Tomi Adeyemi

Winner of the Tonight Show Summer Reads with Jimmy Fallon. 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. Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’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 Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden. Zélie 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, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie 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.

Children of Blood and Bone

Instant New York Times Bestseller New York Times Notable Children's Books of 2018 TIME Top 10 Best YA and Children's Books of 2018 NPR's Book Concierge 2018 Great Reads List Buzzfeed's 24 Best YA Books of 2018 Bustle's Top 25 Best Young Adults Books of 2018 2018 Kirkus Prize Finalist YALSA William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist Paste Magazine’s 30 Best YA Novels of 2018 Newsweek’s 61 Best Books from 2018 Boston Globe’s Best Children's Books of 2018 Publishers Weekly Best YA Books of 2018 School Library Journal Best Books of 2018 With five starred reviews, Tomi Adeyemi’s West African-inspired fantasy debut, and instant #1 New York Times Bestseller, conjures a world of magic and danger, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir. They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise. Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were 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 an enemy. "A phenomenon." —Entertainment Weekly “The epic I’ve been waiting for.” —New York Times-bestselling author Marie Lu “You will be changed. You will be ready to rise up and reclaim your own magic!” —New York Times-bestselling author Dhonielle Clayton “The next big thing in literature and film.” —Ebony “One of the biggest young adult fiction debut book deals of theyear.” —Teen Vogue This title has Common Core connections. #1 New York Times bestseller, March 14, 2018

morgan wysocarski

Zelie Adebola remembers when the soil of Or sha 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 killed, leaving Zelie without a mother and her people without hope.

I was in such an awe the entire book. That epilogue left me with wanting more and more. It was so heartfelt at times, my heart aches for all the injustices. It was a truly great book and story. 

Tsu 💙

I wish I had liked this book, but I swear it was so hard to. The story had so much promise, and I was really interested in exploring west african culture and mythology in a fantasy novel. What a huge disappointment.

I hated the main character from the beginning. Has to be one of the most selfish, idiotic, and just downright annoying characters I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading about. She had literally zero redeeming qualities and everyone kept pushing this idea that she was somehow a competent person. I hated her so so much. Absolutely incompetent and stupid, not only does she cause the destruction of her own village but then immediately falls in love with the man who burned it down. Just… ugh.

The romance between Inan and Zelie was incredibly stupid and undermined the very message the book was trying to put across. Why have your main character, who’s fighting against her people’s oppression, fall in love with her oppressor?? I hate how the author tried to redeem Inan. Like he didn’t care about all the people he’d killed and helped oppress, til miraculously he falls in love with one of them and understands “killing = bad”, “oppression not good”. Even after his so called redemption he still spewed nonsense and still showed that he didn’t really understand that him and his father were in the wrong in the first place. Absolutely ruineddd this book for me.

The writing was okay, but truly got annoying at times. It was insanely repetitive. If I ever read the words “duty over self” ever again im going to lose it. I get repeating a phrase or a quote to emphasize the emotional importance, but jesus christ!!!!! Also the author used “Dammit” a lot…. pissed me off too.

The pacing was weird, days were flying by like nothing, but the passage of time didn’t even make sense sometimes. Plus it was supposed to be emphasized that the characters were on a time crunch but it felt like time slowed down and sped up whenever the author needed it to for the plot. 

bel 

I wish I had liked this book, but I swear it was so hard to. The story had so much promise, and I was really interested in exploring west african culture and mythology in a fantasy novel. What a huge disappointment.

I hated the main character from the beginning. Has to be one of the most selfish, idiotic, and just downright annoying characters I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading about. She had literally zero redeeming qualities and everyone kept pushing this idea that she was somehow a competent person. I hated her so so much. Absolutely incompetent and stupid, not only does she cause the destruction of her own village but then immediately falls in love with the man who burned it down. Just… ugh.

The romance between Inan and Zelie was incredibly stupid and undermined the very message the book was trying to put across. Why have your main character, who’s fighting against her people’s oppression, fall in love with her oppressor?? I hate how the author tried to redeem Inan. Like he didn’t care about all the people he’d killed and helped oppress, til miraculously he falls in love with one of them and understands “killing = bad”, “oppression not good”. Even after his so called redemption he still spewed nonsense and still showed that he didn’t really understand that him and his father were in the wrong in the first place. Absolutely ruineddd this book for me.

The writing was okay, but truly got annoying at times. It was insanely repetitive. If I ever read the words “duty over self” ever again im going to lose it. I get repeating a phrase or a quote to emphasize the emotional importance, but jesus christ!!!!! Also the author used “Dammit” a lot…. pissed me off too.

The pacing was weird, days were flying by like nothing, but the passage of time didn’t even make sense sometimes. Plus it was supposed to be emphasized that the characters were on a time crunch but it felt like time slowed down and sped up whenever the author needed it to for the plot. 

Emily Burns

What a stunning, gorgeously woven, incredibly important novel. I am floored.

Mercy Jepchirchir Barno

I absolutely loved this book. With each page, it just kept getting better and better; this is one of those books that have you by the grip. I couldn't put it down one bit. Like no words can explain what this book had made me feel; from heartbreak to happiness, sadness, and such, some parts made me want to even cry. This book is amazing and I would personally highly recommend it to anyone who's into Fantasy/YA kinda books. You will not regret it.

kelsey

“let them be afriad.” let them taste the terror they make us swallow.

oh wow. so i love how the whole book was a parallel to police brutality. 

everything about this book was beautiful (except i couldn't stand inan and tzain started getting on my bad side) but i can't wait for more.

arwen

abby .˚｡⋆ ༊ .˚｡⋆

Amazing writing, amazing characters, amazing plot.. this book absolutely broke me and i absolutely love everything about it and i can not wait for book #2 i need it now!

Luke Harkness

A truly fantastic fantasy book with a unique setting. Featuring an immersive world, believable characters and wonderously imaginative concepts, this is one of the best fantasy books I've read in a while. On top of these aforementioned positives, it features plenty of tense moments, cool action scenes and twists and turns for days! Definitely recommend for all!

Cody Degen

I liked the setting and themes of the book very much but didn't care too much for the characters. I also felt there was a lack of specificity in the detail that made it difficult for me to visualize what was happening in my head. To be fair, that's somewhat common in YA so I may be asking too much of the genre.

Madison Grady

Melissa Palmer

Book #20 Read in 2019
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

This is a young adult fantasy book, the first in a series, where people are trying to bring magic back while others will do anything to keep it from returning. This book has tons of action, interesting characters, fights, romance etc to keep readers engaged. I would recommend it to both high school and adult readers.

Sha-Tyra Clausell

Perfect from Cover to Cover, even the author's note.

Moth

I loved everything about this book. It lived up to the big hype, which isn't something books have been doing for me lately. For fans of Avatar The Last Airbender who want something with the same spirit and a diverse cast of characters, this book is for you. We follow Zelie, a young diviner who with a chance run in with the princess of her kingdom changes everything when the long lost magic of their world is reignited in her. Her, Amari, and Tzain (Zelie's brother) are sent on a mission by the gods to bring magic back to their world. But Amari's father stands in the way, having taken the magic from the world to start with and who killed the original maji in a raid to set an example, including Zelie's mother. 

Everything about this book is magic. The story is pack full of adventure, keeps you completely addicted to the end to know the answers. Zelie is tough and stubborn, which makes you either love or hate her (in my case utterly love). She's suffered a lot, leaving a hard shell around her and she's fierce for the people she cares about. Of course, there's a hate to love story in this, which was wonderful, but ends sadly. A character, Inan, did bother me in the fact he went back and forth constantly, making himself suffer to meet his father's approval. Which is his character. He's conflicted and just wants to do what he's been taught is right, even if it isn't.

The writing was amazing. The story and characters amazing. And the end left me both confused and desperate for me to better understand. I honestly can't wait for the next book. It was an awesome ride that I 100% believe everyone should read.

Taking off half a star because I really feel this should have been a standalone book. The overall plot and everything comes to a head and gets resolved, I feel like leaving it on a cliffhanger just means I now am in the middle of a series that doesn't need to exist as a series. The epilogue could have been longer and taken place 5 years in the future with an overview of the rebuilding of these characters lives and it would have been an amazing ending that wrapped up an epic story.

I loved the book for the most part though! It's definitely a book I can see myself re-reading in the future for the vibes and story and especially the characters. I really love how they develop the female characters through the book. 

Just not sure I will read the second book, it feels unnecessary. 

Emma Lechner

Taking off half a star because I really feel this should have been a standalone book. The overall plot and everything comes to a head and gets resolved, I feel like leaving it on a cliffhanger just means I now am in the middle of a series that doesn't need to exist as a series. The epilogue could have been longer and taken place 5 years in the future with an overview of the rebuilding of these characters lives and it would have been an amazing ending that wrapped up an epic story.

I loved the book for the most part though! It's definitely a book I can see myself re-reading in the future for the vibes and story and especially the characters. I really love how they develop the female characters through the book. 

Just not sure I will read the second book, it feels unnecessary. 

Danny Werhane

alexandra

OH MY GKDBQJABWIWHSIAJ WHAT DID I JUST READ I'M SO OVERWHELMED BY MY EMOTIONS

Aishling

** spoiler alert **
           This is less of review and more about me getting my thoughts out on the book. I feel like Inan changed his mind about magic too quick midway through the book. He was so assured it was awful and then all of a sudden he’s okay with it and Zelie. And then again he turned around and changed his mind. I just felt like it was a bit out of place. If he’d taken longer to come around to magic it would’ve been more believable.

farah

** spoiler alert **
           oh god. I feel harsh rating it as 2 stars, because as a YA fantasy nove, its probably 3-3.5 stars. But the fact it has expanded beyond the general YA audience means I don't have to be too gentle

What did I like?

I think the world and setting were interesting, I especially thought having Inan struggle with what to do regarding magic was a good idea. I can't say I would be totally pro-magic myself.

The intial chapters and the setup was well done as it slowly introduces you to the world - though was a tad too slow and payoff wasn't worth all the detail that was given to the siblings home village.

What didn't I like?

Oh god (again). The romance between the prince and Zélie . It blossomed in a matter of days. The entire book takes place over the course of about...3 weeks? Yet Zélie manages to fall for the guy who DESTROYED HER VILLAGE (I REPEAT: DESTROYED HER VILLAGE), in a matter of days? This bitch it crazy. 

Ok but trash YA romance aside, as a fantasy novel there are many other glaring issues.

1 - magic system. if Zélie declared she could make a ship using her magic, I'd just nod and move on. That's how poorly the magic system has been described. Author could learn from Sanderson who handles this part very well

2 - world building. While many attempts are made to flesh out a world, it's so shallow I feel like I know almost nothing. How were magi's functioning in society pre-raid? What were the organisational structures? How did they learn their powers? Could you get better or was it talent? How is magic power as a resource, can same-type mages work together? How about other countries mages? It gives me HP vibes due to how the whole magical world seems to focus on a single country

speaking of HP.....O. My. Fucking. God. Love is the ultimate sacrifice? The blood of her father? Seeing her mother and being told to go back to the living after sharing how proud she is and how she has always been watching and will always be watching????? Im done

My first dip back into YA fantasy since I was young and I could not have chosen a better book! While the pacing can be slow at times, the ending of this story and the various plot twists that I did NOT see coming kept me enveloped in Adeyemi’s world of Orïsha. Overall a great read and I can’t wait to keep going with this series. (PS you don’t want to miss the author’s note at the end!)

Angie Van Sprang

dija

CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE EFF JUST HAPPENED BECAUSE IM SHOOK WHAT IS THIS WHY IS IT HOW DID IT HAPPEN WHY 


RTC when I'm no longer shooked

Jamieson

“As long as we don't have magic, they will never treat us with respect. They need to know we can hit them back. If they burn our homes, we burn theirs, too.” 


oh my god Adeyemi has introduced me to one of my favourite fantasy worlds ever! this book has soo many things to love. it's got magic, such an awesome world, amazing characters and AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER VIBES. Seriously feeling giddy about the movie already because this book is gonna look AMAZING on screen. 

I absolutely adored the world for this one. It's inspired by West African mythology and it was probably my favourite aspect. Magic is literally ALWAYS a yes from me and this book had so freakin much magic. Having ten different types of magic users was so interesting and I loved how well explained and interesting the magic system was. The entire world is just so rich and well developed if you LOVE fantasy worlds you're probably definitely gonna fall in love with this one. 

The plot and pacing was RIGHT ON. The book was gripping and pound-pulsing, not a single second of this book was wasted which is soo important in a 500+ page book. But it didn't even feel long because something is literally always happening. I also loved the set up of the plot, if you love quest plots you'll like this. It feels ALOT like season one of Avatar and Avatar in general which gets me into ...

THE AVATAR VIBES listen I am the biggest Avatar: The Last Airbender fan and SO IT THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK and you can so tell. So many things gave me vibes, like the brother/sister pairing, the solstice deadline, the prince villain and having to band together to save the world. 

In addition to all this, the author infuses this book with so many parallels between Orïsha and our own world, and it was so well incorporated. I really think this book had so much to SAY but was also just pure genuine entertainment and really well written fantasy. 


  “I teach you to be warriors in the garden so you will never be gardeners in the war.” 



the characters were also such a delight. 
🍃 Zelie our main character is fearless and brave and Down To Fight and I love her soo much, easily my favourite character. Her character growth is amazing and her chapters were my favourite. 
🍃 Amari is a runaway princess dedicated to avenging her friend Binta. I loved watching Amari develop from naive and unsure to strong and brave and her friendship with Zelie is iconic (and gay)
🍃 Tzain is Zelie's brother and he is SO SWEEET I love him. He's such a good soft boy. I loved he and Zelie's sibling relationship and how it was so central to the story. 
🍃 Inan was probably my least favourite character because I was unsure how to feel about him but I think his arc promises to be interesting in the future


  “As it fades, I see the truth - in plain sight, yet hidden all along. We are all children of blood and bone. All instruments of vengeance and virtue."


The only thing I didn't like so much about this book is subjective - but it's the writing. There wasn't necessarily anything wrong with it, it just didn't always click with me. Sometimes the writing would take me out the story and the style was just weird for me to follow. I have this issue with many books written in this style which is more straightforward (???? don't know how else to explain it honestly) than lyrical. 


unfortunately I also wasn't that sold on the romance ! It just didn't really reel me in or peak my interest but THERE ARE TWO OTHER ROMANCES I REALLY WANT TO HAPPEN. I think the main romance /was/ a bit insta-lovey though and I didn't really get the connection there. 


  “Children of Blood and Bone was written during a time where I kept turning on the news and seeing stories of unarmed black men, women, and children being shot by the police. I felt afraid and angry and helpless, but this book was the one thing that made me feel like I could do something about it. I told myself that if just one person could read it and have their hearts or minds changed, then I would've done something meaningful against a problem that often feels so much bigger than myself.” 


OVERALL THIS BOOK IS GREAT AND YOU SHOULD READ IT if you're a fantasy fan it's a must read, honestly. the magic system is just so well written, and the diversity is so beautiful. This book will have you flipping the pages because it's all action, action action. I am so glad this book is getting hyped and Children of Virtue and Vengeance coming in 2019 is gonna blow everyones socks off I just KNOW IT

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. Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled - Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie'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 Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden. Zélie 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, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie 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.

Beatriz Aguiar

The beginning of this book was slow. It took me a long while to get into it. Couln't see a reason for the quest and I wasn't invested in the characters, so I put it down. When I picked it up again and got to the halfway point I knew it wouldn't be too hard to finish the book then. While the characters still felt too one-dimensional for my tastes, the plot and social commentary were interesting enough to keep me going. I recognise the importance of this book in the fantasy community and praise Tomi Adeyemi for this wonderful book with a good sisterhood, a female main character, the descriptions of someone with PTSD and the commentary.

Ontmoet Tomi Adeyemi op YALFest NL 2018! "The Orïsha Legacy Zélie heeft maar één kans om haar volk te redden... Deel 1 Ooit leefden er in Orïsha mensen met magische krachten. Tot een wrede koning besloot de maji, een minderheid met donkere huid en zilverwitte haren, te vervolgen. Zélie kan zich de nacht dat ze toe moest kijken hoe de handlangers van de koning haar moeder ophingen nog levendig herinneren. Sindsdien is magie een doodzonde en een donkere huid iets om op neer te kijken. Tien jaar later krijgt Zélie de kans om de magie terug te brengen naar Orïsha. Met de hulp van een prinses op de vlucht, moet ze uit handen zien te blijven van Inan, de kroonprins, die vastbesloten is de magie nu voorgoed uit te bannen. Gevaar ligt overal op de loer in Orïsha, maar het grootste gevaar schuilt misschien nog wel in haar groeiende gevoelens voor de vijand... Over Bloed en beenderen: 'Een van de grootste boekendeals voor een young adult-romandebuut van het jaar. Naast een meeslepend plot en een sterke heldin als hoofdpersoon, behandelt het boek grote thema's - als ras, politiegeweld, onderdrukking en macht - die op het moment ook in de wereld spelen.' Teen Vogue 'Complexe personages, een hoge inzet, en een caleidoscopisch narratief boeien, en het snelle tempo schiet de lezer naar een overweldigend slot dat net zo veel vragen als antwoorden heeft.' PW 'Het epos waar ik op heb gewacht.' Marie Lu, New York Times-bestsellerauteur van Legend en Warcross

Bloed en beenderen

lisa roeling 

*2,5 
I think the reason I didn't enjoy the book that much was because it was translated to Dutch. For the final part of the book I listened to the audiobook in English and I liked it much better.
The world building in this book is really well done though!!!

Sade A

A thoroughly dissappointing read. 
Before i dive into this review, i'd just like to say that i did like the premise of this book. I liked the fact that Tomi wanted to explore Yoruba mythology, i also absolutely loved the fact that she wanted to put Nigeria not just as a place representing Africa as a whole but a country with it's unique culture and all that - she failed in that though , but hey at least she didn't do the whole Africa is a country thing.

First off: Adeyemi had a chance really to properly explore yoruba mythology and you know just educate people but somewhere along the line everything started looking like a rebooted Netflix Version of your fave animie. How do you delete Olodumare, Olorun and Olofi and put Sky Mother??? Who is that? 

Then this Nigeria depicted in this book is so lazy. I know, i know, people might say it's fiction but Nigeria is a real ass place. The least you can if you're going to use real places and basically base the identity of your characters as Nigerians is to actually PROPERLY represent such a country. First of Nigeria is freaking huge. So when these characters were hot steping from Lagos - Ilorin - Sokoto in a matter of days i'm sorry i just couldn't roll with it. Then the weather, i mean c'mon snow in Ibadan??? Look i never saw snow until i lived outside Nigeria for 2 years. So this thing she does where she sort of uses weak token gestures to make these characters believable Nigerians is sad. I mean what is with this dashikis they were wearing? I didn't even see one mention of an Agbada or a fila or something. 

Now that i think about it, you're not even sure what era in Nigeria she's basing her characterisation of Nigeria on. I'm saying this because she mentions Gombe State & Gombe was created in 1996 out of Bauchi State. Also, the author makes it seem like it's just Yoruba that exists in the whole of Nigeria. I find it difficult to imagine for example that people in Sokoto are going to care one hoot for a yoruba deity. Nigeria has so many tribes who i'm sure obviously have their own mythologies and the author basically saying the whole Nigeria is yoruba is just like i said, a lazy depiction of Nigeria.

Then the hair. See. I've noticed authors want to write in black women/girls but never want to write them with real hair. HOW WERE ZELIE & AMARI'S HAIR BONE STRAIGHT? Did they have relaxers? Binta's hair is literally described as falling in "silky sheets",I mean how??? Inan describes Zelie hair like this "White locks that once fell in smooth sheets now cascade down her back in flowing waves" Ugh!!!! Forget the mushy description. But even when her hair is going natural, Tomi Adeyemi still refuses to give her the typical hair you would find on an average Nigerian girl. I mean except she was bi-racial...?? Was she bi-racial? This hair thing was a huge fail. 
 Could be wrong, but i honestly feel like she was pandering to her non African audience in terms of the hair & depiction of Nigeria. Which is why her characters for me almost feel like foreign Nigerians. I mean even the name of her main character is so not Yoruba. Fun fact: There's no 'z' in the yoruba alphabet so where did the name Zelie come from?

Let's dive into the plot proper...Which is frankly a hot mess. The magic system is completely unexplained which i felt was delibrately done in order to carry Inan's story arc. Then blood magic?? Really if anyone knows what that was all about, feel free to explain it to me please.
The constant need YA authors have to pair characters up like if that doesn't happen, the whole plot will spontaneously combust. The annoying, irritating fact that even though this author is a woman she couldn't make Zelie bad ass enough and stop being so damn emotional. 
We have so few bad ass female MC's, and the few YA authors manage to write, have their abilities forever overshadowed by falling in love with some freaking dramatic shit of a male character that cannot get his priorities right. 
Also whoa!!! The Avatar Last Airbender similarites were so glaring that i was unable to unsee them at every freaking point. 

I honestly feel the bar is basically set on the floor for YA novels, which is why someone can toss in a few Yoruba words, add a real African country in it for good measure, have a gaping plot hole in terms of the magic system, give characters magic willy nilly but still have everyone go awwww because hey guess what, i know i didn't tell you how it works but don't worry here's two beautiful characters falling in love don't stress yourself on how everything works. You want to know the deal with Blood magic? shhh shhhh here's two beautiful characters kissing.

 Miss me with this book!

Children of Blood and Bone

Reviews

Highlights