The Awakening (Nubia #1)

Entertainer Epps and Haynes (The Legacy of Jim Crow) explore class discrimination and climate change via three superpowered teens in this epic series opener. After a climate catastrophe displaced N.Y.C. citizens, the privileged wealthy developed and hid themselves away in sky cities known as the Up High, leaving the underprivileged to struggle in the derelict remains of lower Manhattan, with only a mammoth, ramshackle seawall as protection from rising sea levels and destructive weather. When Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho—teenage descendants of Nubian refugees to the U.S.—suddenly develop supernatural powers, their parents reveal that Nubians once had abilities that were lost but are now emerging in the new generation. Meanwhile, pro-Nubian philanthropist Krazen St. John is plotting a revolution using gifted Nubian children for his own ends, pitting the newly powered teens wishing to use their abilities for good against their kin. The discrimination and oppression experienced by the protagonists is believably rooted in contemporary reality. Epps and Haynes skillfully build emotional and narrative suspense by weaving the cast members’ conflicting needs and expectations into an explosive adventure. Ages 14–up. (Nov.)