Looking for a diverse book focused on cultures outside of those often found in Euro-centric fantasy novels? I would recommend to you Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, a young adult fantasy novel centered around the Nigerian culture, that includes analogies to relevant issues present in our own society today. The novel is set in the Kingdom of Orïsha, where the Maji once ruled with the powers granted to them by the Gods, but were stripped away from the land by the Kosidán, a group of lighter skinned people unable to possess magic, led by King Saran. The Maji were once a flourishing population, divided into 10 clans based on the abilities regarding magic that they possessed and harnessed, recognized by their darker skin and bright, white hair, but they were slaughtered and enslaved in a brutal Raid led by the king to rid Orïsha of powers that could destroy his own. Severing the connection with the Gods, no one possessed powers after the raid, until an ancient scroll depicting a ritual to reconnect with the Gods washed ashore, and fell into the hands of Princess Amari Olúborí. Then on the run from her father, King Saran, and brother Inan, she connects with Zélie Adebola, daughter of a powerful Maji reaper, and her brother Tzain Adebola. Together, with the guidance of mentors and other powerful Maji, they journey to a far, ancient temple devoted to the Sky Mother, and complete the ritual to restore power to the Maji people and defeat King Saran.
Speaking personally, I greatly enjoyed the first book in this series, though I did find both pros and cons to it. First of all, I greatly enjoyed the analogies to systemic racism and police brutality found within the story and world building. In the United States today, many in African-American communities know what it's like to deal with a system that oppresses them, whether by limiting their opportunities, or constant negative run-ins with police officers, who often abuse their positions. Another would be the prison-industrial complex, which has had significant biases towards African-American and Latinx communities since the beginning of the war on drugs. All of these have roots in slavery and racism.
In Children of Blood and Bone, we can see direct comparisons, or smart analogies, in Adeyemi’s writing, that portray these systems in a fantasy setting. The analogy of police brutality is portrayed through guards, who have multiple run-ins with Zélie. They are hostile, abuse their position of power, and disregard the fact that, unless provoked, they aren’t to be violent, as they swore in their oath. In one scene, a young boy is brutally attacked by these guards, having apparently stolen from a food cart in the marketplace, though we quickly learn it wasn’t true. Despite this, no one steps in to help out of fear. Furthermore, the stocks, a system of repaying debts that one couldn’t pay for taxes or serving time for crimes, is both an analogy to slavery and the prison industrial complex.
I think in world building and drawing connections with our real world through a fantasy setting, Tomi Adeyemi does a wonderful job. On my first read-through of the book, I hardly connected the dots on the analogies, until taking a closer look at the text! I believe it's a good format to explain issues in our real world to young adult readers, and start them down a path of understanding real world issues better with more research into these topics. It’s in an understandable format for everyone, as it's a pretty easy read. As well, I think the discussion of social classes was an interesting part of the book, as Zélie and Amari have to often resolve conflicts between themselves based on how they were both raised: one a royal and the other one part of an oppressed class who had to witness her own people enslaved.