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A review by courtofsmutandstuff
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
5.0
I adored this book!! I'm already predisposed to loving YA fantasies where people have super powers, but I also really love takes on Empires - especially if they don't copy and paste Rome! I'm so excited for the sequel at the end of the month and have already preordered it. I successfully convinced one of my students to pick this up and she's liking it so far too!
Things this book does so well (in no particular order):
- Found family
- Overcoming trauma (seriously - this book is like "I Overcame Trauma and So Can You" in a good way)
- Twists & secrets
- Using religion to control women
- Deprogramming yourself
- World building
- The protagonist being special even among other special people
Seriously, if you love fantasy YA and especially if you love "empire" fantasy, this is a definite read.
Audiobook note - I loved this as an audiobook and it definitely felt more "global" because so many of the characters have accents that it really helped to reinforce how different Deka is because once she leaves the North no one else sounds like her (also African accents are so beautiful).
Things this book does so well (in no particular order):
- Found family
- Overcoming trauma (seriously - this book is like "I Overcame Trauma and So Can You" in a good way)
- Twists & secrets
- Using religion to control women
- Deprogramming yourself
- World building
- The protagonist being special even among other special people
Seriously, if you love fantasy YA and especially if you love "empire" fantasy, this is a definite read.
Audiobook note - I loved this as an audiobook and it definitely felt more "global" because so many of the characters have accents that it really helped to reinforce how different Deka is because once she leaves the North no one else sounds like her (also African accents are so beautiful).