Dread Nation

Ireland, J. (2019). Dread nation. Balzer + Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.

Genre: YA Fantasy

    This book follows Jane McKeene, a Black girl attending Miss Preston’s School of Combat. In the middle of the Civil War, the dead started rising and eating everyone. To help kill the zombies, called shamblers, the government forces combat training on Native American and Black children. One day, Jackson, a friend of Jane, asks her for her help locating his sister. To find out more information, Jackson and Jane sneak into the mayor’s office to look for information about her whereabouts. The pair are caught and along with Katherine, are sent to the Summerland settlement in the Midwest. On arrival, Jane is separated from the others; Jackson gets arrested and Katherine is White passing and lives amongst the other White people in town. Jane is forced to defend the White residents of the town from shamblers subjected to brutal racial abuse. She and Katherine must come up with a plan to escape the town.

    This book discusses racial diversity. We see Black characters being treated very harshly by White characters. This book is following the Civil War so many attitudes about slavery are still present. Black people are threatened if they are shown they can read and whippings as punishment aren't uncommon. There are attitudes about Black and Native Americans being born to serve and protect White people. Ireland was inspired to write this book from Native American industrial schools; with how Native American children were removed from their homes to be educated to fit white norms.