Magical Technician Tiamat is an #ownvoices middle grade novel features a Black Muslim geek girl of the sort I once was, but transposes into the future. Twelve-year-old Tiamat reads reads popular science as well as magical girl manga, has a modded toy baton and a robot bunny sidekick. Tiamat is still trying to fit in the high-tech city of Isola New Town, balancing a new school and new friends with her secret duty fighting evil by moonlight.
When the high-tech city begins to glitch, everything electronic becomes liable to split into good and evil halves, mythical beasts of white magic and black magic. Tiamat’s modded and discontinued toy baton can reunite good and bad into neutral grey science with accuracy far greater than any of the city's officials. She becomes a magical girl, a superheroine who tames rebellious technology. But as Tiamat investigates, she discovers that things are not as simple as black versus white—especially when the big bad wizard who aims to take over their city reveals himself to be powered by white magic.
“Tomico rolled off Tiamat’s chest and looked around the bed, sizing up the other stuffed animals that lived there.
“You read my manga, right?” Tiamat asked the tiny rabbit.
Tomico nodded. “I do.”
“Well, my favorite type of manga, the kind I have most of,” Tiamat gestured to her three bookcases, each a different height filled with manga volumes. “is Pre-Crunch stuff about magical girls: stories about young witch girls from another world or sometimes outer space, stories about normal girls who discover powers they didn’t know they had. They always have cute costumes and secret powers, sometimes ride brooms or use wands. And the girl would usually have a cute sidekick to help her out, like just you.”
Tiamat rolled over and hugged her pillow in excitement. “I want to be a magical girl. A baton and a bunny—we already have a theme! We can fight binaries with our powers. But if we want to keep it secret, my parents shouldn’t know that you’re a supergenius with an evil twin.”
“I won’t spoil anything else,” Tomico declared. “What do you need me to do?””
“Winged, hooved, and clawed things flew at her. Tiamat threw up her arms to block, expanded the baton’s field, pushed them back with a forceful shield. Binaries dove for Kilat’s legs, tried to topple them. They stumbled—but rose again, quickly! Tiamat toppled, almost fell off Kilat but held on tight. She swung and beat them back. The first song, Starry Sky wound down, and the room way emptier.
“Full Infinity Figure Eight!” Another new technique: she turned her baton with a twist to her wrist, striking those to her right then her left then her right then her left.
“Super Greyscale Unison!”
...Pets, games, toys, clothes...
“Super Greyscale Unison!”
...laptops, smartphones, tablets, cameras...
“Super Greyscale Unison!”
...housewares, appliances, servants, accessories...
“Super Reunion Neutral!”
...computers, vehicles, anything smart and electric that came at her, Tiamat repaired through violence. She would bash it with a gesture and an unseen, perfect twist. Electronics hit the floor on beat with classic electro-pop. ”