Review | Children of Blood and Bone

Our choice for "A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America" was Children of Blood and Bone and boy was it a doozy.

Title: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Dates Read: February 2-7, 2019

Date Published: March 6, 2018

Current Goodreads Rating: 4.23/5

Let me start this review by saying one thing: I really tried to like this book. I really did. In a world full of magic books where the bad guys were the ones wielding the magic, I liked that this book dared to be different. I liked that magic represented the empowerment of an oppressed people. I enjoyed the whole backstory of the gods and goddesses and how maji became maji, but oh man I could not like this book.

Ok, let's get started.

The book opens eleven years after 'The Raid' or the genocide of the maji. Main character Zelie's mother was one of the maji who was beaten, tortured, and murdered. She was hung from the tree in her village to scare other maji children into submission. Since that time, magic has disappeared. Once a powerful people, the maji now are treated as lesser. They're called maggots because of their silver eyes and white hair, and the best station they can ever hope to achieve is as a servant to the royal family that destroyed the magic in the first place. The entirety of the plot focuses on Zelie, her brother Tzain, and the royal siblings Inan and Amari and their quest to bring magic back.

I will say this. I got strong Avatar: the Last Airbender vibes throughout the entirety of this novel. I mean Fire Lord Ozai literally annihilated all the Airbenders because he didn't want the Avatar to be the most powerful person in the world (side note: I know some of you haven't seen Avatar - Malorie - so this is my daily reminder to you that you need to watch it). I thought that Zelie, Tzain, and Amari's journey was reminiscent to the journey of Aang, Sokka, and Katara. Inan's character developed much the same that Zuko's did.

But what went wrong? There were two things that really bothered me about this book: the writing and the plot development. Just so you are all aware there will be some spoilers in this next little bit.

The first thing is relatively small. I found the writing incredibly hard to get into. I've read plenty of terrible fanfiction in my day and I've read plenty of really good fanfiction in my day. This book read like a relatively new fanfiction author. What really bothered me was Adeyemi's way of describing actions. There were so many extra sentences and paragraphs describing the way certain characters "locked eyes" with other characters when it would have been easier, and better, to leave it out or word it in a different way to let the readers see it in their minds their own way.

However, the writing I could get used to. Sure it was a little cringy at times and it made it difficult to get into the story, but, like I said, I've read cringy fanfiction. I can deal with that. What really bothered me about this book were the relationships. Pretty much from the get-go the relationship between Tzain and Amari was hinted at. There were lots of smirks and glances and blushing. That's all fine and good. Amari is a member of the royal family, but she takes a risk to bring magic back against her (psychopath) father. At first its hard for Zelie and Tzain to trust her because of her royal lineage and the fact that Zelie and Tzain's mother died at the hands of Amari's father. But love wins over everything as we are all well aware. Sure. I'll accept that.

What I can't accept is the weird relationship between Zelie and Inan. Inan spends at least half the book hunting Zelie and her brother across the globe. He is almost constantly thinking "Kill the girl. Kill magic." When his own magic begins to flourish, he tries to hide it, blaming this "infection" on Zelie. All of a sudden, about 2/3 of the way through the book Zelie and Inan have to work together to save their siblings and, through that partnership, Inan discovers his father's true nature and the fact that his father has been lying to him since forever. Then all of a sudden BAM he's in love with her. That's all well and fine, but Zelie is quick to fall in love with him too. Suddenly they're trying to find places to hide from Zelie's brother to make out.

So let me get this straight: a boy from a family that brutally murdered your mother is tracking you across the country around the globe to try and find you so he can brutally murder you too. You're forced to work together to save someone you love and that one instance is enough to prove that he is a good person? I can believe a shaky friendship, but I cannot believe that Zelie would be so quick to literally sleep with the enemy. Yes, Inan is proven to not be a bad guy, but I strongly do not believe that someone like Zelie, with so much trauma in her life, would be able to just leave all her inhibitions at the door and sleep with the son of the man who murdered her mom.

Also, this book is the first in a trilogy. At the very least, to keep this relationship realistic, Adeyemi should have slowly teased their relationship out. Make Zelie fight against the feelings she had for Inan. Slow burns are so much more satisfying, if tantalizing, than the sudden inferno that was this book.

However, I do want to commend Adeyemi. I really appreciated the Author's Note at the end of the book. According to Adeyemi:

"[This book] was written during a time where I kept turning on the news and seeing stories of unarmed black men, women, and children being shot by the police."

Using the anger Adeymi had from these horrific events in real time, she created this vibrant and beautiful world where she could share her thoughts and feelings and, perhaps, change one mind to make our world better. In a time where racism runs rampant and it seems everyday there is a new shooting, a new attack, a new something it is nice that there's someone that wants to do something to shed light on an otherwise ignored situation. I especially commend Adeyemi for finding a creative way to talk about these issues. Sometimes its easier to discuss a difficult topic when you look at it in multiple different ways and Adeyemi's magical world full of majis is another way to look at it.

Long story short:

• Editors are your friends

• Don't force a romance when you don't need one

• Use your craft to spread a message

My Rating: 3/5

Up Next: The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir