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A review by rubeusbeaky
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
5.0
A stunning debut! The fantasy elements alone are both beautiful and sinister, and gain a big 5 stars for /not/ being inspired by Western Europe! Yey diverse representation!
But more than that, this book opens a powerful discussion about Otherness (racial, gender, religious...), the monsters hate can make us see, and the powerful ripple effect a willingness to learn and befriend can have. The book focuses heavily on how, in particular, girls are systemically subjugated, taught to deny what is strong and beautiful and natural about themselves. But girls have a power and a magic greater than any when they are free to live truthfully and are bonded by sisterhood. Girl power!!!
This book is SO "now", it is so important, it ought to be required reading. And I'm excited that Namina Forna has a background in film and screenwriting, because this book SCREAMS to be adapted into a movie! (Give me Ixa. Right now.) And can someone get Namina and Roseanne A. Brown in the same room?! Because a crossover between The Gilded Ones and A Song of Wraiths and Ruin NEEDS to be a thing!!!
I will say one tiny, minor, itsy bitsy thing: The twist ending gets a little rushed, a little campy. Some monologuing. Nothing atypical of a first novel, or a YA book. Nothing that tarred the rest of the book for me. I'm hopeful for sequels; this world is too good not to return to ^_^.
But more than that, this book opens a powerful discussion about Otherness (racial, gender, religious...), the monsters hate can make us see, and the powerful ripple effect a willingness to learn and befriend can have. The book focuses heavily on how, in particular, girls are systemically subjugated, taught to deny what is strong and beautiful and natural about themselves. But girls have a power and a magic greater than any when they are free to live truthfully and are bonded by sisterhood. Girl power!!!
This book is SO "now", it is so important, it ought to be required reading. And I'm excited that Namina Forna has a background in film and screenwriting, because this book SCREAMS to be adapted into a movie! (Give me Ixa. Right now.) And can someone get Namina and Roseanne A. Brown in the same room?! Because a crossover between The Gilded Ones and A Song of Wraiths and Ruin NEEDS to be a thing!!!
I will say one tiny, minor, itsy bitsy thing: The twist ending gets a little rushed, a little campy. Some monologuing. Nothing atypical of a first novel, or a YA book. Nothing that tarred the rest of the book for me. I'm hopeful for sequels; this world is too good not to return to ^_^.