English Student Andrea Rogers Launches New ‘Man Made Monsters’ Book
A book launch event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, at Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville.
Following a successful period of writing and publishing in 2020 and 2021 — during which her middle-grade novel, Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Removal Survival Story, made NPR’s “Best Books of 2020” list — Rogers is receiving even more acclaim this year for Man Made Monsters.
This is Rogers’ first young-adult novel and her first book published in the genre of horror.
Man Made Monsters, a collection of connected stories, follows the members of one Cherokee family from the early 19th century through present day and even into the future. Classic sources of fear, including vampires and zombies, haunt the linked narratives, as do “the horrors of empire, of intimate partner violence, of dispossession [and] the monsters of Rogers’ imagination, that draw upon long-told Cherokee stories — of Deer Woman, fantastical sea creatures and more.”
Andrea Rogers
Woven through and around Rogers’ writing are illustrations by Jeff Edwards, whose art combines Cherokee syllabary with striking visual components, as can be seen on the book’s cover.
Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of There There, described Man Made Monsters as “a brilliant and expansive journey across time, seen through a Cherokee lens. … [It] is full to the brim with voice and breadth, including but not limited to magic, horror and fantasy.”
In addition, Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians, said, “Andrea Rogers writes like the house is on fire, and her words are the only thing that can put it out.”
A review by Shelf Awareness concluded, “Teen and adult readers looking for a taste of the gorgeously gruesome should snap up this dark, engrossing jewel.”
Man Made Monsters also has been included in Kirkus Reviews‘ “150 Most Anticipated Books of the Fall” and is currently featured as an “October Pick” by Literati after being chosen and reviewed by activist, author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala.
Rogers is in her third year of the English Ph.D. program. Her research focuses upon American Indian literature and history, as well as Indigenous literature.
This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.