Not too long ago, Adeyemi recalled getting frustrated with one of her own fictional heroes, Harry Potter, when fits of hopelessness interrupted the thrilling action of his journey. To tap into their pain, she immerses herself in other fictional and nonfictional accounts of grief and suffering, as shown in films, written in songs or experienced by her friends and family. So heavy, in fact, that Adeyemi conducts what she calls “emotional research” to enter the mindsets of her characters. If themes of intergenerational genocide and debilitating loss sound heavy for a YA fantasy, they are. Together, Zélie, Princess Amari and their squad of rebels must fight to keep unmediated power out of the wrong hands - all while coping with the crippling grief of losing their loved ones. The sequel picks up in a new Orïsha, where magic has been restored - at a cost.
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