Bodied — Eli Horowitz

Maya is a 20-year-old with a graveyard shift at the post office, a ma whose temper rises even faster than the rent, and all of the million daily headaches of life as a young woman of color in New York in 2011. Her one saving grace is her local arcade, home of New York's feisty, burgeoning fighting game tournament scene. But that respite is taken away from her after she gets banned for standing up to a trash-talker who goes too far. To get back into the arcade and fight for her independence and respect, Maya will partner with a team of up-and-coming players and learn to defeat not just her opponents, but also her own worst instincts.

Beneath Maya's quest for FGC glory shines a deeper story about how all of us are made by history -- and how we can make history in our turn. The connections between Maya, the women who raised her, and the generations who come after her, examine how our moment in time determines -- often unjustly -- the risks we take for the rewards we desire for ourselves, our families, and our communities. Bodied is a unique coming-of-age story with sneaky literary chops, a modern mashup between The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and A League of Their Own.