Magical fantasy is not usually my genre of choice (well except Harry of course) but I kept seeing this book pop up on lists of “best of” I thought I should check it out.  I had been on the library wait list for months, and then was delighted to find the hard cover copy in one of our Airbnb’s in Guatemala.  I devoured this book in about three days.

The book is a YA and a planned trilogy, as well as the debut novel for Adeyemi.  My guess is we will be seeing this on the big screen as well…perfect for special effects of today’s movie technology.

The story follows heroine Zelie as she tries to restore magic to a mystical kingdom called Orisha.  Orisha’s King has earlier banned and killed most of the race known as Maji who practice magic.

The King’s daughter Amari turns against her father when she witnesses him killing her best friend after it is revealed the friend is magical. Amari escapes the palace and hooks up with Zelie and Zelie’s brother Tzain.  And the adventure begins.  Eventually Amari’s brother Inan also joins the fight, even though he was originally sent by the King to quash the uprising.  Inan reveals he is secretly a Maji.

Lots of secrets and magical mystery in this book with an underlying theme about race and hate.

It’s a complicated but well written battle of good and evil. Children of Blood and Bone is a fascinating and well written story, certainly destined for movie magic.  Young and old alike will like this fantastical tale.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Four stars for Children of Blood and Bone.

Read last week’s review of The Tatooist of Auschwitz.