My plan for December was to find a feel good book about the holidays to share for the virtual book club. Then, I finished Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
So, I traded Christmas magic for a revolution with a little regular magic on the side. There’s so much to love about this book, including beautiful writing and compelling characters. Check it out. You won’t be sorry, I promise.
The story follows Zelie, a diviner, living in a world where magic has disappeared and those who have magic are feared and persecuted under a brutal king. While trying to earn money to feed her family, Zelie’s path crosses with an unlikely ally and they set off to bring magic back. This pits her against the prince, who not only wants to stop her, but to destroy her. She needs to become who she was meant to be in order to save her people and bring magic back.
Children of Blood and Bone: Discussion
Note: This discussion may contain spoilers. If you haven’t read the book, you might want to check back after you’ve read it.
- One of the things I loved about this book was the friendship that grows between Amari and Zelie. They come from entirely different backgrounds, but they learn to overcome their fear of each other. Once they shed the labels of “diviner” and “princess,” they find common ground and respect for each other that grows into friendship. In this world of sadness and anger, for me their friendship became the heart of the story.
- Another thing that struck me is how fear is the river that runs through everything in this world. Everyone is living in fear. The diviners fear the guards and the king fears the diviners. Zelie and Inan are afraid of their powers, either of the magic itself (Inan) or that they don’t know enough for it to be effective (Zelie). Everyone either fears for their family or fears their family. Fear goes hand in hand with anger, which is also prominent. For example, in the case of the king, fear and hurt morphed into anger, which kick-started his campaign of tyranny and genocide. Think about all of the ways fear is woven through this book and how it ties to anger. Is that relatable to you? How has fear shaped your life?
- It was interesting to me that the diviners are physically different from the non-diviners. Their white hair is something they’re born with, much like the color of our skin. There’s a lot here that you could apply to race relations. In the author’s note at the end of the book, she said that she was writing this when the police shootings of African Americans were heavily in the news. I want to go back and re-read the book with that in the back of my mind. What parallels can you draw to that? Did it leave you feeling hopeful? Sad?
“Your people, your guards – they’re nothing more than killers, rapists, and thieves. The only difference between them and criminals is the uniforms they wear.”
Tomi Adeyemi – Children of Blood and Bone
Random Thoughts
- I would love to know the back story on Saran and why his family was attacked by the diviners. I’d also love to see Zelie’s mom in action. Prequel?
- Were you sympathetic to Inan? I know he was a victim of his father too and I wanted to cut him some slack, but I really had a hard time feeling sympathy for him. Little prince is a perfect description of him.
- I love that Zelie fights with a bo staff. In tae kwon do class, I’ve been learning a bo staff routine and it’s so fun. I try to channel my inner-Zelie, but I’m not nearly at her level of badassery… yet.
- What did you think of the animals? Is a lionaire like a big lion? I had a hard time visualizing the animals.
- Binta. Sweet Binta. I wish we could have known her. Without her, none of this would have happened. I love that a revolution was kicked off to avenge an injustice done to her. Revolutions should all have their roots in love. Right?
- I read that this is being turned into a movie. I’m on board for that. I can only hope it will result in a legion of little girls with beautiful white hair and bo staffs tearing up trick or treat and the patriarchy.
I’d love for you to weigh in. Did you read Children of Blood and Bone? Drop me a comment and let me know what you thought.