My Take: Man, I loved this book so very much, and it was really tough to realize that I'll have to wait a long time for the next book to be released. I was enthralled by Zélie from the start--I loved her stubbornness and her loyalty to Tzain and her father. Her dedication to her mother's memory was powerful, and I appreciated the struggle she had throughout the novel to reconcile the damage magic could do with the way that it could give power to the powerless. I found Amari's and Inan's perspectives intriguing as well, and I appreciated the way that all of their lives wound together as the novel progressed. 
My conclusion: I'm a fantasy lover in general, and I've been long overdue for a great fantasy read. I had extremely high expectations for this novel and could not wait for it to be released. Often, it's tough for a novel to live up to those expectations, but in so many ways, I thought that Adeyemi delivers. Adeyemi manages to tell a phenomenal story that is compelling and gripping while also making it a socially conscious commentary on the struggles within our contemporary society. That is hard work, but she pulls it off with finesse and seeming ease.  5/5 stars. 
Favorite Quotes: 

• "I teach you to be warriors in the garden so that you will never be gardeners in the war." - Mama Agba is such an amazing character. Her wisdom and composure make her immediately lovable. Her teaching philosophy, particularly when contrasted with Saran, shows that not all warriors are evil and not all are taught to harm others.
• "I'm the very monster I hunt." - Inan's determination to deny his magic is painful to witness, but his misguided loyalty to his nation shows the mistakes people make all too often when misled by faulty logic and damaging ideology.

NOTE -- THE NEXT QUOTE CONTAINS A SPOILER!!!!!! Pick up at the bold below to skip the spoiler.

• "Air dies inside my chest as Zu looks down, small hands gripping the arrow's shaft. The young girl with a smile too wide for her face pulls against the weapon, speared with Orïsha's hate." - Although she was a minor character, Zu was such a phenomenal part of the story. I loved the way she led her people--with tenderness, compassion, and quiet certainty-- and the way that leadership contrasted Saran's awful regime. Her death (like many other parts of the book) highlights Adeyemi's social commentary on the senseless violence happening in our society today and the way that innocent victims are being murdered by people in positions of power simply because of ignorance, racism, fear, and hate.

YOU'RE SAFE READING HERE TO AVOID THE SPOILER!
What I added to my TBR list: I was so interested in the text that Sara shared, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. With that kind of recommendation, I want to make sure that I read it soon! I also love Song of Solomon  by Toni Morrison so very much. Jen sharing that one made me want to read it again. 
Teaching Tips: This novel would be a great option for lit circles. As we discuss in the podcast, it would work well as an option along side of other socially conscious books that are taking on issues such as racism and police brutality more directly with realistic fiction. I love how this book takes a different angle on these complex issues our society is facing.
Podcast Highlights: I so appreciated what Jen said about Amari's quiet strength, and I thought Sara's commentary about the backstory she created for Saran was fascinating. I most especially appreciated how we all found different things about the book interesting, but despite those various perspectives, we each loved it. That speaks to the strengths of the novel. I can't believe it's Adeyemi's first novel! I'm so looking forward to the rest of the series. 

First of all, MAN, it is HARD to post when in the last trimester of pregnancy with a toddler. And even harder with an infant and a toddler! Still, getting this post (which I started ages ago) completed is the hardest part, and I'm determined to do it TODAY. I hope to post more frequently in the future, even if those posts are shorter and more focused on book reviews. Thank you to those who have stuck with me through this blogging journey. Despite the fact that I had hoped to post sooner, I realize as I read over the part of this I already wrote how pertinent it is in light of the recent events in our country. Okay, here goes...

Last winter, I read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee for the first time in my life. (I've been meaning to write about it since then, but pregnancy and a toddler have certainly slowed my posting pace.) It was a fantastic book, and I do feel like I missed out a bit by not having read it sooner. At its core, To Kill a Mockingbird shows an authentic picture of what life is like in small, Southern towns--what it was like then, and what it is like for many people even now. I think what struck me most about To Kill a Mockingbird is that while it is certainly a book about the cruelty of racism, that aspect is just one component of a larger tapestry of what it means to be a southern girl growing up in a small town in Alabama. I think what interests me most is that in many places, we are still using this novel to teach about race. My father, who hated everything about education growing up in Alabama loved To Kill a Mockingbird, but I think what he loved about it most was what it revealed about the problems with public education in the South for he knew all too well the flaws in the system. Anyway, my point is to say that he loved that book when he read it in the 1960s.

Here's what I want to know: Today, in 2016, is To Kill a Mockingbird still the best novel that we can use to teach about race? 

For better or worse, I'm always reluctant to post controversial things. While I'm quite opinionated and not particularly "centrist" with my ideas, I prefer to keep things neutral when possible. I know I'm talking about a novel that many revere as sacred here, and I'm hesitant to say anything to rock the boat. But with white police killing black boys on a weekly basis and presidential candidates clearly promoting white superiority, I cannot help but think we have to do more to better educate our youth about race relations. Black lives matter, and black lives (as well as the lives of other people of color) need to be more of a focus in the literature that we teach. I have to question whether a southern novel written by a white woman in the 1960s is the best way we have to foster those discussions about race and the Other. I am not suggesting that we abandon the classics or stop teaching this novel, but I would like for us to take a long look at WHY we're teaching it and whether it truly meets all of our goals. What I don't want to see happen is for teachers to feel that they can check "race and racism" off on their list simply because they taught this novel. 

I'd like to consider some other texts that might work better for us to talk about the complexities of race in today's society. 

All American Boys (Jayson Reynolds and Brendan Kiely): This is a phenomenal read that highlights the complexity of race relations, particularly related to the issues we're seeing in our country today between police and the black community. Reynolds and Kiely write the novel from two perspectives, that of a black boy who is wrongly attacked by a police officer in a convenience store, and that of a white boy from the same school who witnesses the attack and knows the police officer well. While Reynolds and Kiely do an amazing job of layering and showing complexity, they write in a way that is very approachable for high school readers. 

Between the World and Me (Ta-Nehisi Coates): In this stunning work, Coates writes directly to his fifteen-year-old son. He tells his son of his own struggles and of how he feels about where we are in the world today and what it means to be a "black body" living in a world with people who "believe themselves to be white." Stunningly powerful and at times heart-wrenching, Coates brings to life the difficulties of where we are in our country today. ​It's a challenging read for high school students, but it can certainly make an impact, and it would work also work as excerpts to complement other texts. 

Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson):
Beautiful, gracious, and enlightening, Woodson's longer work in verse reflects on her youth leading into her adulthood. It's a captivating story that weaves together her family experiences, her own desires, and the pathway that led to her current life. Even better--it's poetry! Like Citizen, it would make a great work for excerpts, and it would expose the students to some stunning (but also accessible) poetry. Woodson comments on race and gender as a part of her life experiences, but the story simply tells of a girl's coming of age.  ​

There are so many amazing options out there that can facilitate meaningful conversations about race, and those conversations could not be more important in our country than they are today. While I loved To Kill a Mockingbird, it's not the only text out there that can shed light on the injustices and barbarity of racism.