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For this task we’re reading an adventure story by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or person of color) author.
Out of curiosity, I googled “adventure novels” just to see what would come up. The results would have been entirely lily white if not for the inclusion of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both by Alexandre Dumas, who was Black (and is my personal favorite classic author).
But what qualifies as an adventure? We typically think of adventure as a person or people going on a journey, usually a physical one, encountering new people and places, and accomplishing something — whether that something be finding an object, returning an object, finding a person, or learning something. I’ve compiled a list of ten adventure stories written by BIPOC authors, all of them written recently.
These books cover all sorts of adventures and span genres from contemporary realistic to historical, from second world fantasy to science fiction, and so much more. They’re all adult or young adult, and I’ve added a few suggestions for younger readers (or adults looking for a quick read) at the end. Reading an adventure story by a BIPOC author is as simple as opening one of these books and going on an adventure with the characters.
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Based on pre-Columbian peoples of the Americas, Black Sun takes place in the holy city of Tova during the winter solstice. There is a ship heading for Tova whose captain believes her only passenger to be a villain, and an eclipse is on the horizon.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Dread Nation (and its sequel Deathless Divide) follow Jane, born into a United States where zombies walked off the battlefield at Gettysburg and young Black and Indigenous women are trained to fight them.
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
The world is ending and a woman must find her kidnapped daughter while grieving her murdered son. The first book in the Hugo Award–winning Broken Earth trilogy.
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
In Jazz Age Mexico, overworked Casiopea Tun dreams of adventure, and that’s just what she finds when she opens a trunk and finds the Mayan God of Death, who needs her to help him take back his throne from his brother.
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Grieving her mother, Bree Matthews attends a university program for teenagers where she witnesses a magical attack and learns that there is a secret society fighting demons, and she might belong with them. A modern day Black Girl Magic retelling of the King Arthur mythos.
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
Fatima finds an alien artifact and loses her memory, becoming Sankofa, the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Now her touch can destroy. She wanders with her fox companion, seeking the artifact that changed her life.
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
Yumeko’s adoptive family is killed and she runs away with part of a scroll the killers were looking for. She forms an alliance with samurai Kage Tatsumi, who is trying to recover the scroll. Book 1 in the Shadow of the Fox trilogy.
That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon by Kimberly Lemming
Look, if you save a demon in a wine-drunk stupor, you might be stuck helping him kill an evil witch and set his people free. Or so I hear.
Under A Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
When Samantha’s father is killed and their home burned to the ground, she runs away with Annamae, an enslaved girl, both of them taking on boy’s names for protection. They join a group of cowboys on their way from Missouri to Oregon.
The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang
When the Wang family loses everything in the financial crash, father Charles packs up his only un-repossessed car and, with his wife and two of his children, sets off across the country to the home of his oldest daughter.
Prefer a quicker read? I cannot possibly speak highly enough of recent middle grade portal fantasy, especially those inspired by real world cultural mythology. Give Aru Shah and the End of Time, The Serpent’s Secret, or The Gauntlet a try. Or for a quieter, contemporary adventure, try The Vanderbeekers!
Happy reading!
—Annika
Click here for the full Read Harder 2022 task list, and for previous recommendations, click here.