Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1)

by Tomi Adeyemi

[Kelly]

Heaven and Earth once blessed the lands of Orïsha until the Maji community was slain, a genocide ordered by King Saran. Zélie Adebola remembers the night her small wind swept community was pillaged, her mother slain by atrocities of the Monarchy. The vibrant white mane of the Divĩner children continue to be oppressed and persecuted by the King, in retribution for the atrocities of the Kosidán.

Zélie Adebola is a defiant young woman, her village of Ilorin decimated by the Monarchy of Orïsha as her mother was captured and slain. The young women of Ilorin are disciplined in the artistry of non lethal defence, taught to protect their bodies against the brutality of the Guard, Mama Agba ensuring the Ilorin godlaw is preserved. Brother Tzain is a gentle man, Zélie and Tzain caring for their windowed father and one another. Zélie inherited her tenacity and defiance from her mother, a vivacious woman compassion and inspiration, her husband and children bereaved by their loss.

As Zélie encounters the Monarch heir attempting to abscond the Orïsha marketplace she is reluctantly embroiled in the heist, enticing the Guard to Ilorin to retrieve the sacred artefact. The Divĩners are an enslaved lineage, children with dormant abilities and artefacts once lost to time have now resurfaced to awaken the Divĩners, their ashê laden blood a language of the gods and expendable to King Saran.

Amari is the daughter of King Saran and a reluctant heir to the Orïsha Kingdom alongside brother Inan, a general of the Orïshan forces. Unaware of atrocities of her Kingdom, Amari is held captive within her palatial tower, maligned by her mother for her dark complexion, her vitality quelled by her oppressive confinement. Brother Inan is a morally ambiguous young man pursuing validation from his father. With the Monarch wealth comes privilege but Inan and Amari are burdened by parental expectations. Amari is a treasonous deflector pursued by Inan under instruction of King Saran, loyal to the Orïsha kingdom and the crown.

The narrative Tomi Adeyemi has conceived is transcendent, intertwined with meticulous folklore. Children of Blood and Bone emphasises the lives of the African American youth lost to violence, inspiring readers and invoking discussion about prejudice. The prose is exquisite, the celebration of West African mythology and the Yorùbá dialect is captivating. A breathtaking debut.

Abogbo wa ni ọmọ r1ẹ nínú 1j1 àti egungun.
We are all children of blood and bone.