daughter: a Graphic Revolution by Julia Alekseyeva

This can be a book from any country, so long as the author is a member of the minority group they are writing about.

Some suggestions:

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
And the Violins Stopped Playing by Alexander Ramati

We can't fully explore the world without dipping into the ocean!

Some suggestions:

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating
The Line Tender by Kate Allen

This might require a bit of research to learn about famous authors from different countries.

To get you started:

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

This can be a memoir of a celebrated chef, a story about food or cooking, or a book about the history of a food, a cookbook, as long as it revolves around food or cooking, it fits the prompt!

Some suggestions:

Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India by Madhur Jaffrey
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

This doesn't even have to be a book that takes place in a real place - many fantasy novels include maps!

Some suggestions:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky

Most of us think of the American Revolution or French Revolutions, but there have been many revolutions throughout history, so try to seek out something new!

Some suggestions:

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
The Swan Book by Alexis Wright
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Animal Farm by George Orwell

This doesn't have to be about immigrants in America, but those will likely be the most accessible books.

Some suggestions:

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
Things Are Good Now by Djamila Ibrahim
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This can be any holiday, so long as it isn't one you typically celebrate. For example: Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, Ramadan, etc.

Suggestions:

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel
The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
Hearts Alight by Elliot Cooper (Hanukkah)

Possible reads:

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson
The Italian Party by Christina Lynch
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
Congo by Michael Crichton

Who doesn't enjoy a good sea voyage story?

Suggestions:

Stowaway by Karen Hesse
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
The Terror by Dan Simmons
The Midnight Watch by David Dyer

This is pretty self-explanatory, though again, in hindsight, this one proves pretty tricky.

Suggestions:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Mio, my Son by Astrid Lindgren
Where's Halmoni? by Julie Kim

Country borders change all the time, two countries become one, or a country's name changes.

Some suggestions:

Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon (this is what the play The King and I is based on)
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (takes place in Rhodesia which now Zimbabwe)
The Golden Bull by Marjorie Cowley (Mesopotamia)

In hindsight, this is potentially a difficult one. It can be any flag, and it doesn't have to be a real flag, so get creative!

Some suggestions:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

I love a good book exploring the lives of royals and their exploits!

Some suggestions:

Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All - Candace Fleming and various YA Authors (England)
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran (Egypt)
The Iliad by Homer (Ancient Greece)
Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen (Scotland)

There are many books that span not only countries but continents, as characters travel the world.

Some suggestions:

The Night Journey by Kathryn Lansky (America/Russia)
Lovely War by Julie Berry (England/France)
The Gold Eaters by Ronald Wright (Peru/Spain)
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin (Germany/Eastern Europe/Japan)