1. Annie Watkins
4/22/2016
LIS 518
Bomhold
We’re Still Here:
YA Media Starring People of Color
Theme:
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Requirements:
Graphic novels, books, and movies geared toward young adults dealing with the science
fiction and fantasy genre, and also having POC as the main protagonists and not as sidekicks.
See, one of the problems I have with science fiction is that the authors are able to craft these
exotic and far-off worlds and galaxies, but some them are void of any non-white characters.
Where are we? Why are so many science fiction titles only with non-characters as sidekicks only
meant to help from the sidelines or to be killed off for the sake of “drama”. There’s always a big
blowup when an author does add a person of color because “it’s unrealistic” and “ruins the
immersion”. It’s a shame because science fiction and fantasy are both popular genres, but they
seem so exclusive. So, with that in mind, I have compiled a list of titles that star protagonists of
color to prove that we have belong in SciFi and Fantasy as much anyone else.
Basics:

2. The purpose of this bibliography is to compose a list of young adult media that deals with the
science fiction and fantasy genres, but only with titles that have people of color in them. Some of
the characters like Nailer from Ship Breaker, Damien Wayne from Justice League vs. Teen
Titans, and Ava from Salvage, and perhaps Will Drake are interracial while other are full-
blooded.
Annotated Bibliography:
1. Bacigalupi, P. (2010). Ship breaker. Boston, MA: Little Brown & Company.
a. Ship Breaker
b. Paolo Bacigalupi
c. YA Bacigalupi
d. Set in a futuristic world where the Gulf Coast has been decimated from hurricanes
and floods, leaving it pretty much unlivable, this is the story of Nailer. Nailer’s a
ship breaker a person who scavenges materials from grounded ships and tankards.
With each passing year adding a few more inches, Nailer’s afraid that he’ll be too
big to fit into the small spaces that ship breakers need to get to in order to
scavenge which means he’ll be out of a job. One day, Nailer finds an unconscious
Swank (rich) girl on a wrecked clipper and he has to decide what he’ll do. Will he
leave the girl to her fate and strip of her boat of anything valuable or will he save
her?
2. Buckell, T. and Monti, J. (editors). (2012). Diverse energies. New York, NY: Lee &
Low Books.

3. a. Diverse Energies
b. Tobias Buckell and Joe Monti
c. YA Diverse
d. A collection of short stories about superheroes and villains who sometimes don’t
always appear one or the other. In this world gone wrong, it is up to this diverse
group of teens to bring hope to a broken world and to persevere through tragedy.
They will fight against the environment, their cultures, their governments to seek
answers that they need to bring them closure.
3. Ducie, J. (2015). The rig. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
a. The Rig
b. Joe Ducie
c. YA Ducie
d. There has never been a high-security prison that fifteen year old Will Drake
hasn’t been able to break out of, and that’s why the powers-that-be have decided
that the best place for a boy of his—talents would be at The Rig. The Rig is an oil
platform located in the middle of Arctic Ocean. Only the worst kids are sent there
and escape is impossible. Luckily for Will, he’s always liked a challenge…
4. Duncan, A. (2014). Salvage. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.
a. Salvage
b. Alexandra Duncan
c. YA Duncan

4. d. Ava has spent her entire life onboard the merchant ship Parastrata. She has known
nothing else and expects nothing else. Sure she feels like she has to work harder
to prove herself because of her darker skin and mysterious family history, by Ava
knows that she can prove that she belongs. However due to unforeseen
consequences due to a misunderstanding, Ava finds herself facing betrayal,
banishment and death. Ava flees and decides that since her old life is no longer an
option perhaps it’s time to make a new one…
5. Johnson, Dawn A. (2013). The summer prince. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.
a. The Summer Prince
b. Alaya Dawn Johnson
c. YA Johnson
d. Set in futuristic Brazil, a land of traditions and tech, politicians and art, and love
and death we meet June Costa. June is an artist who hopes that one day her art
will make her the most legendary person in Palmares Tres. June’s hunger for fame
only increases as she meets the bold new Summer King, Enki. The whole country
falls in love with Enki and June is no exception. Enki and June join in rebellious
protests to the country’s increasingly strict restrictions on new tech and June must
come to terms with the fact that boy she loves will die just like the Summer Kings
before him.
6. Liu, S. (director). (2016). Justice league vs. teen titans. Warner Bros. Animation.
Retrieved 23 April 2016 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5091548/.

5. a. Justice League vs. Teen Titans
b. Sam Liu (director)
c. YA Justice League
d. The latest Robin incarnation (Bruce’s son Damien Wayne) is forced to join the
Teen Titans to learn the benefits of teamwork. At first, Robin’s at odds with the
team, wanting to do things his own way but then disaster strikes! The demon
Trigon possesses the members of the Justice League and it’s up to the Teen Titans
to stop him and save the world.
7. London, A. (2013). Proxy. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
a. Proxy
b. Alex London
c. YA London
d. Syd is a Proxy, a person who pays off their debt by accepting the punishments of
a Privileged Patron. Syd’s Patron is Knox. Knox was born into one his city’s
wealthiest families and that means he can do whatever he wants. After all why
should he feel afraid? He breaks a rule and it’s Syd that gets punished. One day,
Knox goes too far and kills someone; Syd is branded and sentenced to death
because that’s what it means to be a Proxy. Syd and Knox must learn to work
together to beat the oppressive system and flee so that they can save Syd’s life.
8. Pak, G. (2016). The totally awesome hulk: Cho time. New York, NY: Marvel.
a. The Totally Awesome Hulk: Cho Time

6. b. Greg Pak
c. YA Hulk
d. Amadeus Cho is the eighth smartest person in the world and in a bid to save the
life of Bruce Banner aka The Incredible Hulk, he ends up absorbing the radiation
that gave Bruce his powers, setting Banner free from being the burden of the Hulk
and taking on the mantle. Now Amadeus and his sister, Madame Cure (Maddy for
short) travel across the states handling monsters, having fun, and making sure that
Cho doesn’t lose himself to his inner green rage beast.
9. Reeder, A. and Montclare, B. (2016). Moon girl and devil dinosaur: BFF. New York,
NY: Marvel.
a. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: BFF
b. Amy Reeder and Brian Montclare
c. YA Moon Girl
d. Lunella Lafayette has her share of troubles. She’s a preteen super genius that
baffles her parents, her teachers, sometimes even herself and top it all off she has
to worry about her Inhuman gene that can be triggered by a roaming Terrigen
Mist cloud. If that wasn’t bad enough she has to deal with a giant read T-Rex that
started following her around like a puppy!
10. Sandler, K. (2011). Tankborn. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books.
a. Tankborn
b. Karen Sandler

7. c. YA Sandler
d. In a future ruled by a caste system, GENs or Genetically Engineered Non-
Humans like Kayla and Mishalla know that certain things are written in stone. For
example they know that they are slaves to the Trueborns and that they will be
separated when it comes time to be Assigned. Something that neither girls could
have ever predicted is that they would fall in love with two Trueborn boys from
high-ranking families or that they will be reunited under strange circumstances.
11. Smith, S. L. (2013). Orleans. New York, NY: Putnam Place.
a. Orleans
b. Sherri L. Smith
c. YA Smith
d. After a devastating string of hurricanes and an outbreak of what has come to be
known as Delta Fever, the entire Gulf Coast has been cutoff and quarantined.
Years past, and residents of the “Outer States” have assumed that anyone living
behind the wall (built to keep people from escaping the quarantined areas) is dead
or soon to be dead. Little do they know that a society, albeit a primitive one has
been born during these years of isolation. Fen de la Guerre is living with an O-
Positive Blood tribe in the Delta when the ambush happened. The Delta Fever hit
everyone hard, and people with certain blood types need constant transfusions and
that makes Fen and her tribe extremely valuable. Her tribe leader is dead, leaving
Fen to take care of her infant. With the help of Daniel, a scientist who illegally

8. snuck into the Delta, Fen plans to send the baby over the wall where she know it
will have a better life.
12. Wilson, Willow G. (2014). Ms. Marvel: No normal. New York, NY: Marvel Now!.
a. Ms. Marvel: No Normal
b. G. Willow Wilson
c. YA Wilson
d. Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teen, has always wanted to be more like her
favorite superhero Carol Danvers aka Ms. Marvel. One faithful night after
sneaking out to a party, Kamala comes in contact with the Terrigen Mists which
awaken her dormant Inhuman genes (genes she didn’t even know she had!), now
Kamala patrols the streets of New Jersey, donning her own red, blue, and gold
uniform under the mantle of the new Ms. Marvel! Now all she has to do is
balance school with superhero work and making sure her family never finds out.
http://lis518literaryprojectstillhere.weebly.com/
Works Cited
Google.com. (2016). Images. Web. Retrieved 24 April 2016 from,
https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&authuser=0&ei=QHEdV-
HJFcnImQG675GABw&ved=0EKouCAIoAQ.