I hope you like it because I wrote it for you.’ And every time I sit down at the computer to write, I can hear that little girl’s voice.” Justina Ireland, BookPage interview by Justin Barisich, April 2018 I want to be able to go to a school and proudly hold up a black girl on the cover and say, ‘I wrote this book. This event led Ireland to recommit to writing the stories she wanted to see on bookshelves:
In an interview for BookPage, Ireland shared a story about doing a classroom visit in a predominantly Black school to discuss her first two YA fantasy novels, when a student questioned why both featured white main characters (Barisich, 2018).
What did sell? A very similar story featuring a white lead (Shapiro, n.d.). Photo Credit: Krista Schlueter for VultureĪlthough Ireland set out to write books featuring strong characters of color (and is now doing just that), her first manuscript did not sell. Ireland came to fiction writing only after having her daughter, wanting to write stories featuring characters that look like her (Shapiro, n.d.). She holds a BA from Armstrong Atlantic University, an MFA from Hamline University, and worked as a linguistics expert specializing in Arabic (Shapiro, n.d.). Their search leads Jane to uncover a sinister conspiracy involving some of Baltimore’s most powerful people, and a remote colony called Summerland, where things are not as they seem - and it’s looking less and less likely that Jane will ever be able to get out alive.Īuthor Background: Justina Ireland grew up in California, and joined the Army after high school to pay for college (“Justina Ireland”, 2017).
Almost finished with her program, Jane is approached by an old friend, Red Jack, who needs her help finding his missing sister. Jane McKeene is one such teen, in training to be an “Attendant” (aka a zombie-blocking bodyguard for a rich White woman) at Miss Preston’s School for Combat. Northern and Southern whites are forced to come together to fight this new foe, leaving the question of slavery in limbo - rather than being abolished entirely, the Native and Negro Reeducation Act is passed, forcing Black and Native adolescents into combat schools where they are trained to fight the undead. Plot Summary: In this alternate history, the Civil War is disrupted when fallen soldiers begin to rise up as zombies, attacking the living on both sides. Reading Level/Interest Level: Grades 9-12 (Booklist). Awards or Honors: Locus Award winner for Young Adult Book (2019) School Library Journal Best Books list (2018) YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list (2019).
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