Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi ****

You might first think of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi as a pleasant fantasy. After all, it is a quest to restore magic and defeat an evil king in the kingdom of Orïsha. However, in the acknowledgments, Adeyemi’s true intentions are disclosed.

“If you cried for Zulaikha and Salim, cry for the innocent children like Jordan Edwards, Tamir Rice, and Aiyana Stanley Jones. They were fifteen, twelve, and seven when they were shot and killed by the police.”

This is an allegory about the contemporary black experience in the United States.

Prince Inan and Princess Amari question whether King Saran has to destroy all magic and divîners (people capable of magic). Zélie and her brother Tzain belong the oppressed caste. The plot is complicated because Inan and Zélie and both divîners. Star-crossed relationships form between Inan and Zélie, and between Tzain and Amari.

The four join forces to retrieve the three magical artifacts (scroll, bone knife, and sunstone) to perform the necessary ritual on an island that appears once every hundred years.

The quest includes a trek through a jungle to an ancient temple, a gladiatorial fight in a colosseum that fills with water, the discovery of a lost city, romances, betrayal, and torture.

Just as the real events which inspired this book, the story includes brutal violence and hatred.  

Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.