Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
- amandasbookcrookabc
- Apr 16, 2018
- 6 min read
"Live," his spirit breathes. "Whatever you do, survive" ~ Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi.
If there was ever a book that would get me out of my reviewing slump, it would be Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. If you haven't added this book to your TBR yet, do so immediately! In a world where YA Fantasy is every growing and expanding, you tend to see similar themes, heroes/heroines, love interests, that it gets to be a bit predictable at times. And yes, CBB certainly has themes that are prevalent in YA Fantasy, but it is oh, oh, so much more than that. CBB has relevance and connection to the real world in such a way that you can find something to relate to in at least one of the character's experiences. I'll break it down like this: not only is it the kind of riveting, edge of your seat, magical epic fantasy that we all love to indulge in, but it is also a story created from the context of very real world challenges our society is facing at this very moment. The author can explain it much better than I can, it is her story after all, and it is a story that deserves to be heard, and acknowledged. If you do pick up this story, I encourage you to read to the very end to her Author's Note that connects the experience of the characters in her story, to the Black Lives Matter movement, and experiences of Black children, women, and men today.
Children of Blood and Bone follows Zélie, a teenage divîner, a people gifted by the gods with the ability to wield magic. The reader learns in the beginning of the story that magic disappeared from Orïsha, the land that Zélie hails from, eleven years prior to the beginning of the book. The divîner's connection to the gods has been severed, and magic no longer rules the land. With magic gone, the enemies of the divîners take the opportunity to gain advantage over Zélie and her people and use their newly formed weakened state to kill and enslave them.
Soon, Zélie finds herself thrust into a journey she did not ask for, and tasked with restoring magic back to her people. Teamed up with an unlikely ally, she must brave the challenges ahead of her to survive the journey to the Holy Temple. This is a faced paced, exciting story that brings the reader through a non-stop magical journey, and you definitely do not want to miss this one. Adeyemi herself describes it as "Black Panther with magic," and she's not wrong!
The Characters:
After book one, I am already so in love with these characters, it kills me to have to wait for the next book in the series to come out next year. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of three different characters: Zélie, a divîner; the Orïshan princess, Amari; and her brother, the king's captain, Inan. Each of these characters have to go through an internal journey to grapple with their preconceived notions of the "other", something we could all stand to learn.
Zélie: strong willed and determined, the perfect female heroine for a YA fantasy. Zélie still has her flaws, she's a little brash, and quite impulsive. She must decided how to grapple with her preconceived notions about the royal family in order to survive the journey to the Temple. Trust does not come easy to her, with good reason, and she must rely on those she once thought would harm her. She is tested and tried, bent and broken, and she endures it all like the strong lionaire she is. She will become the girl you root for till the bitter end.
Tzain: fiercely protective and loyal, Tzain will be challenged in his own way when the limits of his loyalty are tested. He would go to the ends of the earth to save his sister, who seems to be ever thrusting herself into danger with little regard for the consequences. Tzain is almost like the little angel on your shoulder judging your every move giving you that, "should you really?" look. He must overcome his own inadequacies and learn to trust in other people's ability to be strong and make the right choices.
Amari: the girl who has been sparked into action by the brutality of her father's choices. She is the character who finds it within herself to do the right thing, even when everything in her world tells her she shouldn't. Amari might be my favorite character as her internal journey is fueled by her vision for a better, more accepting, and more caring world. She's an idealist, never spurned by the realities of the situation she and the other characters find themselves in. I love her and cannot wait to see where the journey takes her next.
Inan: the man with everything to lose, but also the most to gain, if only he starts thinking for himself. Inan's journey in this story was the most surprising to me in the best of ways. He was pushed and pulled by his circumstance, as the very core of who he was, was stripped down and burned away leaving him to build up his own understanding of himself and the world he thought he knew.
These. Characters. Oh. My. Stars. I love them.
The Plot:
This book was very faced paced and action packed. The story developed quickly which forced the characters to grow in important ways. Overall, I loved the journey and twists and turns, the 'OMG' moments, the sweet romanic moments, the heartbreaking moments. This book has it all!
One of the many things I loved about this book was the strong themes of family and friendship. Often times I feel YA fantasy does not take a close enough look at family ties, obligations, and relationships and how it impacts the choices that we make. We become so goggly eyed for the romance, we forget the other important relationships that tie us to our humanity. Adeyemi does this so well because it is a story built from her own experiences with family and culture, and she draws a lot of inspiration from her Nigerian roots. Since this story focuses so much on two sibling pairs, we are really drawn into how loyalty, family obligations, and sibling love impact each of the characters and the choices they make. I love this aspect of the book as I can relate to it so much in my own ways. The love that exists and develops between these characters will shatter, and mend, and break, and glue your heart.
Complaints Section:
So I had to really dig deep to find anything to complain about in this book, and it's not even something that would necessarily bother me, but might bother other people. The book is very faced paced, and the characters are thrust into situation after situation that it is hard to take a breather. Some people like this, some people prefer more character development. For me it worked, although some of the "feelings" developed or "realizations made" were very quick and seemed slightly unrealistic to develop in such a short time. With that being said, it all worked for me. It's a minuscule of a minuscule of a complaint really. Definitely not enough to NOT recommend it to everyone!
Finale:
I gave this book 5/5 stars. I love the characters and I love the story. I love the themes and the relatable aspects of the journey of the characters. Adeyemi had shared that her Nigerian culture was the inspiration for this story, and I found myself feeling grateful for the opportunity to learn about a culture I did not know a lot about. Even though it is a fantasy novel, the culture is there, and the cultural themes are there. I love that literature can give us new experiences and help us to learn about life from someone else's story. Reading forces you to shut up and listen, and for that I am grateful. I am grateful for this story that can teach you that although someone may be different than you, that they may look different than you, and be from somewhere different than where you are from, there are fundamental experiences as human beings that connect us. There are different stories deserving to be told, and deserving to be heard. Please read and support this story. You will be a very satisfied reader!
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