Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor prophecy by Angie Thomas

A new venture for Angie Thomas, her latest novel is an exciting fantasy adventure, the first in a new series aimed at a middle-grade audience. It is an amazing world of magic-wielding 'Remarkables' living among normal ‘Unremarkable’ human beings, but they are challenged to battle with all kinds of demons, ‘haints’ and monsters. Nic has been protected as much as possible by her ‘Remarkable’ father, but on her twelfth birthday, the day she expects to learn more about her special ‘Gift’, everything starts to fall apart, and she finds herself launched into a strange chaotic world, in a race to find the magical Msaidizi, the weapon they cannot allow to fall into the hands of the Destroyer.

In her ‘Author’s Note’ Thomas says she wanted to create a magical world for kids like her, children who escaped into books to ignore the gunshots in the neighbourhood. Nic is a black American girl, she knows racism, she knows not to wear a backpack in a grocery store (she’ll be suspected of shoplifting), she knows to stay calm and move slowly when accosted by police. But she is also a young girl who has to find her inner power, and stand strong to defend the people she loves.

Thomas’s characters speak the language of the Black ghettos, but as with her other novels, the dialogue is easy to follow and flows naturally, no matter who the reader is. Along the way, there are references to black American history: slavery and the underground railroad, and Emmett Till and the civil rights movement. The alternative world of the Remarkables, however, is a world free of racism, a world where black people are not dehumanised, a fantasy world, a world to dream about and to strive for.

Young readers will enjoy the adventures of Nic and her friends, and at the same time they may gain a better understanding of the world from the viewpoint of a black person, and a better appreciation of how to be a good friend to peers from minority groups. Fantasy is an excellent way to step into another’s shoes, and see the world from another perspective. And Thomas’s use of humour makes it all an easy fun read, that will have readers eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Themes: Fantasy, Adventure, Magic, Black Americans, Racism, Empowerment.

Helen Eddy