Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi

Title: Children of Blood and Bone
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Genre/ issues: Fantasy. Race. Magic.

Shop local where you can: search Indies to locate your closest independent bookstore, or find it on Booktopia.

Blurb: Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut Children of Blood and Bone.
They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.
Zelie remembers when the soil of Orisha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zelie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden.
Zelie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zelie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orisha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zelie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy.”

Well. I am still not over this book. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is a stunning fantasy about a world in which the ruling monarchy have inflicted genocide on a people who had previously been able to use magic but have found themselves severed from it, and are treated like vermin by an increasingly corrupt military. It’s a powerful and confronting read, with close parallels to the treatment of black people in contemporary American society. There is a sequel to this book, which I am very much looking forward to reading, but I need some time to sit with this for a bit. It hits very close to home, particularly with the current public attention on the BLM movement. If fantasy is your genre, this one is a must-read.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 31/52

Happy reading,

Black enough, ed. Ibi Zoboi

Title: Black Enough: Stories of being young and black in America
Editor: Ibi Zoboi
Genre/ issues: Contemporary fiction. Short stories. Anthology. Race. Coming of age stories.

Shop local where you can: search Indies to locate your closest independent bookstore, or find it on Booktopia.

From the GoodReads blurb:
Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America.

Black is…sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson.
Black is…three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds.
Black is…Nic Stone’s high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of.
Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland.
Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be Black enough.
Contributors:
Justina Ireland
Varian Johnson
Rita Williams-Garcia
Dhonielle Clayton
Kekla Magoon
Leah Henderson
Tochi Onyebuchi
Jason Reynolds
Nic Stone
Liara Tamani
Renée Watson
Tracey Baptiste
Coe Booth
Brandy Colbert
Jay Coles
Ibi Zoboi
Lamar Giles

With the resurgence of an international focus on the Black Lives Matter movement, I’ve been focusing on novels written by black authors this month, and this book is excellent. Black Enough is an anthology of stories about growing up black in America, written by some outstanding black authors. From romance to friendship, from code camp to horse races, it’s a fantastic depiction of a diverse range of coming-of-age stories. They don’t all explicitly deal with racism as an issue, but race is an ever-present element of all the narratives. This is a beautiful mix of stories, some funny, some sad, some tense, but all excellent reads. I’m searching out books by all the authors in this collection to add to my TBR.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 30/52

Happy reading,

Aurora Burning, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Title: Aurora Burning: The Aurora Cycle, Book 2
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Genre/ issues: Sci-fi. Finding your people. Family – born and chosen.

Sometimes you have plans for the weekend. Mow the lawn? Sure. Clean the carpets? I mean, that is why you borrowed your mum’s carpet shampooer. Maybe even read one of the many books on your TBR shelf. But then you get post on Saturday. And that post contains this firecracker of a book. So, you read it instead.

I will say, I’m glad I didn’t get this too early – I often get review copies of books well before the release date. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff comes out next week I think, and I’m so glad that I’ve just read it – if I got it much earlier than I did, I’d have far longer to wait for book three, because the ENDING IS A HELL OF A CLIFFHANGER! That’s not spoilery at all. If you’ve read anything from the dastardly duo of K+K you’ll know that they are sadistic bastards who thrive on causing pain for their readers. And boy, do I want more of their delicious brand of torture.

I loved the character development of #Squad312 in this book. I love the complexity of relationships. I love the diversity represented amongst this glorious group – from physical differences, to dealing with emotional dissociation from PTSD, to some positive queer representation, to contrasting depictions of family connections, there’s something in here for everyone. Sci-fi is definitely my bag, and these two authors are masters of their craft. I’d definitely recommend this one when it hits the shelves – if you’ve not read Aurora Rising, though, grab that first!

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 17/52

Happy reading,

The Magnolia Sword, by Sherry Thomas

Title: The Magnolia Sword: A ballad of Mulan
Author: Sherry Thomas
Genre/ issues: Historical fiction. YA. Retelling of a traditional/ familiar story. Gender roles.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump. In fact, when I scrolled back to find out what number I was up to in my #2020readingchallenge I had to go back to March 9. Whilst I’ve been encouraging others to find solace and inspiration during this pandemic in stories, I’ve been struggling to do the same for myself.

At the beginning of the year, I started running a Thursday lunchtime #ReadWithMe session. Rather than eating lunch at my desk, I’d make the effort to take a book into the kitchen, sit, and read for half an hour. I’d take in a pile of anthologies and collections of non-fiction essays so that anyone who wanted to join us but didn’t have a book they were reading could pick something up and get through it in the session without feeling pressured to commit to a whole book. Now were are all working remotely, I’ve been continuing to encourage others to do this, but hadn’t been fully committing myself, so last week, I dragged myself to the couch during cracked open this gem of a book.

I finished it that night. Such a beautiful, sensitive and culturally respectful retelling of the ballad of Mulan, The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas deals with issues of gender and power, the dangers of stereotyped expectations, and the problems of homogenising culture. It’s particularly powerful a message now as we are surrounded by so much hatred and anger being directed at China and its people – this book speaks to the importance of allowing people to find their own path, and not be victimised or tied down by expectations or identities that don’t fit them. Some great queer relationships that are delightfully represented, and some great reflections on the power of language and its role in representing history and a people’s place in it.
I do love me a Disney musical, but this book pays far greater respect to the story of Mulan than I’ve seen before – although I’m not gonna lie, there were moments that I broke out in an internal chorus of “let’s get down to business!”

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 16/52

Happy reading,

Euphoria Kids, by Alison Evans

Title: Euphoria Kids
Author: Alison Evans
Genre/ issues: Magic realism. Fantasy. Queer fiction. Gender identify/ euphoria.

Sigh. I’ve loved the first two books by Alison Evans, so when I heard they had a new one coming out I knew I’d have to read it. This is my favourite of their work so far. A magical story about 3 gender diverse teens who get to explore a world in which gender euphoria is their experience rather than the debilitating gender dysphoria that is so common for people questioning how they see themselves in society’s gender binary. The notion of being SEEN is also a powerful element of this book – both literally for Babs, who had been cursed by a witch and so disappears sometimes without warning, and figuratively for characters like the boy, a trans male who becomes friends with Babs and Iris after they see him for him, and accept his identity and pronouns while he figures out what his name is. The fairies, dryads, witches and spells aren’t what makes this book magic – it’s the sensitive, joyful and lyrical way that Alison weaves this splendid tale. Beautifully written and beautifully told, this is a wonderful book. I’m so thrilled to have gotten to read this and I’ll be gifting it to a lot of special people in my life. 

I’ve been recording TikToks on some of my favourite books, so I’m testing out embedding them here … let me know if read this what you think about including the videos. Do you like them? Do you not care? I’m curious as to whether you think it’s worth the effort to embed the videos here!

@tamarareadsEuphoria Kids by Alison Evans ##queer ##loveozya ##bookreview ##magic ##gendereuphoria ##60secondbookreview♬ original sound – tamarareads

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 13/52

Happy reading,