Dactyl Hill Squad - Dinosaurs and Race in a reimagined 1863 New York (with a Trans Hero!)

Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older

It's 1863 and dinosaurs roam the streets of New York as the Civil War rages between raptor-mounted armies down South. Magdalys Roca and her friends from the Colored Orphan Asylum are on a field trip when the Draft Riots break out, and a number of their fellow orphans are kidnapped by an evil magistrate, Richard Riker.

Magdalys and her friends flee to Brooklyn and settle in the Dactyl Hill neighborhood, where black and brown New Yorkers have set up an independent community--a safe haven from the threats of Manhattan. Together with the Vigilance Committee, they train to fly on dactylback, discover new friends and amazing dinosaurs, and plot to take down Riker. Can Magdalys and the squad rescue the rest of their friends before it's too late?

What's Queer about it? One of the heroes of this story is the pirate Redd, a trans man.

This Middle Grade title has won a LOT of praise, including being named A New York Times Notable Book, An NPR Best Book of the Year, A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, A Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. 

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