Get Young Black People To Read More
January 14, 2008 by Kelly Phillips Erb
Filed under Parenting
“Get young black people to read more.”
That was the goal, according to Harry Dawson, an English teacher at Seton Hall Prep, when he first read Troy CLE’s The Marvelous Effect.
The Marvelous Effect is the first installment in a fantasy book series by author Troy CLE (a/k/a Troy Tompkins). The book features a young African-American kid from East Orange, New Jersey, who finds himself in a whirlwind of fantasy adventure in his inner city neighborhood.
Troy grew up in a rough neighborhood in East Orange. He had trouble finding books with characters who were like him and his friends, so he created The Marvelous Effect. He wanted kids like him to be able to identify with the characters in the book.
The book combined elements of hip-hop, video gaming, anime and fantasy. The age of the character, combined with the fantasy themes led many to refer to book as a “black Harry Potter,” a term which Troy recently told me he has finally “been able to outlive.”
Simon & Schuster, which eventually bought the rights to the first book, has a deal with Troy to publish the second book in the “Marvelous World” series. It will also release “The Marvelous Effect” in paperback.
You can find out more about Troy and “The Marvelous Effect” throughout the week!
Technorati Tags:
children’s book, Harry Potter, Troy CLE
I’d have to say that one of the reasons why I was able to grow up ignorant of many of the social/racial problems that still exist in America is that the Science Fiction genre largely ignores these divides. Things I read and watched are now considered the shows that broke new ground because of their casts. Heck, people are still making a big deal out of the casting decisions in Battle Star Galactica.
While fantasy deals with all sorts of species, many of the books ignore race all together allowing the reader to decide what the human is. One exception to this is “The Marvelous Effect”. Another is “Magic Street” by Orson Scott Card. It is well worth reading. Card tends to span all genres and no matter what your reading tastes are, you can find a Card book that is right up your alley.
I hadn’t thought of it in terms of being genre-specific before. But it makes sense!