Dread Nation by Justina Ireland is both a fantasy and an alternative history novel. Although I like alternative fiction, fantasy, especially about zombies (here called shamblers), would not be something I would chose. I am, however, trying to broaden the scope of my reading. This book is on the YALSA Best Fiction list for 2019 so I decided to try it. I am definitely glad I did. I still don't care much for the shambler parts of the story, but the effects of prejudice and racism still exist to some extent today. This books brings this problem to mind. The inspiration for the story actually came about as the result of the author's visit to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.
In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.
But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
Try the follow books from the Turner Ashby Library if this kind of book interests you:
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.
In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.
But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
Try the follow books from the Turner Ashby Library if this kind of book interests you:
- The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
- House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle