A review by vickycbooks
The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

In general, I thought this was a thoughtful examination of really popular teen literature & shows and how Black characters were treated, albeit somewhat dated. I enjoyed seeing Thomas' descriptions of early fandom, but I did think that some parts didn't age as well as they could have. (VERY large warning for the last chapter on the book, which is centered on JKR and HP. It's from 2019, so it makes sense, but it's still jarring to read when you also remember the vitriolic hate JKR is putting forth.) I would recommend if you're someone who is interested in writing speculative fiction.

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Content Warnings

The last chapter is centered on HP and doesn't generally acknowledge its faults (antisemitism, etc.), even outside of JKR's transphobia. This section will probably be fairly jarring for modern readers.