Full Title: “Children of Blood and Bone: Legacy of Orïsha 1”
Written by Tomi Adeyemi
Published by Macmillan Children’s Books, March 2018
352 pages
Completed September 25, 2023
They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.
Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden.
Zélie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy.
This was fun read. I loved the characters and the world building. Everything was great about this book! I really enjoyed reading it as everything unfolded. The point of view characters had their own stories to tell and a lot to figure out about what they wanted and how they were going to get it. I liked that it wasn’t as easy to bring magic back as Zélie wanted and that there were larger concerns beyond just bringing magic back. This is the first book in a trilogy and I’ve already finished the second book. The third will be released next summer and I’m looking forward to seeing how this all goes.