Title: Children of Blood and Bone

Author: Tomi Adeyemi

Publisher: Ouida Books (2018) / Henry Holt and Co (BYR) (2018)

Number of pages: 531; 544

Type of Book: Adventure, African, African Mythology, Medieval, Fantasy,Fiction, Suspense/Thriller

Genre: YA (Young Adult)

Age: 13+

Available here: https://thebookmarketng.com/product/children-of-blood-and-bone/; https://www.amazon.com/Children-Blood-Bone-Legacy-Orisha/dp/1250170974

Price: N4500; $12.73

MY SUMMARY

It starts with a quest, because all books with elements of magic, mystery and mythology must have quests. 

Zelie, her brother and their enemy-turned-friend, princess Amari go on a quest to bring magic back to Orïsha. Amari’s father, the tyrannical King of Orïsha, believes that magic is the source of all evil so he banishes magic. He destroys all the relics and temples of the gods and kills all the magi leaving the diviners. The diviners are children of magi who haven’t become magi and therefore have no magical powers. Years later, a scroll appears which awakens the magic in diviners. 

The quest: Zelie and her crew must find and take three sacred items – the scroll, a dagger and a sunstone – to a sacred (disappearing) island that appears only during the summer solstice. There, they must recite the incantations on the scroll in the temple of the gods during the solstice or lose the chance to bring back magic to Orïsha forever. 

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: Everything! I loved absolutely everything about this book: the writing style, the imagery, the characters, the actual story, the world building, everything. I loved reading it, I know I’ll read it again, and I can’t wait to read Book 2 (it’s a trilogy by the way)! 

It’s a masterpiece. What I loved about it?

A. West African Mythology. I loved reading Britannica as a child because it showed me the myths and legends of different parts of the world, Roman and Greek ones, etc. This book was my first foray into West African Mythology especially the Orïsha, so it hit all the right buttons! I loved learning about the gods of Yoruba mythology: Ori, Oya, Sango, Yemoja, Ogun! I loved it so much that I now want to do a course on West African Mythology because I want to learn and write about Igbo gods too. I loved the fact that it was set in Nigeria and i loved the use of a lot of Yoruba (which I can’t understand by the way).

B. The highlight of the book for me: The Setting!! The World building: the ten Maji clans and their different powers and deities; the animals (the leoponaries and panthernaires); Ibeji, the desert city, where the slaves fight to the death for the pleasure of nobles in an arena the size of the Roman Colosseum filled with (wait for it) water! Note that water typically goes for one gold piece per cup, a small fortune for the inhabitants of the city. Imagining Chândomblé, the lost temple of the sacred sentaros, the protectors of magic, almost brought tears to my eyes. Did I mention that I am a lover of medieval movies? I am. So it was so easy to imagine every little scene in this book. 

C. The characters are relatable. The most fulfilling emotional arc was Amari’s. She went from a timid, scared-of-her-own-shadow little princess to an amazon at the end. 

One thing is sure, Adeyemi is a wonderful storyteller and she had me enthralled from the first page until I finished the book, five days later. (This kids-at-home business won’t let me shine)

Here’s when we first get a taste of the power of magic in the hands of diviners. 

Though Binta resists, Kaea pushes the scroll into her grip.

Light explodes from Binta’s hand.

It coats the throne room in its magnificence—brilliant golds, shining purples, sparkling blues. The light arcs and shimmers as it cascades, a never-ending stream erupting from Binta’s palm.

“Skies,” I gasp, terror at war with the awe bubbling inside my chest.

Magic.

Such imagery!!!

If I had to distil the highlights into three words, they would be Mythology, Magic, Medieval. 

I strongly strongly recommend this book to everyone particularly lovers of history, mythology, and Nnedi Okoroafor’s books.

Note that this is a multiple award winning book and a New York Times Bestseller.

The story is phenomenal. It is an epic. Definitely my best book of this year.

DOWN: The only down (which wasn’t that serious really) was the fact that it was a bit hard to differentiate between the voices of the two female characters (i.e. Zelie and Amari). Many times, they basically sounded the same.

RATING

5 Stars

TRIVIA

Read an excerpt here: https://read.macmillan.com/mcpg/childrenofbloodandbone-excerpt3/

CHALLENGE: Children of Blood and Bone 

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

1.    What is Orisha? Write a short 1000-word essay 

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 13-16 age range. The first correct entry will be announced on this page and will win a copy of this book.   

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Sunday, September 28^th 2020. 

Next Book of the Week: 

SULWE by Lupita Nyong’o