Contemporary Authors

• Children of Blood and Bone ( "Legacy of Orisha" series book 1) Henry Holt and Company (New York, NY), 2018
• Children of Virtue and Vengeance ( "Legacy of Orisha" series book 2) Henry Holt and Co. BYR (New York, NY), 2019

1. Children of virtue and vengeance LCCN 2018945013 Type of material Book Personal name Adeyemi, Tomi. Main title Children of virtue and vengeance / Tomi Adeyemi. Published/Produced New York, NY : Henry Holt and Co. BYR, 2019. Projected pub date 1903 Description pages cm ISBN 9781250170996 (hardcover) 9781250171009 (ebk.) Item not available at the Library. Why not? 2. Children of blood and bone LCCN 2017945039 Type of material Book Personal name Adeyemi, Tomi, author. Main title Children of blood and bone / Tomi Adeyemi. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York : Henry Holt and Company, [2018] Description 531 pages ; 24 cm ISBN 9781250170972 (hardcover) CALL NUMBER PZ7.1.A24 Ch 2018 Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms

• Wikipedia -

  Tomi Adeyemi
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  Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American novelist and creative writing coach. She is known for her book Children of Blood and Bone, the first in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.[1]

  Contents [hide]
  1
  Early life
  2
  Career
  3
  Personal life
  4
  Bibliography
  5
  See also
  6
  References
  7
  External links

  Early life[edit]
  Tomi Adeyemi graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in English Literature,[2] then studied West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil, on a fellowship.[3]
  She went to Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale, Illinois.
  Career[edit]
  Adeyemi's debut novel, Children of Blood and Bone, was released in March 2018, and debuted at #1 on The New York Times Young Adult Hardcover Bestseller List.[4] It is a young-adult (YA) fantasy novel,[5] featuring protagonist Zélie Adebola, who fights a monarchy to return magic to her people. Adeyemi has said she wanted to write a fantasy novel set in West Africa so that "a little Black girl [could] pick up my book one day and see herself as the star...I want her to know that she’s beautiful and she matters and she can have a crazy, magical adventure even if an ignorant part of the world tells her she can never be Hermione Granger."[6]
  Fox 2000 has purchased the film adaptation rights to the book.[5] Reportedly the deals for the publishing and film rights were approximately seven figures.[7][8] Deadline described it as "one of the biggest YA debut novel publishing deals ever."[5]
  Personal life[edit]
  Adeyemi lives in San Diego.[5]
  Bibliography[edit]
  Children of Blood and Bone (6 March 2018)

• Refinery29 - https://www.refinery29.com/2018/03/192699/children-of-blood-and-bone-tomi-adeyemi-author-interview

  How Tomi Adeyemi Became A Literary Rockstar Before Her First Book Even Came Out
  Elena Nicolaou
  ‎March‎ ‎6‎, ‎2018, ‎5‎:‎00‎ ‎PM

  How Tomi Adeyemi Became A Literary Rockstar Before Her First Book Even Came Out
  Elena Nicolaou
  ‎March‎ ‎6‎, ‎2018, ‎5‎:‎00‎ ‎PM

  In the future, when people think of the book characters that shaped their childhood, they will mention Harry Potter, the boy who lived, Katniss Everdeen, the girl who volunteered as tribute, and Zelie Adebola, the maji destined to return magic to her people. You haven’t heard of that final name yet, but you will.
  Zelie is the white-haired, dark-skinned, turbaned protagonist of Children of Blood and Bone, the first book in 24-year-old debut novelist Tomi Adeyemi’s projected fantasy trilogy. Hailing from the fictional African nation of Orisha and riding atop a gigantic lionaire, she is brave, but not impervious to fear; she is intelligent, but prone to impulsiveness; and she is unlike any YA heroine we’ve encountered before.
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  Eleven years earlier, Zelie's mother was killed during the massacre of maji carried out by King Saran. On the day the maji were killed, magic disappeared from Orisha. Zelie comes of age in a world that hates and unfairly punishes people like her – those whose white hair gives away their magic blood. Only Zelie has the chance to restore magic, and end the cycle of oppression.

  There is tremendous power in a book like Children of Blood and Bone, especially for children seeing this book on library displays and summer reading lists, and that’s precisely the point. “Imagine if Harry Potter had been a Black boy,” Adeyemi told Refinery29. “The world might actually be a different place because the boy who everybody was obsessed with would be this Black boy with an afro.”
  Essentially, as Adeyemi chuckled to Refinery29 over the phone, “The Next Big Thing is all about incredible Black people.” This holds true for superhero movies — Black Panther has blown away all expectations – and for the YA literary world.
  That Children of Blood and Bone would be the Next Big Thing in YA literature is something Tiffany Liao, the book’s editor, recognized immediately after the 400-page manuscript arrived in her inbox at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. “I read it in one mesmerized sitting. Covered in chills. Often through a blur of tears. It felt completely unlike anything I, or anyone at Macmillan had ever read before,” she told Refinery29. “We all knew immediately this is something special. This is something groundbreaking. We have to have it.”
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  Henry Holt Books for Young Readers wasn’t the only imprint hungry for Adeyemi’s book – Liao compares the bidding war to battle. “It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced,” she said. Typically, book auctions take place over the course of two to three weeks. But nothing about this book is typical. A week after receiving the manuscript, Holt faced down other publishers clamoring for the book, and offered one of the largest publishing deals for a YA debut novel ever. “We paid an incredible advance for an incredible book.”
  It has taken decades for the publishing industry to arrive to this landmark point: A blockbuster fantasy novel with a three-book and three-movie deal, fan art before it’s even out – and an all-Black cast of characters.
  “What we’re experiencing now is the result of a movement built on the hard work, the dedication, the passion of many, many librarians, teachers, gatekeepers, editors, publishing professionals, in and outside the industry,” Liao said.
  Adeyemi credits the YA authors of color who published before her, like Angie Thomas, Jason Reynolds, and Marie Liu, for the possibility of a book like Children of Blood and Bone. Her novel is also preceded by other fantasies set in Africa, like Tochi Onyebuchi’s recent Beasts Made of Night, and the many books of Hugo Award-winning Nnedi Okorafor. They’ve paved the way for Adeyemi not needing to compromise any part of her vision. “As recent as five or six years ago, you could have a book and have an agent or an editor say, ‘This is great, but could you make the protagonist white?’ And that’s not something I had to deal with because they took all that bullshit. Now we’re at the point when someone doesn’t say, ‘Could you give Zelie blonde hair instead?’”
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  The number of diverse YA and children’s books published each year has been steadily climbing, from 10% in 1997 when Harry Potter came out, to 28% in 2016 — though it’s still a far cry from equitable. Should Children of Blood and Bone be as explosive as it’s projected to be, this could be the catalyst of a new movement. Twilight was followed by a slew of vampire novels. Imagine what might come after Children of Blood and Bone.
  An early review of the novel in Kirkus called the book “exceptional,” but the real fervor is found in the book’s Goodreads page, where readers lucky enough to get advance reader copies write things like, “BELIEVE. THE. HYPE,” and, “This book is beautiful, powerful, and totally badass. You need it in your life.” There’s some major FOMO on the page, too: One commenter pleaded, “Will trade life and/or limb for an ARC [advance review copy] of this to read and review. I am absolutely desperate!”
  “
  I READ IT IN ONE MESMERIZED SITTING. COVERED IN CHILLS.
  TIFFANY LIAO
  ”
  Essentially, the enthusiasm Liao experienced in the Holt office is mirrored with the enthusiasm of fans. Clearly, there’s a hunger for stories like these — and hopefully, publishing is stepping up to deliver.
  Emma Carbone, a YA librarian at Brooklyn Public Library, senses the change acutely. Now, when high-schoolers come in looking for book recommendations, she can point them toward books with an array of characters. “Kids are just looking to see themselves. We haven’t had a moment like this, when the assumed default isn’t just a white kid on the cover. It’s a big change, to be able to say that we can find books that will mirror your experiences,” Carbone says. “With fantasy, we have all these different characters and different perspectives."
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  The idea for the novel which would, eventually, be sold in a seven-figure book and movie deal, came to Adeyemi in April of 2016. She had graduated from Harvard with a degree in English the year prior, and was working as a data analyst in Los Angeles. One morning before work, she spotted an illustration of a Black girl with bright green hair on Pinterest, and couldn’t get the image out of her head. “It was so epic,” she told me, still speaking fondly of the image that incited her on her own epic two-year journey, and counting. Adeyemi walked around showing the photo to coworkers, and was dismayed they didn’t see the magic she did.
  “They were like okay, let’s get back to work. But I was like, how can any of us work? I’ve gotten ideas from pictures before, but this was the first time I was so captivated. I was like, who is this girl. What is her story? What is a day in her life like? I couldn't get it out my head,” she said. Adeyemi would have to answer these questions herself.
  That evening, after bouncing ideas around on the phone with her boyfriend, Adeyemi established the skeleton of the book. The girl would be a fisherman’s daughter, who would meet a rogue princess in a marketplace, and be dragged into an adventure. The rest, she said, proceeded in a “series of explosions.” When her coworkers left the office at the end of the day, Adeyemi would stick around for another four, five, or six hours, writing the story.
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  Adeyemi had attempted a novel before — she had been working on her first novel for four years, and eventually realized, after a string of rejections, it wouldn’t be published. This attempt was different, and it was partly thanks to a fellowship she had in Salvador, Brazil, where she encountered the religious elements that would eventually form the spine of The Children of Blood and Bone.
  When she encountered that green-haired girl on Pinterest, Adeyemi finally found a place for the Orisha, West African deities that rule over different jurisdictions of the natural world (in a nod to the deities, Adeyemi named the triology’s fictional country Orisha). In Adyemi’s Orisha Legacy, of which Children of Blood and Bone is the first installment, some humans are born with latent magical powers, which are awakened around puberty. These people, called maji, are distinguished from non-maji by their stark white coils, and their very dark skin.
  “I discovered [the Orisha] on complete accident, but as soon as I saw them I knew I had to do some story with them. I just didn’t know what the story was. Just seeing these beautiful and sacred Black gods and goddesses, I thought, this is so magical. This looks like an African version of The Last Airbender,” she said, laughing. Here’s another thing to know about Adeyemi — she’s still a fan girl, at heart, of Airbender, YA literature, and even her own book.
  Adeyemi infused the Orishan landscape with her own history — she consulted her mother, a Nigerian immigrant, for Yoruba phrases for spells, and named mountain ranges after family members. “It took this thing from being a story I love to something that was truly, truly personal,” she said.
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  There are 10 maji clans in Orisha, each imbued with different abilities. Zelie’s mother was a Reaper, a maji of Life and Death who gained her powers from the goddess Oya. There are maji who conjure light, and those who control animals, and those who can govern the tides. (If you’re thinking this is a new version of the sorting hat, you’re right — Adeyemi was in the process of writing the official maji sorting quiz at the time of the interview).
  Years earlier, magic had been wiped from Orisha by a despot named King Saran, who massacred every adult maji. Young people like Zelie, whose powers had not yet bloomed, were spared. They are treated like second-class citizens, and are forbidden from having children with kosidàn, Adeyemi’s term for non-maji citizens. The maji are beaten and killed. Children are struck down by guards. Essentially, people like Zelie grow up with the psychological scars of being treated with violence.
  Though the book takes place in a fictional West African nation, Adeyemi has soaked Orisha in the problematic racial dynamics that are omnipresent in our world. The fights between guards and maji? The way society is stacked up make mobility nearly impossible for magic? That all is pointed statement.
  “Every obstacle in this book is based off something in the real world, because that’s the other thing about fantasy. This is something that Black people are dealing with today, or as recently as 30 years ago. It’s this big fantasy, but it’s meant to be this glaring mirror,” Adeyemi said.
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  The fantasy genre, in particular, gave Adeyemi freedom to abandon the histories and problems of America, and create a world in which racial dynamics are more concretely right and wrong, black and white. Essentially, there can be no excuses made for egregious and unnecessary displays of force from law enforcement. “No one can look at Zelie being attacked in the very first chapter, and say, ‘Okay, but…’ You can’t argue that. It is undeniably wrong,” Adeyemi said. By reading Children of Blood and Bone, then, she hopes readers will be more receptive to applying the sentiments to interactions they hear about on their Twitter feed and on the news. “So when you say hey, do you want to see the video of the Black girl being thrown to the ground by the policeman in a bathing suit that inspired this? And now do you want to tell me that there are more sides to this story?”
  Give or take some magic battles and leoponaires, Children of Blood and Bone is very much a rough translation for our world. Some readers may be situated in a way that they can identify themselves with Zelie directly. For others, it’ll be an exercise in experiencing the world through the lens of someone hyper-aware of the fact that her very makeup puts her in immediate danger.
  “It’ll mean different things to different readers,” Tiffany Liao said. “There’s a world that’s teaching you to hate what makes you magical. That’s going to resonate with readers on many different levels.”
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  This ties back into Adeyemi’s dream for her book. She hopes Children of Blood and Bone elicits the unbridled joy seen in videos of kids finding out they’re going to see Black Panther. She wants her book to make some people feel seen — and wants to make other people, who might be less immediately intimate with Zelie’s struggles, see.

• Entertainment Weekly - http://ew.com/books/2018/04/13/tomi-adeyemi-children-blood-bone-ya-profile/

  Is Tomi Adeyemi the new J.K. Rowling?

  David Canfield April 13, 2018 at 11:00 AM EDT
  To read more books news, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday, or buy it here now; you can also get the Elisabeth Moss cover online or at Barnes & Noble. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.
  Tomi Adeyemi is in yet another airport, headed to Houston for the next stop on her book tour. It’s been a few weeks since her novel Children of Blood and Bone debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times young-adult best-seller list, and she’s just spent three days back home in San Diego, a short but vital break from the media frenzy that’s engulfed her. Racing around the country from event to event, fielding plot questions and fan theories, she hasn’t had a moment to take in the life-changing energy. But now, with the spotlight temporarily dimmed, Adeyemi finds herself in reflection — on how, in the span of a year, she’s gone from aspiring writer to author of the biggest YA phenomenon in recent memory.
  It’s not every day that an unknown 23-year-old sells the movie rights to an unpublished fantasy trilogy for a reported seven figures. Adeyemi unveiled Children of Blood and Bone at a manuscript contest called Pitch Wars in 2016 and instantly emerged as the hottest name on the market. “Every major agent who represents YA wanted to represent this project,” Adeyemi’s agent Alexandra Machinist, of ICM Partners, says. “And once we submitted it, every publisher in New York wanted it.” Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group acquired the book for a reported seven figures after winning an intense bidding war in 2017; on the film side, Fox 2000 purchased the book’s rights directly, bypassing the optioning phase — a rare show of faith. The film version of Children, from the producers of Twilight and The Maze Runner, is currently in active development.
  Adeyemi, now 24, is remarkably young to be experiencing such success. And yet she brims with wisdom. She grew up in the Chicago suburbs, the middle child of three, with Nigerian-immigrant parents who instilled in her a “crazy work ethic.” She wrote her first story at the age of 5 and describes it fondly as “elaborate Parent Trap fan fiction on a horse farm with saris.” But Adeyemi looks back on it now for a more sobering reason. “I wrote myself into [that] first story, but every story I wrote after that, the protagonists were white or biracial because, somewhere along the line, I’d come to believe black people couldn’t be in stories. I was writing these magical adventures that I wanted to have, but I didn’t think I could have those adventures and look like myself.” Raised on Harry Potter and other fantasies with predominantly white ensembles, she came to this realization as she prepared to attend Harvard University. It was there that she developed her mission as a storyteller: “Write a story that’s so good and so black that everyone’s going to have to read it — even if they’re racist.”

  Shanna Fisher for EW
  Her first attempt at a novel, written during her junior year, didn’t go anywhere. It took Adeyemi a few painful years to move on — an invaluable education that rivaled her Harvard curriculum. “I feel very lucky that my first book got rejected,” she reflects. “I would be so much worse of a writer had someone said yes.” She stayed focused enough to teach herself how to write and pitch a book that would sell, surveying the new YA field and spinning whatever negative feedback she received into a road map for success. She put it into practice for Children of Blood and Bone.
  A visionary fantasy that doubles as an ingenious allegory for the modern black experience, Children is an addictive adventure quest through the magical land of Orïsha, steeped in West African folklore. It’s emotionally textured by sharp commentary on racial issues ranging from police brutality to colorism. You can see the rigor of its author’s methods on every page. The world-building is meticulous, its boundaries precise. This is how Adeyemi operates — thoroughly. And it’s why her book is such an earth shaker. Her social commentary is bolstered by a mythology so fleshed out and immersive that thousands of readers are basking in Orïsha the way they used to (and still) bask in Hogwarts.
  Adeyemi is living proof that greatness doesn’t come easily. She’s proud of her work ethic and how it’s manifested on the page; others are in awe of it. When Machinist and her partner Hillary Jacobson gave Adeyemi their first standard edit letter, the author responded with a 50-column, color-coded Excel spreadsheet. “My brain was exploding trying to decipher it,” Jacobson recalls. “Once I figured out how to read her document I was flabbergasted.” Adds Machinist: “So many of these YA books feel half-baked — Tomi’s feels fully realized.”
  Despite Adeyemi’s success, what shines through most clearly is her gratitude. She repeatedly cites her YA heroes, like Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes) and Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give), whom she now calls friends. She expresses amazement that her book continues to top the New York Times best-seller list. At first she — seriously — feared its placement was the result of a Russian hack. “When it was listed again [the next] week, I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t think it’s a fluke!’ ” Of course, that doesn’t take away from the sheer thrill of being a published author on the cusp of fame: Adeyemi excitedly remembers a video her younger sister recently sent her of a college party at Stanford. “They’re playing beer-pong games,” Adeyemi says. “But then [my sister] pans around the room and there’s this kid, chilling with Children of Blood and Bone — there’s literally a college party around him as he’s reading my book in the corner!” She laughs, then pauses, as if she’s taking in the scene again for the first time. “That’s pretty cool.”

• Teen Vogue - https://www.teenvogue.com/story/children-of-blood-and-bone-tomi-adeyemi

  “Children of Blood and Bone” Author Tomi Adeyemi on Creating a World Where Readers of Color Can See Themselves
  “And not just seen, I want them to feel epic and know that they are epic.”

  Shammara Lawrence
  Mar 19, 2018 2:11PM EDT

  Thankfully, young people of color are seeing more characters like them in young adult fiction novels, and Tomi Adeyemi is helping lead that change.
  The Nigerian-American author’s much-anticipated debut novel, Children of Blood and Bone, taps into the traditions and folklore of West African mythology to illustrate a captivating hero’s quest set in the mystical African nation, Orïsha. If you couldn’t get enough of Wakanda, you’re going to fall in love with the breathtaking world Tomi has created. “This idea came from me seeing visuals for the first time of black people being depicted in a really beautiful way,” Tomi tells Teen Vogue. “I saw a picture of Orisha, which [are] African gods and goddesses [of the Yoruba people]. It was so beautiful and magical, and I had never seen black people in a setting like that. Instantly, my imagination started doing flips, and I knew I wanted to make something based off that, so I said, ‘Okay, I can easily see the magic system at play here.’ Then I saw a picture — it was a digital illustration of this black girl with luminescent green hair. It was so beautiful and magical that for the first time, I was able to picture a black girl in a really, really magical setting like that.”
  At just 23 years old (she’s now 24), Tomi signed a reported seven-figure book deal to bring the story of Orïsha to life. The first installation of a larger fantasy trilogy, Children of Blood and Bone is already proving to be one of the biggest YA fiction titles in recent years. Since its official release earlier this year, it has received overwhelming praise and has become a New York Times No. 1 Bestseller. A captivating tale of triumph, it chronicles the journey of Zélie Adebola (pronounced Zay-lee Ah-deh-bow-la), a powerful young woman fighting to return magic to her people in the land of Orïsha after it was eradicated by a ruthless king, hell-bent on wiping them out completely.
  According to Tomi, it took 45 drafts and 18 months to complete her book because of her commitment to getting all the small but crucial cultural details in the story right. Throughout the writing process, she enlisted the help of her Nigerian mom to come up with names of spells, which were directly taken from the traditional West African Yoruba language. Besides the impressive mysticism, one of the standout qualities of the book is the strong-willed protagonist, Zélie, who is sure to be an inspiring figure for young black girls who are doubtful of their potential.

  Photo: Rich Deas/Macmillan
  “This is my [response] to everyone who was like, ‘Hermione can’t be black.’ I was like, cool, let’s get someone who’s going to have lots of the same admiring qualities that Hermione [has], but she’s also going to be a badass [and] a warrior,” Tomi says. “She’s going to be powerful, and it’s weird to say desirable because sometimes people take that and sort of twist it, but I think showing black women as desirable is something that [is significant]. We’re told this dumb narrative that like, ‘No, you’re not,’ and ‘Oh, you will always be picked last in gym,’ so [I showed] basically the opposite of what everyone expects. It was really important for me for Zélie to be like, ‘First of all, yes they could. Second of all, just listen, just look.’”
  At its heart, Children of Blood and Bone is a story of adventure, but it’s also an impressive allegory on pressing topics such as colorism, racism, and power structures. While Tomi’s ideas about how Orïsha would look remained the same since she first envisioned it, over time, she started playing more with the dynamics of its inhabitants and how they navigate the world. “This book is a commentary on race, [so] it had to be handled in a very special way. And things have to be extremely intentional. Every part of the book, I had to really, really think about, and then ask myself, is this exactly what you’re trying to portray? And if not, then why not? How do you change that? How do you fix that? So what changed the most wasn’t the world itself but how the world worked and how the people within that world worked and how they interacted with each other,” she shares.

  The Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century and today’s Black Lives Matter movement was a great source of inspiration to her. Tomi was emboldened by BLM, and her novel serves as a response to police brutality. “Every obstacle and conflict in the book is connected to something that we are going through today or have gone through as recently as 30 years ago,” she explains. Ultimately, the resilience and dedication of activists on the frontlines empowered Tomi to channel her frustration with the current political climate in her writing.

  And Tomi knows the power of being able to tackle these themes and ideas, but in a fantasy land. For some, they might have preconceived notions of how the world already works and be unwilling to accept how privilege or certain systems keep other people disenfranchised. They’re unable to take a step back and explore things from another perspective. But when she’s the one who expertly crafted the universe brought alive through the book’s pages, readers have to pay attention.
  “With a fantasy world, it’s like, this is my world. I literally made it,” she says. “So if I tell you something, you do have to sit back and observe more. You need to sit back and listen more to understand what is going on or what’s happening in the world. And I think there’s a lot of power in that.”
  The writer’s decision to include to these conversations in a fantasy world is one that has brought her much support from the YA community. She cites the work of Nic Stone and Angie Thomas, the latter even being someone who has offered her advice to Tomi. “The YA author community is generally pretty friendly, and they care. They celebrate your successes, and they are always the ones that have been like, “Hey, how are you? No. How are you?’” she says.
  Even then, it hasn’t been easy for young people of color like Tomi to tell stories with race and realist oppression as the main driver. Historically, the publishing world has lagged behind tremendously in showcasing narratives with diverse and multi-dimensional characters. Fortunately, in increasing numbers, minorities are successfully challenging the status quo in various creative industries by telling long-awaited stories of underrepresented communities, as we’ve seen through popular films like Black Panther, A Wrinkle in Time, and Moonlight. Soon enough, Tomi’s series will join the list with a movie adaption by Fox 2000 — which she describes as an “epic franchise.”

  When Tomi saw a physical copy of Children of Blood and Bone for the first time — a heartwarming moment that went viral on Twitter — she could hardly believe it. “It felt like I was holding my entire life in my hands and all the things I love,” she says. “All the things I felt compelled to say suddenly [were] right there. I was holding something that had been in my head for such a long time.”
  Storytelling is a powerful force, one that Tomi is utilizing for good. “For readers of color, and especially black readers, black girls, I just want them to feel seen. And not just seen, I want them to feel epic and know that they are epic,” Tomi proclaims. “For other readers, I want them to go on this epic adventure with people who don’t look like them, people they are not used to. I want it to be something that they are like, ‘wow.’”

• Cosmopolitan - https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/books/a19170915/children-of-blood-and-bone-author-interview/

  Tomi Adeyemi on Writing the Biggest YA Novel of the Year
  The Children of Blood and Bone author explains her process and shares her dream cast for the movie.

  By Eliza Thompson
  Mar 8, 2018

  Almost a year before it hit shelves, Tomi Adeyemi's novel Children of Blood and Bone was making headlines. In March 2017, Deadline reported that Tomi had earned a seven-figure book deal for her young-adult trilogy, and even then, plans for a movie were already in the works.
  Now the book is finally here, and if you've read it, you know that it lives up to the hype. Set in the magical land of Orïsha, the story focuses on a young woman named Zélie who goes on a quest to restore magic to her people. Prior to the events of the book, Orïsha had been home to maji, individuals with supernatural powers gifted to them by gods, but a despotic king outlawed magic and destroyed almost all the maji. After having a chance run-in with Amari, a runaway princess who holds the key to restoring magic, Zélie and her brother Tzain begin an action-packed journey that takes them all the way across Orïsha. Here, Tomi talks about what inspired Zélie's world, what she hopes the book will mean to young girls, and who she dreams will star in the movie.
  SHOP NOW Children of Blood and Bone, $12
  Tomi wrote and revised the book so quickly that she started having "episodes."
  If anyone ever recovers my notes for my first draft it’s like, "Insert fight in the desert here," but the second draft had to be good and that’s when I actually went insane. If I’m in a painful part of the writing process I like to put on background noise, so I was binge-watching The Good Wife as I was writing this and I was on so little sleep because I was already behind, and there was this one day where my boyfriend called me and I had an episode of forgetting who I was. I was like, "Why are you obstructing my case? Why won’t you support me in this?" I thought I was a lawyer and somehow, I had gotten very confused. Obviously I don’t remember all of this because I was so out of it, but I kind of snapped back into reality like ten minutes after yelling at him like, "Why won’t you support my legal career?" It was like a fugue state. First drafts in a month I recommend. Second drafts in a month I do not recommend.

  Tomi Adeyemi.
  Elena Seibert
  The book is fantasy, but it was largely inspired by current events.
  If someone asks where this book came from, on one side I can talk about the beauty of seeing [Yoruba deities called] the Orisha, seeing these beautiful depictions of black people that lit my imagination on fire. The other side of the story is all of the pain and the helplessness I was feeling from police brutality and...the constant fear. Because there’s anger, there’s hurt, there’s dejection, but I was at that point where I’m like, "Why are we doing anything? Why am I doing anything? What is the point if my life ends at the barrel of a police officer’s gun? What is the point if any day that hashtag could be my dad or my brother? Why do anything if this is actually what our world is?" I was in a real place of hopelessness and a real place of pain. There are parts of the book that are just diary entries from me reacting to what was happening in the real world, because this was being written alongside some really, really horrible weeks and times of police brutality. That’s not even to say that that’s over, but it coincided with that. It was a very painful process.
  Her biggest inspiration comes from anime.
  I am a firm believer that the craziest stories that have been told and are being told are in anime. They have character arcs that go over like 400 episodes, like a 400-episode character arc. Avatar: The Last Airbender is my favorite animation of all time and this is kind of my love letter to that. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan but I still think there is a lot of anime that is crazier than Harry Potter, and that was a seven-book masterpiece.
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  And if you're interested in getting into anime, she has a suggestion.
  Death Note is the one I’d recommend for adults because it’s a really twisty thriller. It has some fantasy elements but it’s very based in our real world. But not the Netflix adaptation! The actual anime.
  Related Story

  56 Books to Get Excited About in 2018
  The book's hype didn't freak her out, but she put a lot of pressure on herself for another reason.
  I will always be my hardest critic. Nobody else will ever be able to come at something I do harder than I come at myself. I really killed myself for this book. There were lots of points where my body gave out on me. The book is like 140,000 words and I needed all 140,000 of those words to be perfect. I felt pressure but I didn’t feel outside pressure. It’s like, this has your name on it. This literally has your name on every page. I forgot that they do that in books! When I opened the book for the first time I was like, "Why is my name everywhere?" I was so confused. I felt pressure to get it right because I know that for many people, especially kids of color, this is going to be their first time getting something like this. It’s going to be their first time seeing themselves as a hero in a big way...it was going be like their Black Panther. Black Panther was never going to be anything less than a success because Ryan Coogler and the cast involved didn’t have the option. Part of it is the double standard on people of color to be perfect — we’re not allowed to give you a mediocre project because then we never get to do it again and then anybody who looks like us, they go, "Well, Black Panther actually didn’t do so well so let’s not make any movies with black people for 20 years." People really sit in a room and do crap like that.
  I felt pressure to get it right because I know that for many people, especially kids of color, this is going to be their first time getting something like this.
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  So one, we don’t have the option, but two, it’s like, we’re not gonna mess that up. I’m not going to put Zélie’s face on the cover of this book and give you anything less than an incredible story, because for the kids who have never seen themselves, they need to see that, and they need to know that they are beautiful and that they are powerful and that they can rise up against all the things that upset them and do something about it. And then for the kids who are used to seeing themselves, they need to see other people and they need to see them in the most human way possible.
  I’ve been writing stories all my life. My very first story had two little black girls riding horses. They were both me, too, so that’s how into me I was. But every story from then on was a white protagonist or a biracial protagonist, and that’s because I had subconsciously internalized that those were the only people who got to be in stories and those were the only people who got to have magical adventures. If I’ve internalized this, how am I really gonna be surprised when someone’s like, "How is Hermione black? I don’t get it." Five or six years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to get that, either.

  The map of Orïsha.
  Keith Thompson/Henry Holt
  She designed the layout of Orïsha herself (illustrated in the book by Keith Thompson).
  I actually designed the map on this online program and it was really helpful to me, because it’s a big story and they go so many places and then I was trying to be like, "How long would it take to get from this village to this city, if horses ride this many miles per hour over the course of this, and this is the meters and we can superimpose that on how fast a lion runs," and I would do all this math. Then I was like, "You know what? I’m just gonna make decisions, come at me." Just go with it.
  She's almost done with the second book in the trilogy.
  I’m actually like seven to ten scenes away from finishing the first draft of book two, which I need to do, like, tomorrow. I have to have it done for my own peace of mind. I want it to be done just because when you put a book out into the world it’s not just yours anymore, so it’s very important to me to have a very clear sense of where the story is going before I get influenced by other people’s desires for where they want the story to go.

  She has a very specific person in mind for the role of Saran in the movie.
  The one person my heart would explode for would be if Idris Elba was King Saran. I would have pictures of him on my screen and then I would write a scene with [Saran]...but I’ll see pictures of anyone together and I’ll be like, "Oh look, it’s Zélie and Amari!" There was a picture of Zendaya and John Boyega and I was like, "Oh my god, it’s Tzain and Amari," and then there was a picture of Tessa Thompson and Michael B. Jordan and I was like, "Oh my god it’s Tzain and Amari." You know how plays have multiple casts? I want multiple versions, with everyone I love.
  This interview has been edited and condensed.

• Tomi Adeyemi Website - http://www.tomiadeyemi.com/

  Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and creative writing coach based in San Diego, California. After graduating Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature, she received a fellowship that allowed her to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil. When she’s not working on her novels or watching Scandal, she can be found blogging and teaching creative writing to her 4,500 subscribers at tomiadeyemi.com. Her website has been named one of the 101 best websites for writers by Writer’s Digest.
  Her debut West African YA Fantasy novel is CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE (Holt Books for Young Readers/Macmillan). The CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE movie is in development at Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions with Karen Rosenfelt and Marty Bowen (Twilight, Maze Runner, The Fault In Our Stars) producing it.
  If you want to know everything important about her and her stories, you can read this blog post: Why I Write, Telling A Story That Matters.
  If you're an aspiring author, check out her writing tips and free writing resource library here.

Adeyemi, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone: Legacy of Orisha, Book 1

Jennifer Miskec
Voice of Youth Advocates. 41.1 (Apr. 2018): p68.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
5Q * 4P * S
Adeyemi, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone: Legacy of Orisha, Book 1. Henry Holt/Macmillan, March 2018. 544p. $18.99. 978-1-250-17097-2.
Zelie is an apt pupil, a trained fighter desperate to show Mama Agba and the rest of her community that she is a worthy defender of her Diviners' culture. Zelie remembers the time before, when magic was a way of life in her West Africa city of Orisha, when Maji and non-magical people coexisted, when her mother was a powerful Reaper who could summon souls. When King Saran eradicated magic, killing and burying the Maji traditions he felt threatened by, Diviners lost their powers--and their hope. Although they secretly maintain their culture, it is not until an ancient scroll is uncovered that the magic begins to return. Zelie, her brother Tzain, and the king's own daughter embark on a dangerous quest to bring a sunstone, a scroll, and a bone dagger--relics of the old magic--back to Zelie's people.
This book, with its movie deal already made, will be the next "big thing." It is the perfect book follow-up to the movie, Black Panther, too. Full of action and layered with social commentary--and a touch of romance--this alternating-narrative novel extends beyond typical marketing categories to appeal to readers of many genres, from high fantasy fans to lovers of complex books with smart political commentary. This is an exceptional debut from the author and will have a huge audience desperately waiting for more. Children of Blood and Bone is perfect for fans of Nnedi Okorafor, Nancy Farmer, and Angie Thomas.--Jennifer Miskec.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Miskec, Jennifer. "Adeyemi, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone: Legacy of Orisha, Book 1." Voice of Youth Advocates, Apr. 2018, p. 68. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A536746185/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=160af185. Accessed 23 May 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A536746185

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE

Annie Metcalf
BookPage. (Mar. 2018): p28.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 BookPage
http://bookpage.com/
Full Text:
CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE By Tomi Adeyemi Holt, $18.99, 544 pages ISBN 9781250170972, audio, eBook available Ages 14 and up
FANTASY
A debut that exceeds the hype
Tomi Adeyemi's hefty fantasy debut--set in a kingdom with traditions and mythology reminiscent of Nigeria and greater West Africa--is an astounding feat of storytelling and world-building.
Seventeen-year-old Zelie is a diviner, one who is born with the ability to perform gods-given magic and easily distinguishable by their white hair. When their magic fully manifests, diviners can become maji--but that was before the cruel king of Orisha ordered an anti-magic raid that killed Zelie's mother. Since the raid, magic has disappeared, and diviners have been relegated to second-class citizens.
When hotheaded, impulsive Zelie and her nondiviner brother, Tzain, go to the market in the nearby capital, they end up helping a young woman escape the city guards. The girl turns out to be Amari, princess of Ori'sha, who has discovered the reason magic disappeared--and a possible means to get it back. However, next in line for the throne is Amari's older brother, Inan, who is determined to thwart the trio's plan. But Inan has a secret of his own: There is a power awakening within him that connects him to the magic he fears and to his enemy, Zelie.
This epic is filled with fascinating landscapes, complex mythology and nuanced characters coping with a world on the brink of massive change. The royals must confront their power, privilege and the horrific deeds of the king, while Zelie and Tzain reckon with the psychological ripples of their mother's death. Unmistakably descended from traditional high fantasy, Children of Blood and Bone is perfectly positioned to join the ranks of sprawling speculative worlds for teens, bringing with it a much-needed Afrocentric perspective.
REVIEW BY ANNIE METCALF

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Metcalf, Annie. "CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE." BookPage, Mar. 2018, p. 28. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A529292028/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=63e44eed. Accessed 23 May 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A529292028

Adeyemi, Tomi: CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE

Kirkus Reviews. (Feb. 15, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Adeyemi, Tomi CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE Henry Holt (Young Adult Fiction) $18.99 3, 6 ISBN: 978-1-250-17097-2
Seventeen-year-old Zelie and companions journey to a mythic island seeking a chance to bring back magic to the land of Orisha, in a fantasy world infused with the textures of West Africa.
Dark-skinned Zelie is a diviner--someone with latent magical abilities indicated by the distinctive white hair that sets them apart from their countrymen. She saves Princess Amari, who is on the run from her father, King Saran, after stealing the scroll that can transform diviners into magic-wielding maji, and the two flee along with Zelie's brother. The scroll vanished 11 years ago during the king's maji genocide, and Prince Inan, Amari's brother, is sent in hot pursuit. When the trio learns that the impending solstice offers the only chance of restoring magic through a connection to Nana Baruku, the maternal creator deity, they race against time--and Inan--to obtain the final artifact needed for their ritual. Over the course of the book allegiances shift and characters grow, change, and confront traumas culminating in a cliffhanger ending that will leave readers anxiously awaiting the next installment. Well-drawn characters, an intense plot, and deft writing make this a strong story. That it is also a timely study on race, colorism, power, and injustice makes it great.
Powerful, captivating, and raw--Adeyemi is a talent to watch. Exceptional. (Fantasy. 14-adult)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Adeyemi, Tomi: CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527248105/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=3edc4f21. Accessed 23 May 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A527248105

Children of Blood and Bone

Sarah Hunter
Booklist. 114.11 (Feb. 1, 2018): p48.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* Children of Blood and Bone. By Tomi Adeyemi. Mar. 2018.448p. Holt, $18.99 (9781250170972). Gr. 9-12.
Magic is gone in Zelie's kingdom; it was violently eradicated by power-hungry King Saran, and anyone with the capacity for magic abilities--the maji, who all have snow-white hair--is now a second-class citizen. But Zelie holds tight to the old stories, and she's secretly learning to fight, unwilling to take the unjust treatment of her people lying down. Meanwhile, Saran's daughter, Amari, has escaped her cruel father's palace with a relic containing the power to reignite magic among maji, and after a chance run-in with Zelie and her brother, Tzain, the trio traverses the kingdom, hoping to use the relic to restore magic to every maji. But Amari's own brother, Inan, who's convinced magic is too dangerous to permit, is hot on their trail. Adeyemi's expansive debut plunges readers into a dense, vivid world full of intriguing politics, evocative magic, and brutal violence. Cinematic pacing, alternating viewpoints, and well-choreographed action make the pages fly toward the cliff-hanger ending, which will surely leave readers eager for the next installment. Though she often uses tried-and-true fantasy tropes, Adeyemi keeps it fresh with an all-black cast of characters, a meaningful emphasis on fighting for justice, a complex heroine saving her own people, and a brand of magic made more powerful by the strength of heritage and ancestry. Perfect for fans of the expansive fantasy worlds of Leigh Bardugo, Daniel Jose Older, and Sabaa Tahir. --Sarah Hunter

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This debut trilogy opener is already building lots of buzz, thanks to a movie deal in the works and a huge marketing campaign.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Hunter, Sarah. "Children of Blood and Bone." Booklist, 1 Feb. 2018, p. 48. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527771915/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b777dd20. Accessed 23 May 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A527771915

Children of Blood and Bone

Publishers Weekly. 265.1 (Jan. 1, 2018): p58.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi. Holt, $18.99 (544p) ISBN 9781-250-17097-2

Eleven years ago, King Saran cemented his grip on the throne by banishing magic from Ori'sha and slaughtering the realm's maji--Zelie Adebola's mother included. The maji's descendants--dark-skinned, white-haired people called diviners--have lived under tyranny ever since, but now there is cause for hope. Thanks to information gleaned from Saran's kindhearted daughter, Amari, 17-year-old Zelie has a chance to restore magic to Ori'sha and activate a new generation of maji. First, though, Zelie, Amari, and Zelie's brother Tzain must outrun the crown prince, Inan, who is determined to finish what his father started by eradicating magic for good. Book one in the Ori'sha Legacy trilogy, Adeyemi's devastating debut is a brutal, beautiful tale of revolution, faith, and star-crossed love. By making tangible the power that comes from embracing one's heritage, Adeyemi conjures a story that resonates with magic both literal and figurative while condemning apathy in the face of injustice. Complex characters, colossal stakes, and a kaleidoscopic narrative captivate, and the book's punishing pace catapults readers to a jaw-dropping conclusion that poses as many questions as it answers. Ages 14-up. Agent: Alexandra Machinist and Hillary Jacobson, IC M. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Children of Blood and Bone." Publishers Weekly, 1 Jan. 2018, p. 58. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A522125055/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=21624e17. Accessed 23 May 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A522125055

ADEYEMI, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone

Donald Peebles
School Library Journal. 64.3 (Mar. 2018): p112+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
* ADEYEMI, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone. 544p. Holt. Mar. 2018. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781250170972.
Gr 9 Up--Zelie Adebola, 17, remembers the night of the raid in her village 11 years earlier. Her mama was chained by her neck and lynched with other maji by the forces of ruthless King Saran of Orisha. King Saran hates magic and considers it the source of all evil, so he targets and exterminates the maji, who worship ancestors and practice magic. Now, they live hopelessly as servants, slaves, Stockers, and prisoners. Zelie strives to bring back magic in Orisha, so she becomes the main target of King Saran's maji cleansing campaign. She sets out on her spiritual journey with her athletic brother Tzain and pet lioness Nailah. They encounter an unexpected ally. Princess Amari of Orisha escapes from her estate of Lagose after witnessing the murder of Binta, her maji best friend and handmaiden, at her father's merciless hands. Zelie, Tzain, and Amari go on the run to restore magic in Orisha. Adeyemi's debut and series opener is a revelation. She has brilliantly woven the Yoruba language and culture into a complex and epic tale. Readers will appreciate the intergenerational cast. Teens won't feel lost in this lengthy tome because of the excellent use of flashbacks and backstories. The violence can be extreme at times, but it doesn't feel exploitative, and themes of female empowerment make this especially relevant. VERDICT This extraordinary literary work offers a refreshing YA fantasy with an all-West African cast of characters that should be on every shelf.--Donald Peebles, Brooklyn Public Library

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Peebles, Donald. "ADEYEMI, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone." School Library Journal, Mar. 2018, p. 112+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A529863588/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e02ef11d. Accessed 23 May 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A529863588

'Children of Blood and Bone' stirs you to the core

Charisse Jones
USA Today. (Mar. 13, 2018): Lifestyle: p08B.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/
Full Text:
Byline: Charisse Jones, USA TODAY
Children of Blood and Bone (Henry Holt, 544 pp., ****) is a debut novel that is nearly impossible to put down.
While Tomi Adeyemi's Africa-inspired fantasy was written for young adults, readers of all ages will be captivated by this engrossing tale that leaves you as eager to see the resurrection of the Orishan gods and their celestial gifts as the novel's protagonists.
Zelie Adebola is the young heroine, robbed of her magical birthright in the kingdom of Orisha by a brutal ruler and then charged with restoring those powers to her people. Like most heroes, her journey is as emotional as it is literal, and we become invested in her growth as she travels through the mountains and forests of her homeland in search of the talismans that for her loom like hidden treasure.
The strongest fiction also traffics in truths, holding up a mirror to humanity in all its messiness. Through the adventures of Zelie, as well as the young royals Amari and Inan, we experience themes that are universal.
These are children straining to shine brightly in the eyes of their ever-disappointed parents. These are young people who have at times been too eager to leap into an adult world, and who, in other moments, demonstrate wisdom, courage and compassion that far exceeds that of the grown-ups who surround them.
Children of Blood and Bone also explores ideas that are far darker -- the brutality that too often accompanies power, the repression that follows fear of the other, the fragility of memory.
Such weighty topics are tackled amid a landscape that is indeed magical. Orishan gods spring to life in a mystical place called Chandomble, and massive horned lionaires roam among the jackalberry trees. It is hard not to be swept away by the vivid vistas and florid language that fill the novel's pages.
Fox 2000 has optioned Blood and Bone, and it is easy to see how the story could translate to the screen. When the scent of the sea arises with magical blue wisps, you can practically smell it. When Zelie remembers her murdered mother conjuring shadowy armies of the dead, you can see it. When the village of Ilorin burns to the ground, its residents cowering in agony and fear, you feel it.
This is the first in a planned trilogy. Based on this first taste, readers -- after they turn the last page -- will likely start ticking off the days until they can curl up once again and immerse themselves in the magic of Orisha.
CAPTION(S):
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Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Jones, Charisse. "'Children of Blood and Bone' stirs you to the core." USA Today, 13 Mar. 2018, p. 08B. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530970092/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b311f35c. Accessed 23 May 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A530970092

'Children of Blood and Bone' is a sweeping epic, perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and 'Black Panther'

Katie Ward Beim-Esche
The Christian Science Monitor. (Mar. 7, 2018): Arts and Entertainment:
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 The Christian Science Publishing Society
http://www.csmonitor.com/About/The-Monitor-difference
Full Text:
Byline: Katie Ward Beim-Esche
How did we get so lucky with this spring's young adult novels? The March releases alone are just *Italian chef kiss*.
At the top of the class is Tomi Adeyemi's flawless YA fantasy, "Children of Blood and Bone," which has already been snapped up in a giant movie deal. Nigerian-American Adeyemi, who has studied West African mythology and culture in Brazil, puts her knowledge on glorious display in "Blood and Bone." Through nuanced characters and exquisite worldbuilding, Adeyemi's thunderous debut explores race, power, magic, and identity.
The land of Orisha was once full of magic. Ten clans of maji, identifiable by their white hair, represented a tensome of deities, each with their own power. Tiders governed the waves; Connectors could manipulate minds; Healers restored people; Reapers ushered them into a peaceful afterlife; and so on.
But after rogue maji killed members of the kosidan (or non-magic) monarchy eleven years ago, magic seemed to disappear; some said the gods took it away. A furious King Saran, seizing the moment, ordered every adult maji killed in a genocide later known as the Raid. Since then, those of maji descent (known as diviners, since their gifts have not manifested) are imprisoned, used as slave labor, taxed at impossible rates, called "maggots," and abused by guards everywhere.
One such diviner is our heroine, Zelie Adebola. Her mother, a Reaper, was publicly murdered in the Raid.
"Mama used to say that in the beginning, white hair was a sign of the powers of heaven and earth. It held beauty and virtue and love, it meant we were blessed by the gods above," Zelie says. "But when everything changed, magic became a thing to loathe. Our heritage transformed into a thing to hate."
Zelie, her kosidan father, and her older brother, a protective athlete named Tzain, were left to scrape together an impoverished, post-traumatic life under the monarchy's boot heel. Tzain, Zelie says with disgust, "wants to believe that playing by the monarchy's rules will keep us safe, but nothing can protect us when those rules are rooted in hate."
Meanwhile, in the palace, Saran's children, Princess Amari and Prince Inan, have been raised by their paranoid, sadistic father to believe that magic is the source of all evil in Orisha. When an ancient magical artifact surfaces - a scroll that, when touched, reawakens a diviner's gift and transforms them into maji - the king swears to destroy it. But when sheltered Amari sees him use the scroll to reawaken her diviner best friend's magic - and then he slays her on the spot - she steals the scroll and escapes.
Amari, Tzain, and Zelie, whose magic the scroll has now awakened, find themselves on a quest to collect two more artifacts that, if used with the scroll in a sacred ritual, can bring magic back to Orisha. But the clock is ticking and they're hunted by Inan, who suddenly finds the hated magic growing within himself, as well as a powerful connection to Zelie that neither understands.
Whereas Zelie describes her magic as feeling like life itself has returned to her, a giant breath after eleven years of drowning, Inan calls his gift a curse, poison, virus, infection. Something toxic that must be oppressed, removed, avenged. The two are diametrically opposed but inextricably linked, and when they finally connect, the physical and spiritual clash is like a sonic boom.
"Magic is the root of all our problems," Inan bellows during one confrontation. "It's the root of Orisha's pain!"
"Your father is the root of Orisha's pain," Zelie retorts.
"My father is your king. A king trying to protect his people," Inan says. "He took magic away so Orisha would be safe."
"That monster took magic away so that he could slaughter thousands. He took magic away so the innocent couldn't defend themselves!" yells Zelie. "Our lack of power and our oppression are one and the same."
As Adeyemi explores these tensions, her prose gallops at a breakneck pace from one outstanding plot point to another. With precision and thrumming intensity, Adeyemi crafts 540-plus pages of relentless, focused action with nary a blurry moment. I was never lost, never aimless, never distracted by a fudged narrative sequence; really, it left me in awe. The first page alone raised the hairs on the back of my neck.
Her dialogue is also fluid and natural. I eagerly await (but do not envy) the work of audiobook narrators like my oldest sister, who will get to grapple with Yoruba pronunciation throughout.
"Children of Blood and Bone" deserves every extraordinary piece of praise lavished upon it, plus one hefty disclaimer - due to graphic violence and torture scenes, the "ages 14 and up" footnote must be respected.
This sweeping epic is perfect for fans of Laini Taylor or Tamora Pierce. If you enjoyed "Black Panther," the Elder Scrolls video game series, or Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy, Tomi Adeyemi's gale-force gust of fresh air will move you.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Beim-Esche, Katie Ward. "'Children of Blood and Bone' is a sweeping epic, perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and 'Black Panther'." Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530219036/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=220c3c0e. Accessed 23 May 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A530219036

Miskec, Jennifer. "Adeyemi, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone: Legacy of Orisha, Book 1." Voice of Youth Advocates, Apr. 2018, p. 68. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A536746185/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=160af185. Accessed 23 May 2018. Metcalf, Annie. "CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE." BookPage, Mar. 2018, p. 28. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A529292028/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=63e44eed. Accessed 23 May 2018. "Adeyemi, Tomi: CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527248105/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=3edc4f21. Accessed 23 May 2018. Hunter, Sarah. "Children of Blood and Bone." Booklist, 1 Feb. 2018, p. 48. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527771915/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b777dd20. Accessed 23 May 2018. "Children of Blood and Bone." Publishers Weekly, 1 Jan. 2018, p. 58. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A522125055/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=21624e17. Accessed 23 May 2018. Peebles, Donald. "ADEYEMI, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone." School Library Journal, Mar. 2018, p. 112+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A529863588/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e02ef11d. Accessed 23 May 2018. Jones, Charisse. "'Children of Blood and Bone' stirs you to the core." USA Today, 13 Mar. 2018, p. 08B. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530970092/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b311f35c. Accessed 23 May 2018. Beim-Esche, Katie Ward. "'Children of Blood and Bone' is a sweeping epic, perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and 'Black Panther'." Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530219036/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=220c3c0e. Accessed 23 May 2018.

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