Children of Blood and Bone

By Author / Illustrator

Tomi Adeyemi

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Pan Macmillan

ISBN

9781509871353

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

08-03-2018

Synopsis

Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut Children of Blood and Bone.

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.

Zelie remembers when the soil of Orisha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled - Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zelie's Reaper mother summoning forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zelie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden. Zelie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zelie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orisha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zelie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic - and her growing feelings for an enemy.

The movie of Children of Blood and Bone is in development at Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions with the incredible Karen Rosenfelt and Wyck Godfrey (Twilight, Maze Runner, The Fault In Our Stars) producing it.

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Reviews

This debut YA novel has breathless pacing, wonderful worldbuilding that lets your imagination run wild and a strong heroine that the reader roots for. Children of Blood and Bone is told through four different points of view, but their lives are all woven around the main character, Zelie.

Zelie remembers when Orisha hummed with magic, but that all changed when their ruthless king ordered that all maji were to be killed. At the age of six she watched as her mother was chained and hung from a tree outside her home because of her powers. During this king's reign, magic and dark skinned people with white hair, now called Diviners, are hated. Ten years on, Zelie has been given a chance to bring the magic back and with the help of her brother, a princess and, on occasion the crown prince, she takes the chance to strike back at the king. We journey with her as she faces her own struggles and set backs with her own powers.

This novel is a powerful, mythological story of woven words and emotions that the reader can totally get involved in. Even though the book feels a little overlong, at over 500 pages!, most confident 12+ well read readers will quickly get through it as it is pacey - at times intense, and very well written. It ends with one hell of a cliffhanger so I hope that Book 2 will soon be on its way. Enjoy the magic!

544 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian.