Epic Reading Challenge: August

Welcome back to the Epic Reads Challenge 2024, when some of our TBG members choose a book that fits the prompt of the month! These prompts provided by Epic Reads hope to inspire new and unique book choices among readers. We encourage the community to join in this challenge with us and participate in the prompt each month.

The prompt for August was… a diverse/ gender-swapped retelling!

Grace: 

My selection for August was One for All by Lillie Lainoff, which is a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers.

One for All by Lillie Lainoff tells the story of Tania de Batz, a young woman that suffers from medical challenges that cause her to experience bouts of dizziness. Despite these health problems, Tania is determined to follow in the footsteps of her father and become a fencer. When her father suddenly (and suspiciously) dies, she is sent to what appears to be a finishing school, but is actually a training center for female Musketeers. The reader follows Tania on her journey through schooling, meeting a charming target in one of her missions, and trying to discover what really happened to her father.

I’m not too familiar with the original story of the Musketeers, but I certainly enjoyed this gender-bent retelling! One of my favorite aspects was the found family that Tania has through her “sisters” at the training center. Even if you are not well versed in the original tale, this is a good novel to pick up!

Marley:

I chose A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney. 

When Brionne Mathew’s is shot and killed by a police officer due to her powers, fear consumes Alice causing two nightmare creatures to capture her, forcing her to face the cold reality of the real world while navigating through the confusion that is Wonderland. 

Alice is the embodiment of black girl magic. L.L McKinney built such a diverse and lively cast of characters. It was an enjoyable read that had nods to the whimsical twist and turns of the classic Alice in Wonderland with light political commentary of the struggles of a Black girl that doesn’t  feel like she fits in her community filled with racial injustice.

Overall this was a wonderful read to finish off summer. A Blade So Black is a creatively reimagined story of a true classic that really brought me in, making me wish to read it again and again for how it envisions this modern day fantasy. I can’t wait to follow Alice’s journey in the sequel.