Today, I have J.L. Powers, author of This Thing Called the Future here to share with us to share the books her main character, Khosi would love. Who doesn't like talking about books right?! So here we go!
What books do my characters love?
In my recent novel, This Thing Called the Future, my main character Khosi is a fourteen year old citizen of South Africa, struggling with school, a boy she likes, and the conflict between her grandmother (who is a traditional Zulu) and her mother (who is very modern and wants Khosi to leave behind what she calls the “superstition of the old ways”). Khosi wants to please everybody in her life, but she also wants to be herself. At the beginning of the novel, the next-door neighbor accuses Khosi’s mother of stealing money; a witch
curses the family; and a drunk man with shape-shifting powers starts to stalk Khosi.
Khosi doesn’t have access to a lot of books, since her family struggles to survive and doesn't have extra money for books. And to be honest, she doesn't crack open a book during the entire novel. But she loves school and there is a library there. So what books would she check out and read in her spare time?
Khosi’s world is steeped in mystery and spiritual beings that talk to her, help her, and wreck havoc in her life. She would definitely be a fan of fantasy and would probably appreciate the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien’s creation of evil beings, and the ability of goodness to stand up against evil power, would appeal to her. She would probably enjoy books by Janni Lee Simner. She would probably like the classic fantasy books by Madeleine L’Engle and would definitely identify with Nancy Farmer’s protagonist Nhamo in A Girl Named Disaster.
She would probably find the books by Gabriel Garcia Marqez to be set in a world that is familiar to her—the spiritual and the physical worlds meshed together, not kept distinct and separated the way they are in so many books written by American and European writers.
Khosi also loves loves loves science, so although it’s not sexy to say so, she would probably really like to read a biology textbook. Most of the herbal knowledge she will eventually learn and know will come to her through access to her ancestors, who have passed on to the other world, as well as from her mentor who ushers her into the secret knowledge of traditional healers. But still, she’d like a handbook on herbal lore, especially one that identified the herbs of South Africa. Perhaps she’d like Mad Apple by Christina Meldrum because of the plant and herbal lore in it.
And this might surprise people but, like many girls in South Africa today, she probably read the Twilight series and swooned over Jacob and Edward!
How fun! What a varied list!! Thanks so much for stopping by to share with us today J.L.!