Shawna Ayoub moves "beyond a book review" in not only recommending great books by diverse writers but highlighting a technique to apply to your own writing practice.
Three titles by Charlie Jane Anders
It’s been a while since I dipped my toes into Young Adult Fiction. That’s not all trans writer Charlie Jane Anders writes. Over the last month, I read three of her books. Two were YA, part of the Unstoppable series, and the third was the Hugo Award-winning novel All the Birds in the Sky. I want to share all of them with you here. Why? I loved them all, but for different reasons. Let’s jump in.
I found Victories Greater Than Death, the first Unstoppable novel, very attuned to Gen Z (my youngest kiddo will definitely get it). It was consent-forward and thoughtful about identifying every character with their correct pronouns. In the second book from the series, Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak, there is overt recognition that gender can be fluid. Because these books take place in space with intergalactic casts, universal translators do a lot of work. These translators not only aid in introducing individuals to one another with accurate pronoun indicators, they make behind-the-scenes adjustments in the case of slip-ups so characters can hear themselves corrected in real-time.
This is interesting because there is a choice lost, and it is the choice to intentionally harm someone by knowingly misgendering them. Imagine if accurately gendering someone was implicit to speech rather than visual or cultural assumption. That’s what happens in the Unstoppable series, but this isn’t the only big topic Anders tackles. She also touches on sussing out personal feelings around polyamory, how body types vary, how we assign individuals into the categories of people versus animal based on their physical makeup or ethnic history, and how a society can run on voluntary contribution (and when what we are willing to do doesn’t align with what’s necessary). These books are great for intellectually challenging readers across the age and experience spectrum.
Asking readers important questions
I found this to be true when reading All the Birds in the Sky as well. While less rooted in the science aspects of science fiction, this book examines the roles of two young people who find each other as children. They are fighting a prophecy that one of them will destroy the world. The female character is a witch. The male character is a scientist. Always, what they do is complementary. The book moves back and forth from one’s perspective to the other’s, with the two of them growing apart but ultimately coming back together. There is significant tension in how their relationship will resolve. Will the world end? Can they prevent it? And what does the end of the world mean?
Anders doesn’t shy away from such important questions, which is at least one reason this book is an award winner. I definitely want to read more of her work. The breadth of her world-building is astounding. But what really got my reader brain going is how she understands people. The characters across these novels are real; their conversations, concerns, movements, are true to life. Even when they are flipping around in space lassoing objects or curing cancer with their saliva, I believe them. The table is set for the meal Anders serves us through believable character creation that supports the story.
A writing prompt
The concept of setting the table leads me to our prompt. Imagine all the parts that make up your character. All the quirks, interests, experiences, foibles, bits, and more. Lay them out on the table of your imagination. If your character is a buffet, which “dish” will readers dig into first? Spend 15 minutes describing that “dish.”
If these books sound intriguing to you, consider ordering your own copies of Victories Greater than Death, Dreams Bigger than Heartbreak, and All the Birds in the Sky at Bookshop.org and supporting independent bookstores across the U.S.
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