Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games

The Dark Fantastic explores the lack of representation and imagination in children's and young adult media, focusing on four black girl protagonists from popular stories. It reveals how these characters mirror the violence against black and brown people in our own world, and offers new possibilities through fanfiction and counter-storytelling.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 21 May 2019
Publisher: New York University Press

The Dark Fantastic is a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of race in popular youth and young adult speculative fiction. Drawing from her experiences as a YA novelist, fanfiction writer, and scholar of education, Thomas delves into the narratives of four black girl protagonists from some of the most popular stories of the early 21st century: Bonnie Bennett from The CW's The Vampire Diaries, Rue from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, Gwen from the BBC's Merlin, and Angelina Johnson from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. By analyzing these characters' narratives and the audience's reactions to them, Thomas reveals how they mirror the violence against black and brown people in our own world.

In response, Thomas uncovers and builds upon a tradition of fantasy and radical imagination in Black feminism and Afrofuturism to reveal new possibilities. Through fanfiction, she explores alternative storylines and endings that challenge the dominant narratives and offer a more inclusive and diverse representation of black and brown characters in speculative fiction.

The Dark Fantastic is not only a valuable contribution to the field of literature but also a call to action. It highlights the need for more diverse representation in children's and young adult media and encourages readers and creators to challenge the status quo and create a more inclusive and imaginative world.

Weight: 532g
Dimension: 162 x 238 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479800650