Reviews with content warning for Child death - Children of Blood and Bone

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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

88 reviews

marysunburn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The best way to describe Children of Blood and Bone is that it RIPS.
Juvenile, I know, but nothing could be more apt.

Children of Blood and Bone – from this point onward COBAB – is a chilling, action-packed, emotional and necessary fantasy saga that embodies like nothing I've ever seen before the sheer pain, rage and discomfort that comes from imperialism and oppression. From the moment we see our main character Zélie first wield her staff in combat we ache with her same desire to slam it onto the guts of whichever pawn of the king first comes her way, and we cheer for her whenever said desire is fulfilled.
Despite it being labeled young adult, COBAB is gritty and pulls no punches. Death is always present, a constant threat and a lived reality, that doesn't even spare the young and innocent. Or, to put it more bluntly, don't get too attached.
This constant stream of young blood is put in perspective once we read the conclusion of the book and we see how author Tomi Ayedemi was inspired by real-life events of police brutality and anti-black racism, many of which, such as the death of Tamir Rice, had very young victims. And despite the main villains being as black as the people he oppresses (there's no white people in this book except as background dressing in some of said villain's dialogue and analogies, which is very "main villain" of him), the parallels to these real-life acts of cruelty and vile prejudice ring just as true through the earnest, heartfelt portrayal of their demise, each one being remembered and commemorated by Zélie even after many chapters of vicissitudes and daring-do, and the genuine call to action and resistance that permeates each one of the pages.
Zélie is one of the best literary protagonists I've had the pleasure to come across. A passionate, vibrant young woman whose anger and indignation, thoroughly woven with a strong sense of morality and desire to do what's right, even if it's strategically inconvenient or seems impossible at first glance, drives the plot and her party through every obstacle like a righteous burst of energy.
She's surrounded by a well-developed and engaging cast, from rebellious princess Amari, who has the best character evolution in the books, to reluctant crown prince Inan, to Zelle's protective and level-headed brother Tzain, to even minor characters like Mama Agba and Admiral Kaea. Yet, in her defiant persistence and spirit, Zélie seems to dwarf them all, and when she lights up, so do we.

If there's anything in Children of Blood and Bone that doesn't spark joy, aside from the involved indignation at the villains' depravity and the many deaths, is the fact that even after six years since its release it's still not getting its due. A movie directed by Gina Prince-Blythewood has been announced, but nothing seems to be made of it and I'd not be surprised if the ever-delayed, ever-nebulous The Old Guard sequel comes first. If it does. But by all means, keep saying black and diverse books don't sell because people don't want them, while you peddle abusive Booktok alphahole tripe that recycles the status quo.

In the end, COBAB's world is as real as many things around us – and even more so than meritocracy.

Content Warnings

good_names_dont_exist's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“I know you’re scared, girls, but I also know that you can do this. Of all the days to trade in Lagos, you went today. Of all the people you could’ve approached in that market, you chose her. The gods are at work. They are blessing us with our gifts after all this time. You have to trust that they wouldn’t gamble with the fate of the maji. Trust in yourselves.”

TITLE—Children of Blood and Bone

SERIES—Legacy of Orïsha: Book 1

AUTHOR—Tomi Adeyemi

PUBLISHED—2018

PUBLISHER—Henry Holt Company

GENRE—YA fantasy

SETTING—Orïsha

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—dreamscapes, intricate fantasy worldbuilding inspired by Igbo & west African ecology, geography & mythology, classism & αpαrᎿheᎥd, bloodright magic system, magic clans & specialties, affiliated pantheon & patron deities, multi-pov narration, two sets of brother-sister MCs, legacy & familial expectation, duality of inherited power & inherited trauma, ft. fantasy tropes: contest, quest, magical artifacts, bloodright magic, & rituals, cool fight scenes

Summary:

“It is a book that I believe was born of the desire to awaken black minds and to flush out the poor representation and bad image that has been painted by the media to be what blackness is about. The book is full of appreciation of our skin which comes in all shades of brown, our massive hair that sits on heads like beautiful crowns, our nose, our physical might and mental capabilities and our culture. These are all the things that make us who we are. The way Tomi portrays blackness and the Yoruba culture of Nigeria in a different light made me cherish my ‘Africaness’ a little more and I’m thankful for it.”

— Oge Amarah, “A Contextual Review of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone”: https://bookoclock.medium.com/a-contextual-review-of-tomi-adeyemis-children-of-blood-and-bone-75fbf06ccb85

My thoughts:

Reading this book was very nostalgic for me as it was the first book I ever read & reviewed for my bookstagram. Adeyemi lovesss to “throw rocks” at her characters. After I read this book for the first time in 2018 I actually participated in an online writing course she was teaching back then & I still remember the different worksheets about plot development & remembering those lessons as I reread this story was a lot of fun.

The other half of the fun was remembering how much I genuinely love this book. The characters are so lovable & complex. I actually think Amari was my favorite on this reading—I just really appreciated her arc—but I also had an enormous amount of sympathy for Zelie. At first she kind of feels a little frustrating but I can truly see where she’s coming from every time. She’s very human, very vulnerable, & yet so so so brave. Except for that one moment where she started to doubt herself but that was literally the only time & she corrected pretty fast & that moment was critical in demonstrating her own kind of vulnerability that is so different from that of any of the other characters. Also her relationship with & love for her mother was so beautiful. The ending made me cry kind of a lot…

Inan is the character I liked the least, again. I just don’t have any sympathy for him & I can’t track his motivations & decisions at all. I think this might be because Inan is basically the incarnation of fear & I find that really hard to relate to because it is just so senselessly self-destructive but also very real. So I’m actually looking forward to see how his character develops in books 2 & 3… 👀 Tzain is fine, but he throws fits a lot so… idk. 😆

The worldbuilding is SO cool though. I love how it feels almost like you’re looking at our world but just slightly altered as if distorted through some kind of warped or clouded glass. The similarities in the ecology, geography, etymology, & political systems creates such a good tapestry against which to play the action of the story & the arcs of the characters. I think it also effects what Oge Amarah talks about in their review on their blog (bookaclock.medium.com) that I quoted from above extremely well.

There were a few things I didn’t love like the repetitiveness in the writing, how often characters yell other characters’ names (😅), & how many contradictions there are in the characters’ motivations & beliefs. But if I have any doubts or things I’m not 100% sure how I feel about yet I’m going to wait voicing any real criticism until I finish the trilogy because I genuinely do trust Adeyemi to take this story to a good place so. I’m just really really excited now to *finally* read books 2 & 3!

“In this man—this one wretched man—is an entire kingdom. An entire nation of hate and oppression, staring me in the face. It may have been the guards who broke down the doors in Ibadan that day, but they were simply his tools. Here lies the heart.”

I would recommend this book to readers who love fantasy fiction & have never read this classic of modern YA fantasy—a formative book for the subgenre of African-inspired fantasy worlds. This book is best read with books two & three (out June 2024) ready to pick up immediately next. Trust me. Adeyemi writes like she *invented* the cliffhanger.

Final note: So happy the @B2Weird bookclub is hosting a readalong for this series in anticipation of the release of book three next month!

“As the vision ends, one whisper endures, a word teetering through the blackness of my mind. ‘Live,’ his spirit breathes. ‘Whatever you do, survive.’”

★ ★ ★ ★ .5

CW // graphic violence & traumatic deaths, torture, child abuse (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Season: Summer

Music pairing: Iniko

Further Reading—

AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir’s (first book in the An Ember in the Ashes tetralogy)
FAEBOUND by Saara El-Arifi (first book in the Faebound trilogy)
SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo (first book in the Shadow & Bone trilogy)
BLACK SUN by Rebecca Roanhorse (first book in the Between Earth & Sky trilogy)
THE GILDED ONES by Namina Forna (first book in the Deathless trilogy)—TBR
RAYBEARER by Jordan Ifueko (first book in the Raybearer duology)—TBR
AKATA WITCH by Nnedi Okorafor (first book in the Nsibidi Scripts trilogy)—TBR

Content Warnings

bubblybelle's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book truly altered my brain chemistry. the world building and characters are so rich and complex. the magic system is captivating, and the plot had me enthralled from start to finish. but beyond that, this book was so much more. the parallels between this novel and the realities of our world are stark and heartbreaking. so many of my emotions about the injustices i see were captured in what these characters went through. as i sobbed for the maji of Orisha, i sobbed for the people of Palestine, Congo, and so many others taken too soon through oppression and genocide. this is now my favorite book of all time. reading the sequel immediately.

Content Warnings