Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (spoiler filled review)

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I'm going to be doing a book review. This review is for Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.

I read this book in January of this year during quarantine. There will be spoilers for this book, so if you haven't read this book and wish to, I wouldn't recommend reading this review.

Let's get into the review!

This book follows 17-year-old Zelie Adebola who lives in a fictional world called Orisha that is suspected to be located somewhere in Pre-Colonial Nigeria. In this world, there are two types of people: the non-magical kosidan who make up the majority of the people of Orisha, and the diviners, people who have the capability to become a magical maji and have white hair. Zelie is a diviner.

Eleven years before, the king of Orisha found out a way to eradicate the power that allows for magic to be used and ordered the executions of defenseless diviners. One of those diviners was Zelie's mother, whom she watched die. Since this event, the diviners have been oppressed by King Saran. 

When Zelie and her older brother, Tzain, go to Lagos to make money, they end up helping Amari, a noble girl from the king's guard. Amari is the daughter of King Saran and has stolen a magical stroll that can restore the magical powers of any maji that touches it. With this newfound knowledge, Zelie and Tzain set out to restore magic to Orisha in order to free the diviners from oppression.

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The writing was very good for a debut novel. It wasn't perfect, but it left me wanting more out of the story. It left me wondering what would happen to Zelie, Tzain, Amari, and Inan. I was pretty invested in the story. It has an intriguing premise. It's unlike other books I've read. It's unique.

This book is based on West African mythology and culture, in particular, the Yoruba. I'm not going to comment much on this. I'm not Nigerian, nor do I have African ancestry (that I know of), so I'm not sure of how accurate this representation is. I've read reviews that argue that it isn't accurate, but I have no way of confirming these. I do think that regardless of if it's accurate or not, it's still interesting and makes for an intriguing and compelling plot and story.

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One thing I really like about this book is the sibling dynamic between Tzain and Zelie. Their sibling relationship was one of my favorite things about this book. Their relationship was so sibling-like, and I related a few times to them. 

Zelie was an interesting character. Sometimes I got frustrated with her, but overall, I rooted and sympathized with her. I understood her motivations and why she wanted to rise up against King Saran.

Inan was interesting as well. Unlike Zelie, I felt more conflicted about him. At times, I wasn't sure how I felt about him. I simultaneously liked and disliked him, and I'm still confused about his character. 

Amari was more easy to root for. I liked her personality. I understood the animosity Zelie initially felt for her, but I wasn't a fan of it. It got on my nerves numerous times regardless of if it made sense or not. Amari and Tzain's relationship was one that was easier to ship than Zelie and Inan's was. Theirs was just kind of quick and confusing. Tzain and Amari's was quick as well, but it felt more natural and genuine. The two had more chemistry because let's be honest: if it weren't for that scene where she and Inan team up to save each of their siblings, some of their bond wouldn't have happened.

If I had to pick a favorite character from this book, I think I'd have to pick Tzain. I loved his personality. I loved Zelie as well, but she could be very stubborn and impatient, which occasionally got on my nerves. I loved how loyal Tzain was. His value and protectiveness for his family was something I found admirable and relatable. 

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Tomi Adeyemi's inspiration for this book came from some Yoruba mythology figures she had seen while in West Africa. Another thing that prompted her to finish this book was the helplessness she felt at police shootings of unarmed African-Americans, a few of which were children.

A main theme in this book is breaking free from oppression and discrimination. In Orisha, the main issue is classism. The monarchy (rich) profit off the lower classes (poor). It also brings forth topics such as racism, as the maji (magic users) are seen as 'other' and seemingly a separate race from the kosidan (non-magic users), who are the majority of the inhabitants of Orisha. This book is seemingly an allegory of many things, including police brutality.

The book doesn't go overboard with its themes, and while the book itself is grim in tone, it is somehow able to maintain a sense of hope and happiness. It leaves almost a bittersweet feeling. 

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This book only took me about four days to read. It was a very quick read. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm excited to read the sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance. I rate Children of Blood and Bone 4 out of 5 stars.

That's it for this review! I hope you enjoyed it! 

Until next time, 

Lexi K🖌