Children of Bone and Blood, A Review

http://www.tomiadeyemi.com/books

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is a great fantasy novel with a dystopian story line about a totalitarian patriarchy that is at a tipping point in the life of a set of teens and the kingdom.

Zelie has a chance to bring back an utopian state and strike down the monarchy. She has help along the way, but must survive many dangers to get through the harshness of life on the way to fighting the good fight.

Some of my favorite parts in this book start at the beginning with the training sessions with Mama Agba, the language, the sparing between Zelie and Amari until they begin to trust each other, and Amari's memories of Binta. 

There's a few ways oppression is manifest in this story. There's classism between the have's and the have-not's. Diviners are the lowest class, if that word can be used, can be born into any family, and, appear in the strangest places. Then there's the kosidan class, who are distinguished from the diviners by not having white/grey hair. Then there's the oloyes class, who are distinguished from the kosidan and diviners because they are the nobility and courtesans. Then there's the royals, who are able to command anything and the king has command over everything from life and death for everyone under him within the realm.

I used to think that I understood the all encompassing fear that women live with. But, being white, I don't have that fear all the time anymore. I used to, but healing has removed it from me. But, I am not one who has to fear that my life is in danger all.of.the.time now. Zelie experiences fear all.of.the.time and you experience that in the chapters written from her perspective. I now know that I am not having the same experience of most black and indigenous women of color in fearing their lives every single moment. Now, I will do what I can to lessen that fear.

I think this is a great book and it can change your life if you let it. Ms. Adeyemi wrote it to emphasize the blackness of the characters and reading the book, you cannot miss that everyone, almost, is black. There's a couple, out of the many hundreds of characters shown, who might not be black, but everyone else unabashedly, unashamedly black. You can read this book and be a racist at the beginning, but I don't think you will be the same at the end.

I am reviewing this book from my own library of books I have the privilege of owning. I give it five stars, out of five stars.