Jackson, Mississippi native Angie Thomas, whose YA debut The Hate U Give hit hard in 2017, has turned her gaze on books for younger children. Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy (Walker) handles often familiar terrain with brio, using a cast of figures from American folklore and a smattering of Swahili.
Even pre-Harry Potter, a genre you might call “Oh no, it seems I am the chosen one!” has been a literary staple. Jackson resident Nic and her single father have often moved because of their gifts, lest unremarkables suspect there’s a magical world. But unanswered questions and her father being falsely (she hopes) accused of a crime spur Nic, her pals and her hellhound puppy on a quest to clear his name. It’s a formula, but Thomas is hardly formulaic. She strings out the tension for ages until the penny drops.
