I started reading the book Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (in 2019). Before I even finished the first chapter, I knew this book was good. In this story, there are Black people who have magical powers and are born with white hair. There are also people who are ‘battleborn’ and don’t have magical powers, but instead have normal black hair. For a long time, those with magical powers were well-respected and seen as keepers of the peace. However, there was a group of people who had powers but abused them, leading to them losing their powers and becoming resentful of those who still had theirs. Eventually, everyone with magical powers lost them, and while the tale is that the gods who gave them their powers just went away, the protagonist believes they actually died.

Now, even though no one has had magical powers for four years, there is still resentment among those who never had powers or had them taken away. The ‘Divîners’, as they were once called, are being hunted and killed. In the very beginning of the book, we see through the eyes of the young protagonist as her mother is brutally taken away by some people. They wrap chains around her and drag her out of the house, leaving her daughter to witness the aftermath of her mother’s murder.

Some people say it’s an allegory for racism and colonialism, and I can see the parallels, especially with the way some people with magical powers are oppressed while others aren’t. There’s also a scene where some soldiers are harassing people, and the ones who are lighter-skinned are treated differently than the ones who are darker-skinned, so there might even be some colorism at play.

The book addresses prejudice, and possibly even classism, as the older diviners were hunted down and killed while the younger ones are oppressed and treated unfairly. The protagonist is a strong-willed, skilled fighter who doesn’t like to lose, but she can also be reckless and have a bit of a temper. She’s not a perfect hero from the beginning and has some obstacles to overcome both internally and externally. She almost puts her group in danger by mouthing off at a soldier, so she still has a lot to learn.

First draft written in 2019.

Feature Image: Zelie – Children of Blood and Bone by JoPainter, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License