And of course, Black Panther comes to mind, which Gray says made her feel "overjoyed, excited, happy-and I wondered how my life would have changed if I'd seen the movie as a 10-year-old Black girl." Gray's language is rich and powerful-she counts Toni Morrison as among her literary heroes, along with Richard Wright, George Orwell, and others. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play Gray had also read novels by Octavia Butler, a Black writer of speculative fiction-the first time she'd read books in that genre that featured Black people. During college, she traveled to Ghana and was struck by its beauty, which is clearly present in the book. I'm excited to share this story with the world, and especially with readers who haven't seen themselves centered in magical stories nearly enough." Gray was influenced in the creation of the characters and setting by her reading of Greek and Roman mythology, but it was her discovery, later on, that there were also African gods and goddesses and mythical creatures that really fired up her imagination. "Growing up," Gray tells, "I fell in love with stories steeped in magic and promised myself that one day I'd write my very own that allowed me to celebrate and explore my heritage and my roots. Beasts of Prey is a young adult fantasy novel in which two Black teenagers venture into a magical jungle to hunt down a monster who's been menacing their city for almost a century.
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