Children of Blood and Bone is definitely a title that would’ve grabbed my eye in middle school. Despite its popularity, I’ve only now heard of this story. I loved the wisdom and nurturing personality of Mama Agba. I loved the origin story of the white-haired maji and their relationship with the gods, but I’m still curious about the god’s sudden disappearance. Staff fighting definitely contributed to the preexisting mysticism surrounding the diviners, and the Raid reminded me of the fire nation from Avatar the Last Airbender. Adeyemi is very descriptive, which allowed me to visualize each scene in detail. I specifically enjoyed her describing the floating city of Ilorin and Zelie dashing along the string of boats towering with fish. Surprise isn’t necessarily the right emotion to describe my feelings, but I found it interesting how the cast system of Orisha surrounds the obsession around appearance and discrimination, however, it’s less race rather the complexion of one’s skin and hair.
Adeyemi subtly speaks against discrimination and bigotry. Despite being an epic high fantasy, Orisha still feels very real. The author breaks down the fear around ridicule for one’s skin color and hair, which can be directly related to black people’s stigma around their natural hair. In chapter three, lighter skin is a sign of nobility. There is a distinct cast system in Orisha that clearly revolves around appearance.
Zelie definitely abused rhetoric when the guards came to retrieve a tax. Zelie did not properly use kairos and spoke out of line while risking the safety of the others. After Mama Agba rewards Zelie with graduation and a new metal staff, she reminds her that while she has the power to fight, she needs to wait for the right timing.
Another instance I can remember Zelie using rhetoric, this time more successfully, was when Tzain mentioned the red-tailed sailfish as a last resort for finances. Using logos, she reminded her father and brother that the market is filled with people scrambling to meet the tax, and proposes the idea of selling it in the market with nobles. With her saying that she can help, and “she finally can do something right” you can see her purpose is to establish her own credibility and make up for the shame surrounding the maji. Tzain tries to appeal to Baba by attacking Zelie’s ethos, claiming she’ll do something stupid, wheras Zelie uses logos to argue against Tzain’s lack in bartering skills. By using rhetoric, both children are trying to persuade the father to let them go to sell the fish in a market in Lagos.
Elle the Warlock 