It takes a lot of hard work to write a book,  and even more to write one that achieves an award for superior achievement in a literary genre. However, Nzondi’s Oware Mosaic creates a challenge for librarians and educators, as, while it has original elements, its quality does not compare to some of the truly outstanding candidates that appeared on the final ballot.  For those puzzled on what books might be acceptable alternates, I’d like to make some suggestions of books that may appeal to a YA audience that would appreciate elements of the book. These are very different from each other, but I’ve enjoyed them all. Although these aren’t really what I would call horror, they do have some dark elements and several have a significant amount of violence.

A Blade So Black (The Nightmare-Verse, Book 1) by L.L. McKinney

This has a really intriguing premise. It’s a twist on Alice in Wonderland, with Alice being the true embodiment of black girl magic, trained by the Hatter to enter Wonderland through a portal and fight back nightmare creatures to prevent them from escaping. It moves from Alice’s life and problems as an ordinary teen to her battles and adventures in Wonderland. Some people have complained that it doesn’t stand alone, but the sequel, A Dream So Dark, is already out.  Although this book is an urban fantasy set in present-day Atlanta instead of a dystopian, near-future Nigeria, as in Oware Mosaic, they both have a risk-taking Black girl living a double life as protagonists, whose family and friends are part of the mix.

Children of Blood and Bone (The Legacy of the Orisha, Book 1) by Tomi Adeyemi

Tomi Adeyemi burst on to the YA scene with acclaim with this epic fantasy grounded in West African mythology. As it’s fantasy I don’t think it necessarily falls into the catgory of Afrofuturism as Oware Mosaic does,  but it has the feel of something fresh and new among old tropes. There is a lot of violence and a pretty overt message about oppression– there is a revolution going on– and a fair amount of magic and mysticism. Again, there is a determined young woman leading the way through the adventure, with strong, complicated family relationships involved.

Slay by Brittney Morris

A chunk of the plot of Oware Mosaic involves the main character’s involvement in an interactive game where her job is to solve real-life crimes.  In Slay, Kiera has created, under an anonymous name,  a multiplayer online game specifically intended to be a safe space for Black gamers, that has become very popular. Working on it and playing it consumes the majority of her time. Then a player uses the game to commit a real-life crime and the game becomes a source of controversy as it falls under scrutiny, not just from the public but from her family, friends, and boyfriend (I’m not sure how teens manage to conceal their crime-fighting and/or secret genius activities with parents in the house and nosy siblings, but I’m willing to run with it). Then one of the game characters attempts to seize control of the game from her…  It’s a gripping story, and it’s great to see Kiera’s growth as a character, and how she discovers who her real friends and supporters are.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Moving in a more science-fictiony direction, technology, surveillance, and corruption have a particular role in Oware Mosaic that appears in many science fiction and dystopian books, and Little Brother, while not as recent as some of the others on this list, is still remarkably timely. It all starts with a game for Marcus (username w1n5t0n), but he and his friends happen to be in the wrong place when a terrorist attack hits San Francisco, and the government comes down hard, establishing a police state. What’s a hacker to do? Doctorow wrote this in response to 9/11, and his politics come across clearly, but if you’re looking for near-future(or maybe recent-past) science-fictiony dystopian writing, you can’t go wrong.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

This is the first of three short books by Africanfuturist writer Nnedi Okorafor. This is not labeled YA, but the main character is definitely a teenager. Binti is a 16 year old member of the oppressed Himba people, who rarely leave their communities. The Himba are talented mathematicians and builders of astrolables, and some are “harmonizers,” able to use their skills to create harmony between others. Binti’s mathematical skills are extraordinary enough that, against her family’s wishes, she leaves to attend a famous university on another planet, the first of the Himba people to do so. Okorafor portrays the microaggressions against Binti as she travels, so the reader can see the difference in how she is treated compared to others. Tentacled creatures invade the ship Binti is on, killing all other humans and putting Binti at the center of a conflict between the invaders and the residents of the university. Despite much of the story taking place in space, and the short length, Okorafor vividly paints the world and traditions of Binti and the Himba people. This does not fall into the horror genre, but if you have a teen reader looking for something set in an imagined future Africa, as Oware Mosaic is, Binti may fit the bill. There are two sequel novellas: Binti: Home and Binti: The Night Masquerade.