Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone By Tomi Adeyemi

Title: Children of Blood and Bone
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Release Date: March 8th 2018

Synopsis: Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. 

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. 

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.

Review: There are some books where I'm like, I'm just going to avoid the hype and read it later. We've all been there, just look at my tbr pile. Then there are some books that you cannot avoid and feel completely compelled to read, and when you do you're upset because you've suddenly finished and left needing more but why do I have to wait a year for the next installment! (I've progressively starting typing in capitals in my head as I dictate this review!)....

THIS. BOOK...

If you haven't already, stop reading and go buy a copy, because you're going to want to read it.

Strong characters - tick
Strong FEMALE LEAD characters - tick
POC - front and center and kicking all kinds of ass
Settings - AMAZING
Rebellion and Revolution - in abundance
Mythology and Magic- BEAUTIFUL
Twists - I mean I didn't think what happened would so TICK

There was a beautiful fluidity to Tomi's writing that instantly brought you in held you close and swept you away on this journey! You feel everything....the desolation and sadness that the people suffer, the anger in Zélie , the Arrogance in King Saran, the internal battle that Inan goes through... its all here packaged in this neat little book, with a BEAUTIFUL cover and if you managed to get a copy of the  red sprayed edges then your book really is on fire.

This is my kind of fantasy! I loved the mythology woven into the narrative, it was poetic and strikingly visual and I want to explore it more. 

This book also digs deep into some dark themes, ideas of racism, of power and class, of privilege and control,  fear and the power that fear instills into government (something I think we can all relate too at the moment), and you can't hide away from any of these things, they are there and brought back to the table again and again so you have no choice but to confront these realities, because these though fiction imaginations have deep historical roots that are still coming into play and it through narratives like his that the discussions can be opened and at a younger level. We're seeing the courage of young people more and more, speaking out, and this is one of the strengths of YA and the powerful voice it carries.

The characterization was what really made the boo come alive. Zélie was bold and strong, full of confidence and a deep rooted stubbornness. She was a spark that would fly fast and quick and get her into trouble. But you couldn't help root for her and you wanted to share in that confidence. Tzain, was the antithesis, the balance to her spark. Calm and level headed, you could see why he was so respected and why all the girls swooned over him. Amari had a great transformation, but what was not stereotypical about her character and I loved her for it was that she had a history, she had already been broken down and was fighting to just get along, but overtime her confidence and her pride seeps out and the tiger within bursts forth. Inan was interesting. He was angry and the enemy, but his facade was breaking and his realities crumbling around him and what was great about this was that he didn't just accept it and change he fought against it, with it, trying to work out what he actually wanted in his own internal battle, and this made him really real to me. 

Basically this book ticked every box I had and I was left wanting more, and having to remember to breath after all that build up. I'm excited for whats to come an I know I'm not the only one!