Responses to Legendborn

When Deonn published her debut book on September 15th, 2020, it did not take long to receive recognition. Just a week after its publication, it was third on the Indie Bestseller list and fifth on the New York Times Bestseller list. It took only a short time for more awards, recognition, and fans to follow.

Many people responded to Legendborn positively, especially people of color, as they saw themselves in Bree's character. For some people, this was their first time fully relating to a character. As Deonn puts it herself after being asked about gaining recognition from Black readers, "I needed that book growing up, and I feel very fortunate that I could write the story that I needed after the fact that I needed it," [1]. Deonn herself knows how detrimental her story is to readers from diverse backgrounds. When she was young, she knew she needed a book with a woman of color as the main character and the importance of representation. 

Many diverse readers shared their love and appreciation for the series on blogs and social media. One post stood out to me, and it states, "Most times, it's a pick and choose type of situation: perhaps you get high fantasy but lack depictions of Black girlhood, or you get Black girlhood but not as the heroine of the story. With Tracy Deonn's Legendborn, I didn't have to choose. I got to bring all the sides of my magic-loving, history-seeking, smart-mouthed Black girl self to the table," [2]. Ravynn Stringfield discusses how in Deonn's book, she was able to see all aspects of herself in the pages. She did not have to pick between her favorite genre and seeing her identity in the main character, like she has had to do many times in the past. Legendborn breaks the mold and allows teen and young adult readers to feel heard and seen. 

Beyond these direct quotes, there is a plethora of Legendborn fan art and cosplays to the point where Tracy Deonn herself has two Instagram highlight reels on her profile to show off the art and cosplays of her adoring fans. Her highlights are only a fraction of fan art spread across social media other than Instagram. When looking up fan art for the website, a lot of the fan art I found was of Bree rather than any of the other characters or scenes from the book. Not only do people draw the story, but they love Bree so much that their art focuses on the powerful woman of color heroine. 

Beyond her Instagram profile, several profiles on Instagram and others (namely Tumblr) are dedicated to the series. Fan pages that share art, memes about the series, and their excitement over different events happening in the community show the extent of love and appreciation for Deonn's world.