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A review by heyleigh05
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
The Gilded Ones is a young adult fantasy about girlhood and achieving liberation from the patriarchy. Our main character is Deka, a sixteen-year-old girl from a rural village who gradually becomes disillusioned by the patriarchal savior constructs society has taught her. Namina Forna has constructed the kingdom of Otera and in this world there is a strict caste system from royal aristocrats to peasants to the alaki. The alaki are women and girls who possess unique traits and abilities that aren’t characteristically human, and they are regarded as outcasts for it. Alaki are at the bottom of the social hierarchy because of their “unnaturalness” and perceived deviance. There is a coming-of-age tradition that teenage girls must undergo to verify their “purity”; this ritual is used to distinguish the alaki from human girls and they are subsequently put to death. Deka is prepared to undergo the ritual until the event gets derailed and this begins Deka’s journey of self-discovery. Deka gets recruited into an alaki army which is tasked with exterminating the kingdom’s primary threat, deathshrieks. This is a story of self-actualization in which Deka learns about herself and the society that has been constructed to keep women and girls under male control.
It’s clear what Namina Forna intended for this novel. She wanted to create an ode to teenage girls and tell a story of camaraderie, empathy, and women’s liberation. So often, society disrespects and devalues teenage girls much like how the human and alaki girls are treated in the novel. But Forna has created a space in which girls are not only valued but powerful, and they use their power to liberate the kingdom. If I were to put a song to this novel it would easily be “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyonce. That’s what The Gilded Ones gives me. In the beginning of the book, I was kind of skeptical of this message of liberation that was forming because Deka and the alaki army were being used as tools in the emperor’s army to kill the deathshrieks. While their participation in the army did allow them to hone and utilize their power, they were still coerced into this situation because their only options were fight for the emperor or die. While Deka and the others felt somewhat empowered by their strength and abilities, I didn’t think it was true empowerment nor liberation because they were still fighting at the behest of the emperor, who wields complete control over their lives. Sidebar: this sort of gets into the problems with white feminism in that white women think that if women are allowed entrance into male spaces then that is liberation and equality, but that is not the case because men are still doing the gatekeeping and they can control and manipulate the circumstances of women’s participation. It was interesting to Forna tackle feminist issues in a YA novel and I really appreciated how she developed those ideas. The novel does develop gradually however, that by the end of the novel I was more convinced that the alaki were on a true path of liberation (but I have more thoughts about the ending that make me suspicious because I think that there are some ulterior motives going on…).
I really like how Namina Forna developed the story. The plot just kept building and it kept me in suspense. The momentum didn’t let up, there was always new information that we were learning, and it didn’t feel like the story plateaued in between these moments unlike a certain YA fantasy that I read last year… I also appreciated how carefully Forna developed Deka’s character. She showed the journey of Deka gradually unlearning the doctrines and norms that she was taught. Now, at the end I did feel like she turned a certain leaf suddenly and that didn’t feel realistic, but overall Deka’s character developed nicely. She had to gradually unlearn the patriarchal religious dogma she learned, and she had to realize the extent to which women and girls are suppressed. A lot of restrictions were placed on women and girls relegating them to second-class citizens. Deka slowly realizes this, and this motivates her to change it. She didn’t immediately just change her thinking. I also liked that writing in the novel! This really doesn’t feel like a debut novel, but I learned that Namina Forna is a screenwriter, so she has a way with words for a living. With her being her a screenwriter, I expect that this will be optioned for TV, and it's not then they need to make that happen, expeditiously!
This novel is pretty graphic for a YA novel which I’m cool with but if that’s triggering then I would beware. The gore can be pretty explicit, but I like when authors push the boundaries of YA, no kiddy bopper shit. I think my favorite character is White Hands. She’s mysterious, aloof, and morally ambiguous but she’s intriguing because you never know what her next move is. The award for most improved goes to Belcalis because she grew on me the most. The more we learned about her the more I understood her, and I really empathized with her. Britta gets the award for the most annoying. I know she was doing her best to protect Deka and be a good friend to her but sometimes she was kind of annoying and I just wanted her to be quiet, but I still respect her. I can’t wait to see how Namina Forna expands the world in the next book and how the rest of the characters develop. I also have a feeling that she might do multiple POVs in book two but idk, it’s just a feeling. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was fun to read and it kept me intrigued! I'll be patiently awaiting the next book!
It’s clear what Namina Forna intended for this novel. She wanted to create an ode to teenage girls and tell a story of camaraderie, empathy, and women’s liberation. So often, society disrespects and devalues teenage girls much like how the human and alaki girls are treated in the novel. But Forna has created a space in which girls are not only valued but powerful, and they use their power to liberate the kingdom. If I were to put a song to this novel it would easily be “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyonce. That’s what The Gilded Ones gives me. In the beginning of the book, I was kind of skeptical of this message of liberation that was forming because Deka and the alaki army were being used as tools in the emperor’s army to kill the deathshrieks. While their participation in the army did allow them to hone and utilize their power, they were still coerced into this situation because their only options were fight for the emperor or die. While Deka and the others felt somewhat empowered by their strength and abilities, I didn’t think it was true empowerment nor liberation because they were still fighting at the behest of the emperor, who wields complete control over their lives. Sidebar: this sort of gets into the problems with white feminism in that white women think that if women are allowed entrance into male spaces then that is liberation and equality, but that is not the case because men are still doing the gatekeeping and they can control and manipulate the circumstances of women’s participation. It was interesting to Forna tackle feminist issues in a YA novel and I really appreciated how she developed those ideas. The novel does develop gradually however, that by the end of the novel I was more convinced that the alaki were on a true path of liberation (but I have more thoughts about the ending that make me suspicious because I think that there are some ulterior motives going on…).
I really like how Namina Forna developed the story. The plot just kept building and it kept me in suspense. The momentum didn’t let up, there was always new information that we were learning, and it didn’t feel like the story plateaued in between these moments unlike a certain YA fantasy that I read last year… I also appreciated how carefully Forna developed Deka’s character. She showed the journey of Deka gradually unlearning the doctrines and norms that she was taught. Now, at the end I did feel like she turned a certain leaf suddenly and that didn’t feel realistic, but overall Deka’s character developed nicely. She had to gradually unlearn the patriarchal religious dogma she learned, and she had to realize the extent to which women and girls are suppressed. A lot of restrictions were placed on women and girls relegating them to second-class citizens. Deka slowly realizes this, and this motivates her to change it. She didn’t immediately just change her thinking. I also liked that writing in the novel! This really doesn’t feel like a debut novel, but I learned that Namina Forna is a screenwriter, so she has a way with words for a living. With her being her a screenwriter, I expect that this will be optioned for TV, and it's not then they need to make that happen, expeditiously!
This novel is pretty graphic for a YA novel which I’m cool with but if that’s triggering then I would beware. The gore can be pretty explicit, but I like when authors push the boundaries of YA, no kiddy bopper shit. I think my favorite character is White Hands. She’s mysterious, aloof, and morally ambiguous but she’s intriguing because you never know what her next move is. The award for most improved goes to Belcalis because she grew on me the most. The more we learned about her the more I understood her, and I really empathized with her. Britta gets the award for the most annoying. I know she was doing her best to protect Deka and be a good friend to her but sometimes she was kind of annoying and I just wanted her to be quiet, but I still respect her. I can’t wait to see how Namina Forna expands the world in the next book and how the rest of the characters develop. I also have a feeling that she might do multiple POVs in book two but idk, it’s just a feeling. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was fun to read and it kept me intrigued! I'll be patiently awaiting the next book!