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Lexi Wants To Know #2: Children of Blood and Bone (Patreon)

Published:
2018-10-07 17:41:56
Edited:
2018-10-07 17:44:59
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Hey! Welcome to the second Intelexual Media Book Club discussion board! We are reading the debut novel of Tomi Adeyemi, Children of Blood and Bone. To make this experience as meaningful as possible, please feel free to contribute to the discussion and try to have the book atleast 3/4 finished by October 21st! 

I'm super excited to read this book because Tomi Adeyemi is only 25-years-old. This is her first book but it's a New York Times Bestseller that will delight generations of black readers to come! I didn't get exciting fantasy books with black characters and African mythology in them growing up so I'm kind of jealous. ;) 

Discussion Questions:

I want you to read this book with the following quote from Tomi Adeyemi's author's note in mind:

"Children of Blood and Bone was written during a time where I kept turning on the news and seeing unarmed black men, women, and children being shot by the police. I felt afraid and angry and helpless, but this book was the one thing that made me feel like I could do something about it." 

Lexi Wants To Know A: Though fiction, Children of Blood and Bone clearly connects to the real world, especially when considering the concepts of oppression and tyranny. While reading, what connections do you make between Orisha and America? If you're in a different country, what connections do you make between Orisha and your location? Going a step further, because this book is written primarily for 12-18 year olds, which events, plot devices, and characters in the book do you think the youth see our world reflected in the most? Were these effective metaphors and symbols? Why or why not?

Lexi Wants To Know B:What role does religion and mythology play in Children of Blood and Bone? If you're knowledgable on African religion and mythology, could you share insight on how Ms. Adeyemi was inspired while writing Children of Blood and Bone? Also, if you grew up reading fiction with European and Christian inspirations (Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, etc), how was this book different? How was it similar? 

So for the next 14 days, read up on Children of Blood and Bone and post any relevant thoughts or quotes (with page numbers please) that you feel are relevant! 

You can also submit questions to me, and I will be selecting 5-10 to respond to on October 28th. 

Happy Reading!

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Comments

colleen.mahaney@gmail.com

HOW COULD YOU GET ME HOOKED ON THIS BOOK WHEN THE NEXT ONE DOESN"T COME OUT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!!

Evan Mapstone

It's so good! The book by itself is great, but thinking how the power struggles are a parallel to the violence against people of colour by the police gave the story an extra weight that made it seem even more important.

colleen.mahaney@gmail.com

I don't think I would have figured out the BLM connection if the author hadn't mentioned it in her note. I thought it was a very close parallel to the Rwandan Genocide- with the assassination attempt on the ruler and the quick, vicious national purge. I know a lot of people have a thing against "YA" books but I thought this one was amazing. The world she created was so so detailed and original. To me the only negative was that I was not a fan of the love story between Zelie and Inan- it happened too fast to be believable. One day he is burning her village to the ground, killing children, then a few days later she is in love with him? I feel like editors push for a romance even when it undermines the primary story.

colleen.mahaney@gmail.com

I don't even know how to address the topic of religion. To me, a large part of religion is faith in things unproven. But they have absolute proof that their Gods are listening and real. In that way, it is much easier to have that kind of a religion.

Lashaunda Yates

I just finished the book and my mind is still reeling. Beautifully written and I can't wait to read the next. When I first started, I didn't make any connections to BLM and only after reading this post and the author's note am I going over the resemblance. Someone posted above about the parallels to the Rwandan Genocide and I couldn't agree more, just this morning I was reading recent post by hony and current stories are about survivors and people who helped survivors of the genocide and I definitely saw some linkages. I really hope you discuss Inan, he reminds me so much of black people who speak in defense of slavery. Could even see him in some of the discussions I've had with my grandfather about how certain things have been done to us for our benefit. So glad this book was chosen but wish I would have just read it sooner. I can't wait to hear your perspective, you are always so insightful and point out things I dont initially notice. Will come back to this with more thoughts in regards to your questions, my mind is still taking apart the ending.

IntelexualMedia

Yeah guys... I loved this book. I can't wait for the next one, and the whole time while reading I was just enchanted because a black woman my age wrote it. She created this fascinating and complex world that I got lost in for a few hours. I can't wait to unpack some themes and moments in the upcoming video! If you have a question you'd like me to answer in my written Q+A post, don't hesitate to ask!

IntelexualMedia

ALSO- question for you guys- who was the most interesting character to you and why? To me, it was Inan because his mindset is a scourge in real-life. It was interesting to read from his mindset because it allowed me to have some sympathy for him while also understanding what informed his motives. Also, I like that I enjoyed every character POV, which isn't always the case when reading books like these (ahem Game of Thrones).

colleen.mahaney@gmail.com

Yes! When Inan was condemning Kwame for defending the festival with fire he completely misses how he and his troops burned Ilorin to the ground. He was the attacker in BOTH instances. Does he think the villagers who burned to death are less dead than the battalions of soldiers? He is SO oblivious. But one thing I REALLY liked in this book was that Adeyemi did not make the Maji side perfect or blameless. Unlike the Potter series where the death eaters were so pointlessly evil they were almost kitschy, you can kind of see Saran's point. His sweet family gets slaughtered by the maji and he blames himself and them for being weak and compromising like his father.

colleen.mahaney@gmail.com

At first, Zelie was my favorite but by the end Amari had grown so much and become such a moral and complex person.

Lashaunda Yates

Inan character was the most frustrating, omg. It's just crazy to me how opposite he is of Amari. Maybe because he is/was the heir and he faced a lot more pressure then Amari ever did (she got to be the princess but as second in line especially after a son, she was fairly unimportant in Saran and her mother's eyes she was able to be more open and develop a relationship with Binta). Do others think that because of her position as second child and a woman she had the luxury of being open in a way that Inan never did? And that might explain why they handled situations so differently. And I just want to say it was so frustrating that Inan could be so sympathetic to Zel but also so unsympathetic to the situation. His perspective was so hard to read and their "love story" was so random and sometimes unbelievable.

Lashaunda Yates

Amari was the best character to read, she displayed the most strength and growth. Im excited to see what happens next (does she have magic?? I hope so!!)