The Union

Body-positivity activist and influencer Vernon’s (Unashamed) fiction debut presents a dystopian world set far in the future where a Black elite class rules. First self-published under the title Impure and given substantial edits before its current release, this first in a planned duology introduces unlikely allies Avi, an Elite born to one of the most powerful men in the realm, and Saige, a biracial outlaw who has been labeled as Impure. Vernon pays homage to her literary influences with her characters’ names (Jemisin, Butler, Avi) in a story that echoes classic dystopian YA novels. Vernon’s worldbuilding, however, offers an original setting wherein Elites of color have inherited their position centuries after a race-based revolution overturned white supremacy. Unfortunately, in presenting a system of decadent Black rulers and enslaved white and multiracial people, Vernon makes most of her characters of color unnuanced villains. Narrators Alaska Jackson, Sisi Aisha Johnson, and Kirby Heyborne deliver solid performances, offering an uncomfortably ironic twist in voicing the General, the main antagonist and a Black man, with a Southern drawl.