Children of Blood and Bone

Gr 9 Up—After King Saran brutally murdered the maji (or "maggots," according to the king), Orïsha is no longer a magic-filled world of Burners, Healers, Reapers, and Connectors, and Zélie and her older brother Tzain struggle to make ends meet. Zélie's white hair marks her as a divîner, with potential for magic, and she trains and plots against Saran's heavy-handed rule. When King Saran's daughter, in possession of a stolen scroll, begs for Zélie's help, the two go on the run with Tzain as an initially reluctant accomplice. The trio risk their lives on the seemingly impossible task of uniting the scroll with sacred objects, which will restore magic to the world. Working against them is the crown prince, Inan, tasked by the king to retrieve the scroll at any cost. Gory killings erupt throughout, with a final battle drenched in blood. Narrator Bahni Turpin juggles voices as Zélie, Amari, Tzain, and Inan alternate as narrators, along with many secondary characters. Turpin slides easily from rolling r's to a lilting cadence to distinguish one from another.