Ellen Oh

Junie Kim just wants to fit in. So she keeps her head down and tries not to draw attention to herself. But when racist graffiti appears at her middle school, Junie must decide between staying silent or speaking out. Then Junie’s history teacher assigns a project and Junie decides to interview her grandparents, learning about their unbelievable experiences as kids during the Korean War. Junie comes to admire her grandma’s fierce determination to overcome impossible odds, and her grandpa’s unwavering compassion during wartime.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore, and action-packed fantasy come together in this debut novel, the first book in the Prophecy trilogy. Kira, the greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms, a girl with yellow eyes — she’s the only female in the king's army, and she’s also the prince's bodyguard. A demon slayer and an outcast, she's hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And she's their only hope.

Warrior continues the saga of Kira, the fierce demon slayer introduced in Prophecy, a fantasy adventure novel set within an alternate history of feudal Korea. Kira must continue her quest for the two remaining treasures in order to fulfill the Dragon King's prophecy and bring peace to her land. In this installment, the teen attempts to retrieve a legendary jeweled dagger from the clutches of a dragon while continuing to serve as bodyguard to her nephew, the crown prince.

In this final installment of the Prophecy series, Kira continues her quest to collect the lost treasures, unite the Seven Kingdoms, fulfill the ancient prophecy, and defeat the evil forces invading their lands. Along the way, she also confronts her romantic feelings for her friend and would-be suitor Jaewon, saves her cousin the crown prince of Hansong from an evil dragon, and battles armies of demons.

Ellen Oh, founder of the We Need Diverse Books movement, returns with Spirit Hunters, a high-stakes middle grade mystery about Harper Raine, a Korean-American new seventh grader in town who must face down the dangerous ghosts haunting her younger brother. The whole atmosphere gives Harper a sense of déjà vu, but she can’t remember why. She knows that the memories she’s blocking will help make sense of her brother’s behavior and the strange and threatening sensations she feels in this house, but will she be able to put the pieces together in time?

The stories in Diverse Energies journey through many alternate histories and projections of the future, but all have one important element in common: the inclusion of people of color. In this stunning collection, the stars are a diverse group of students, street kids, good girls, kidnappers, and child laborers pitted against their environments, their governments, differing cultures, and sometimes one another as they seek answers in their dystopian worlds.

Whether it is basketball dreams, family fiascos, first crushes, or new neighborhoods, this bold anthology—written by the best children’s authors and published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) — celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us. For more great stories, see the WNDB anthology Fresh Ink.