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asianamlitfansWritten by Stephen Hong Sohn
Edited by Corinna Cape
As part of my shorter spotlight/ lightning reviews, I wanted to cover Lilliam Rivera’s Dealing in Dreams (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019). This novel was one I was reading because of the interests of a former student, and we wanted to chat about it over Zoom. Reconnecting with former students through reading has been one of the pleasures of the remote regime (despite how challenging it has otherwise been). The marketing description gives us this background information: “At night, Las Mal Criadas own these streets. Sixteen-year-old Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City. That role brings with it violent throwdowns and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but Nala quickly grows weary of her questionable lifestyle. Her dream is to get off the streets and make a home in the exclusive Mega Towers, in which only a chosen few get to live. To make it to the Mega Towers, Nalah must prove her loyalty to the city’s benevolent founder and cross the border in a search of the mysterious gang the Ashé Riders. Led by a reluctant guide, Nalah battles crews and her own doubts but the closer she gets to her goal the more she loses sight of everything—and everyone—she cares about. Nalah must choose whether or not she’s willing to do the unspeakable to get what she wants. Can she discover that home is not where you live but whom you chose to protect before she loses the family she’s created for good?”
The novel is further billed as a cross between Mad Max and The Outsiders. I guess that hybrid is a reasonable description because we’re in a dystopian future in which teenagers are front and center. The marketing description is interesting because they call the main character and narrator Nalah but she primarily goes by Chief Rocka in the novel. She doesn’t change her moniker until very close to the conclusion. In this dystopian world, female gangs rule over Mega City. The most powerful of the female gangs end up getting entrance into the Mega Towers, which is what Chief Rocka/ Nalah hopes for Las Mal Criadas, which numbers about half a dozen. They embark on a quest at the behest of the ruler of the Mega Towers and travel into the apocalyptic Cemi Territory. You won’t be surprised to find out that Chief Rocka finds out much more about the structure of power in Mega City and Cemi Territory, and the lines between those whom she considers allies and villains begin to blur. I really loved this novel, and it’s one that I might consider teaching in the future. Rivera’s enmeshing of Latinx cultures into the dystopian science fictional world presents us with a fresh take on race and how it evolves in future imaginaries.
Buy the Book Here
Edited by Corinna Cape
As part of my shorter spotlight/ lightning reviews, I wanted to cover Lilliam Rivera’s Dealing in Dreams (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019). This novel was one I was reading because of the interests of a former student, and we wanted to chat about it over Zoom. Reconnecting with former students through reading has been one of the pleasures of the remote regime (despite how challenging it has otherwise been). The marketing description gives us this background information: “At night, Las Mal Criadas own these streets. Sixteen-year-old Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City. That role brings with it violent throwdowns and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but Nala quickly grows weary of her questionable lifestyle. Her dream is to get off the streets and make a home in the exclusive Mega Towers, in which only a chosen few get to live. To make it to the Mega Towers, Nalah must prove her loyalty to the city’s benevolent founder and cross the border in a search of the mysterious gang the Ashé Riders. Led by a reluctant guide, Nalah battles crews and her own doubts but the closer she gets to her goal the more she loses sight of everything—and everyone—she cares about. Nalah must choose whether or not she’s willing to do the unspeakable to get what she wants. Can she discover that home is not where you live but whom you chose to protect before she loses the family she’s created for good?”
The novel is further billed as a cross between Mad Max and The Outsiders. I guess that hybrid is a reasonable description because we’re in a dystopian future in which teenagers are front and center. The marketing description is interesting because they call the main character and narrator Nalah but she primarily goes by Chief Rocka in the novel. She doesn’t change her moniker until very close to the conclusion. In this dystopian world, female gangs rule over Mega City. The most powerful of the female gangs end up getting entrance into the Mega Towers, which is what Chief Rocka/ Nalah hopes for Las Mal Criadas, which numbers about half a dozen. They embark on a quest at the behest of the ruler of the Mega Towers and travel into the apocalyptic Cemi Territory. You won’t be surprised to find out that Chief Rocka finds out much more about the structure of power in Mega City and Cemi Territory, and the lines between those whom she considers allies and villains begin to blur. I really loved this novel, and it’s one that I might consider teaching in the future. Rivera’s enmeshing of Latinx cultures into the dystopian science fictional world presents us with a fresh take on race and how it evolves in future imaginaries.
Buy the Book Here
