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Blood at the Root #1
Blood at the Root
A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical . Enroll in this fresh fantasy debut with the emotional power of Legendborn and the redefined ancestral magic of Lovecraft Country .
Ten years ago, Malik's life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.
At Caiman University, Malik’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself— one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.
In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what's left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.
Ten years ago, Malik's life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.
At Caiman University, Malik’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself— one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.
In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what's left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2024
946 people are currently reading
22465 people want to read
About the author
LaDarrion Williams
4 books608 followersHailing from the small town of Helena, Alabama, LaDarrion Williams is a self-taught playwright, filmmaker, author, and screenwriter whose goal is to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy, providing space and agency for Black characters and stories in a new, fresh, and fantastical way. As a playwright, his first play Katrina won first place at the Alabama State Thespian Conference. Black Creek Risin’ was a part of the Great Plains Theatre Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. His play, Coco Queens, was invited to participate in the 2019 Sundance Institute’s Playwriting Intensive and will be receiving its World Premiere at Playhouse on the Square in July 2024. His plays also received semi-finalist recognition from the Eugene O’Neill National Playwriting Conference. He is a 2x finalist for the National Black Theatre I AM SOUL Playwriting Fellowship, David Ross Fetzer Foundation for Emerging Artist Theatre Grant, and the American Blues 2023 Blue Ink Award. He is also an alum of the Echo Theatre Playwrights Lab and the Boise Contemporary Theater BIPOC Playwrights Festival. His Jeff Award nominated play Boulevard of Bold Dreams (a story about Hattie McDaniel’s historic Oscar win) was a part of the New Works Festival at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica, California. It received a world premiere production at the TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago and an East Coast Premiere at Greater Boston Stage Company in March 2023. It was a part of the Orlando Shakes Theater Signature Series in Fall 2023 and will be produced at subsequent theaters nationwide in 2024-2025. In his filmmaking bag, LaDarrion has curated three short films on YouTube. And as a debut author, his Young Adult Blood at the Root was acquired in a competitive auction from Labyrinth Road, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and will debut in Summer of 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,004 reviews
June 20, 2024
“I restore goodness in you”
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January 17, 2024I will eat up ANY fantasy book with a POC 🖤🤎
The character is also from Helena, AL which is 5 minutes away from me 😊 super excited for this release !!
The character is also from Helena, AL which is 5 minutes away from me 😊 super excited for this release !!
June 22, 2024
1/5 stars. Yes spoilers. This review focuses on misogynoir. Content warning for mentions of SA towards the end (I will add an extra warning in bold).
This book has a decent premise but is riddled with flaws that frankly should've been handled in the first rounds of editing. Normally in a review I would focus on the bad pacing, nonsensical magic system, sloppy worldbuilding, or clumsy plot. I would also focus on the fact that, as someone not that far away from undergrad and who interacts with college students quite a lot at my job, I can already tell that many of the constant pop culture references – of which there are so many, though they lessen throughout the book – are already outdated. I could also point out, as some reviews already have, that this book was marketed as a book free from black trauma and yet quite literally began with a personal tragedy and was then followed up with institutional racism in the US foster system. I might still write about some of that, but later. What I want to talk about right now though is the way this book treats black women.
I am not black. But even I know there is not any conceivable version of black boy joy that necessitates misogynoir. Basically every woman in this story is either an elderly woman who bursts out into church psalms or, more frequently, an oversexualized baddie who exists only as set dressing. That's not even getting into the fact that the main female character (aside from the MC's grandma) literally gives up activism because of a man. Before I get into Alexis, I'm just going to drop some quotes below:
I'll just stop there because you get the idea.
Even more frustrating than the above passages though is the way the narrative and Malik, the main character, treats Alexis. It is quite literally said in the text that Malik and Alexis knew each other for less than a year when they were both in the foster system as children. This was ten years ago. Yet because they had this allegedly special connection – again, for a maximum of six months, back when they were seven – he meets her and automatically behaves as if he has some romantic claim over her. When he gets mad at her he immediately accuses her of having sex with another man. He does this twice.
The first time, Alexis is literally grieving the death and SA of a 16 year old girl (we'll get into that in a minute).
The second, Alexis is mad at him for getting into a fight that almost burned down the building.
And then, when they make up, not only does Alexis apologize to him, Malik then brings up whether she has a relationship with another man AGAIN.
To be clear, this behavior would not be ok even if Malik was her boyfriend or her husband. But the fact that he behaves this way when they literally JUST met again for the first time in ten years adds another layer of what the fuck. It's one thing for a character to feel jealous. It's a whole other thing to have the MC of your book treat their love interest this way and them still end up together as if it's all ok.
Further, Alexis is introduced as this huge student activist whose adoptive parents were very much involved in social justice movements. However, from the moment she meets Malik and especially after they become a couple she all but abandons her activism to comfort him and prop him up. Because that's her purpose as a woman. Not to mention Malik literally repeats Alexis' arguments at a meeting he goes to with the heads of the clans. Because of course he's the one who needs to have a voice in that room, not the character that we have been told is this activist. No, Alexis must focus her energies on Malik. The one scene where we see Malik supporting Alexis is when she reads him a poem about black girl magic in one scene towards the end of the book, and then swiftly after that it's revealed she's been in cahoots with the villains of the book this whole time. Because of course she was, and of course her activism can remain as poorly thought out and discarded as the rest of her.
Content warning for SA mention:
Oh and let's not forget how the story decided to tell us that one of the black girls that was kidnapped – because there are children being kidnapped, though it plays way less of a role in the plot than you would think – was sexually assaulted and trafficked before being murdered. Why did this happen to her? Literally have no idea. Did this play a major part in the plot or have anything to do with the other missing kids? Nope! The girl didn't even have magic, which is what the other children were being kidnapped for allegedly (again, the plot is a whole other discussion I do not have the energy to get into). This girl was just SA'd for shock value, I guess. And the only person who cared about her was Alexis, who then Malik treats as crazy because she decided to curse the men who did that to her with her magic. Because of course she's crazy for that.
End of SA mention.
In short: there are so many technical flaws that should've been addressed far before this went to print. Many could be forgiven for this being a debut author, though not all. But there is no amount of describing black women's hair as crowns – I'll let someone more qualified comment on that – that can make up for the astounding amount of misogynoir in the text. I do not look forward to future installments.
Here are three YA and some adult fantasy books I recommend you pick up instead of this one:
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko is a stunning YA fantasy with incredible worldbuilding, a unique magic system, and delves into a great conversation about family and mother-daughter relationships. It's my gold standard for YA.
This Ravenous Fate by Haley Dennings comes out later this year and is an ambitious, fresh, and sapphic YA paranormal fantasy about two former friends-turned-enemies and vampires set during the Harlem Renaissance. It's set to come out later this year but I read an eARC in May 2024 and love this addition to YA.
The Name Bearer by Natalia Hernandez is a solid YA fantasy set in magical Latin America that has incredibly rich worldbuilding and has a fantastic focus on women's friendships. It's a bit of a slower read but I really enjoyed it and look forward to the third book in the series.
I think I've reached the age where I just don't read as much YA anymore. But if you want to dive into great adult fantasy I recommend Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter (fantasy), The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin (sci-fi/fantasy), The Blood Trials by NE Davenport (sci-fi/fantasy), and Forging a Nightmare by Patricia Jackson (urban fantasy).
This book has a decent premise but is riddled with flaws that frankly should've been handled in the first rounds of editing. Normally in a review I would focus on the bad pacing, nonsensical magic system, sloppy worldbuilding, or clumsy plot. I would also focus on the fact that, as someone not that far away from undergrad and who interacts with college students quite a lot at my job, I can already tell that many of the constant pop culture references – of which there are so many, though they lessen throughout the book – are already outdated. I could also point out, as some reviews already have, that this book was marketed as a book free from black trauma and yet quite literally began with a personal tragedy and was then followed up with institutional racism in the US foster system. I might still write about some of that, but later. What I want to talk about right now though is the way this book treats black women.
I am not black. But even I know there is not any conceivable version of black boy joy that necessitates misogynoir. Basically every woman in this story is either an elderly woman who bursts out into church psalms or, more frequently, an oversexualized baddie who exists only as set dressing. That's not even getting into the fact that the main female character (aside from the MC's grandma) literally gives up activism because of a man. Before I get into Alexis, I'm just going to drop some quotes below:
1. All of this reminds me of when Ms. Pauline would catch the Holy Ghost in the middle of church, and her whole body would fall on the ground, shaking. Her wig would fall off, making all of us almost piss on ourselves, laughing.
2. On my right, a couple of baddies strut by, looking me up and down, smiling. I nod a wadup, trying hard not to look at them jeans, hugging them in all the right places. They giggle and press on.
3. A few giggling girls pass us with glazing adoration in their eyes. They all say in unison like they're in an episode of The Parkers. "Heyyyy, Professor Kumale." [...] They giggle and bobble their heads even more and bound outside the door.
4. One girl catches my attention. She blows on her pencil all seductively, and I swear to God, it writes the words without her even holding it.
5. Alexis comes out looking like a whoooollle brown-skinned Cinderella with her yellow see-through bikini dress that hugs every curve. Lawd ham mercy. When her full lips curl into that beautiful smile, it's making me clutch onto the art of being a gentleman for, like, five seconds. "Daaaayyyum...," I whisper, noticing her thigh slipping out. [...] It takes everything in me not to be a creep, because I just stare at her.
6. A group of scantily clad hotties flutter around the dance floor like moths under a streetlamp. They twerk them goodies while the music pulsates. Dipping through the room is a dude [...] chasing after a baddie, serenading her with drunken compliments.
7. [...] everybody in the house goes ham, throwing that ass with supernatural speed on the down beat. A couple of dudes straggle behind, being blessed by this one girl while she speed-twerks on them.
8. Even some girl comes up to me and starts twerking on me. Her booty going berserk, causing my world to go upside down. Even my teammates hold me back while homegirl go ham on me.
I'll just stop there because you get the idea.
Even more frustrating than the above passages though is the way the narrative and Malik, the main character, treats Alexis. It is quite literally said in the text that Malik and Alexis knew each other for less than a year when they were both in the foster system as children. This was ten years ago. Yet because they had this allegedly special connection – again, for a maximum of six months, back when they were seven – he meets her and automatically behaves as if he has some romantic claim over her. When he gets mad at her he immediately accuses her of having sex with another man. He does this twice.
The first time, Alexis is literally grieving the death and SA of a 16 year old girl (we'll get into that in a minute).
"It may not bring her back, but with our magic, we can prevent another Black woman or man from being murdered." [Alexis] clocks me shaking my head. "I knew you wouldn't understand. The only person who understands me is Donja..."
"Wow. So, you and the n–– definitely fucking."
The second, Alexis is mad at him for getting into a fight that almost burned down the building.
She shakes her head. "You're doing the most right now."
"I'm doing the most right now? Really? Well, ain't that the pot calling the kettle black. You know what, how you gon' take up for him, knowing what he did? I'm your friend way before you known that n––. What, y'all smashing or something?"
And then, when they make up, not only does Alexis apologize to him, Malik then brings up whether she has a relationship with another man AGAIN.
I immediately soften. "You sure nothing is going on with you two?"
"This is my last time even giving attention to this, okay? So, here it goes. No, we are not. [...]"
It takes everything in me to put the green-eyed monster away.
To be clear, this behavior would not be ok even if Malik was her boyfriend or her husband. But the fact that he behaves this way when they literally JUST met again for the first time in ten years adds another layer of what the fuck. It's one thing for a character to feel jealous. It's a whole other thing to have the MC of your book treat their love interest this way and them still end up together as if it's all ok.
Further, Alexis is introduced as this huge student activist whose adoptive parents were very much involved in social justice movements. However, from the moment she meets Malik and especially after they become a couple she all but abandons her activism to comfort him and prop him up. Because that's her purpose as a woman. Not to mention Malik literally repeats Alexis' arguments at a meeting he goes to with the heads of the clans. Because of course he's the one who needs to have a voice in that room, not the character that we have been told is this activist. No, Alexis must focus her energies on Malik. The one scene where we see Malik supporting Alexis is when she reads him a poem about black girl magic in one scene towards the end of the book, and then swiftly after that it's revealed she's been in cahoots with the villains of the book this whole time. Because of course she was, and of course her activism can remain as poorly thought out and discarded as the rest of her.
Content warning for SA mention:
Oh and let's not forget how the story decided to tell us that one of the black girls that was kidnapped – because there are children being kidnapped, though it plays way less of a role in the plot than you would think – was sexually assaulted and trafficked before being murdered. Why did this happen to her? Literally have no idea. Did this play a major part in the plot or have anything to do with the other missing kids? Nope! The girl didn't even have magic, which is what the other children were being kidnapped for allegedly (again, the plot is a whole other discussion I do not have the energy to get into). This girl was just SA'd for shock value, I guess. And the only person who cared about her was Alexis, who then Malik treats as crazy because she decided to curse the men who did that to her with her magic. Because of course she's crazy for that.
End of SA mention.
In short: there are so many technical flaws that should've been addressed far before this went to print. Many could be forgiven for this being a debut author, though not all. But there is no amount of describing black women's hair as crowns – I'll let someone more qualified comment on that – that can make up for the astounding amount of misogynoir in the text. I do not look forward to future installments.
Here are three YA and some adult fantasy books I recommend you pick up instead of this one:
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko is a stunning YA fantasy with incredible worldbuilding, a unique magic system, and delves into a great conversation about family and mother-daughter relationships. It's my gold standard for YA.
This Ravenous Fate by Haley Dennings comes out later this year and is an ambitious, fresh, and sapphic YA paranormal fantasy about two former friends-turned-enemies and vampires set during the Harlem Renaissance. It's set to come out later this year but I read an eARC in May 2024 and love this addition to YA.
The Name Bearer by Natalia Hernandez is a solid YA fantasy set in magical Latin America that has incredibly rich worldbuilding and has a fantastic focus on women's friendships. It's a bit of a slower read but I really enjoyed it and look forward to the third book in the series.
I think I've reached the age where I just don't read as much YA anymore. But if you want to dive into great adult fantasy I recommend Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter (fantasy), The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin (sci-fi/fantasy), The Blood Trials by NE Davenport (sci-fi/fantasy), and Forging a Nightmare by Patricia Jackson (urban fantasy).
January 10, 2024
So Blood at the Root was one of my most anticipated 2024 releases.
Malik is a teenage boy who has really been through it. He's 17, emancipated and ready to take on the world. But where he decides to start is by rescuing his foster brother Taye from their abusive foster parents. But his plans to rescue Taye go awry and he ends up meeting a mysterious man who reveals to him that he has a grandmother who is out there looking for him. Malik finds himself in New Orleans being pulled into a world full of magic and secrets. And it seems the key to unveiling the truth about his mother is attending a magical university for Black students.
This book was action packed and the plot keeps readers guessing until the very end. Malik has a strong voice and distinct personality and I appreciated that he and his supporting cast felt imperfect. Young people don't speak the same way those of us who are older do. Sometimes they say things that can be offensive and it's not from a place of malice. I thought that was captured well here.
Were some of the references a little too millennial and at times a little much? Yes, but that improved as the book went on and the story started to unfold. Once we get more into campus life and classes the book really shines. Sometimes fantasy books set at schools tend to stray away from having the teens attend classes but this one does a great job showcasing life at this school as Malik is training.
Now to say this is a book without trauma would be inaccurate. Malik has undergone and still undergoes a lot. But what made this book stand out to me compared to many other YA fantasies by Black authors that I've read was the authentic voice and constant centering of Black characters. There were no prominent white characters taking up space here. There was no token white bestie who said all the right things. While some of their problems do stem from hundred's of years of racism and mistreatment it never felt like whiteness was centered here. The messages here felt like they were for Black readers to appreciate and celebrate their history rather than for white people to see their humanity. There were a lot of little touches where I can tell the author put a lot of thought into building this world.
And I'm interested in seeing how things continue with the revelations we had at the end.
I received an arc from the author in exchange for an honest review.
See longer review below
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....
Malik is a teenage boy who has really been through it. He's 17, emancipated and ready to take on the world. But where he decides to start is by rescuing his foster brother Taye from their abusive foster parents. But his plans to rescue Taye go awry and he ends up meeting a mysterious man who reveals to him that he has a grandmother who is out there looking for him. Malik finds himself in New Orleans being pulled into a world full of magic and secrets. And it seems the key to unveiling the truth about his mother is attending a magical university for Black students.
This book was action packed and the plot keeps readers guessing until the very end. Malik has a strong voice and distinct personality and I appreciated that he and his supporting cast felt imperfect. Young people don't speak the same way those of us who are older do. Sometimes they say things that can be offensive and it's not from a place of malice. I thought that was captured well here.
Were some of the references a little too millennial and at times a little much? Yes, but that improved as the book went on and the story started to unfold. Once we get more into campus life and classes the book really shines. Sometimes fantasy books set at schools tend to stray away from having the teens attend classes but this one does a great job showcasing life at this school as Malik is training.
Now to say this is a book without trauma would be inaccurate. Malik has undergone and still undergoes a lot. But what made this book stand out to me compared to many other YA fantasies by Black authors that I've read was the authentic voice and constant centering of Black characters. There were no prominent white characters taking up space here. There was no token white bestie who said all the right things. While some of their problems do stem from hundred's of years of racism and mistreatment it never felt like whiteness was centered here. The messages here felt like they were for Black readers to appreciate and celebrate their history rather than for white people to see their humanity. There were a lot of little touches where I can tell the author put a lot of thought into building this world.
And I'm interested in seeing how things continue with the revelations we had at the end.
I received an arc from the author in exchange for an honest review.
See longer review below
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....
June 2, 2024
First let me say, I've been looking forward to this book. I've heard so much about it and the author has been on my FYP for months. In addition, I am Haitian, so I was very proud and happy to read aspects of my culture being represented. The premise of the book was also very interesting, an HBCU for magic practitioners! A black Harry Potter, a book about black boy joy! No racial trauma! I couldn't wait. You can't imagine my disappointment.
There were so many things that pulled me out of the story that I don't know where to start. I guess we can start with the book being marketed as "no trauma", and black boy joy," There is nothing joyful about Malik. The book literally starts with trauma.
Let's deal with the language. This book read like a white person wrote it. A white person who thought they were speaking "black". I expected to read "jive turkey" at some point. It was that bad. So many "ain't, finna, fasho!" etc it was ridiculous! The way words were continually being dragged out "cuuute, gooood, dayuuuum" I HAAAATED it. No one talks like that. Then Mama Aya would say "baybeh" in one place, then back to saying "baby" which is it?
Now let's talk about the kreyol. I am a native speaker and my feelings were hurt. The way the language was spoken in the book, it was clear the author didn't check with a native speaker. The words were translated word for word, and any linguist will tell you that is not always the best way. I was so disappointed.
Here's the thing, this story has potential. I LOVE the premise and I BELIEVE in the author's talent. This story could be so good, a rewrite and a better editor will save it. An editor who takes more time to research the culture that is being represented. Someone who respects the culture. Because it felt like cosplay to me. The author did not display a love or respect for the folklore he is borrowing from. I hate the fact that I couldn't love the book, but I felt so insulted, I simply couldn't go on. If a re-write is done, I would absolutely love to read the final version, but I'm sure at this point, it wouldn't be possible. Sadly this book will not have done much to provide the diaspora with a story that I think they are ready and asking for.
There were so many things that pulled me out of the story that I don't know where to start. I guess we can start with the book being marketed as "no trauma", and black boy joy," There is nothing joyful about Malik. The book literally starts with trauma.
Let's deal with the language. This book read like a white person wrote it. A white person who thought they were speaking "black". I expected to read "jive turkey" at some point. It was that bad. So many "ain't, finna, fasho!" etc it was ridiculous! The way words were continually being dragged out "cuuute, gooood, dayuuuum" I HAAAATED it. No one talks like that. Then Mama Aya would say "baybeh" in one place, then back to saying "baby" which is it?
Now let's talk about the kreyol. I am a native speaker and my feelings were hurt. The way the language was spoken in the book, it was clear the author didn't check with a native speaker. The words were translated word for word, and any linguist will tell you that is not always the best way. I was so disappointed.
Here's the thing, this story has potential. I LOVE the premise and I BELIEVE in the author's talent. This story could be so good, a rewrite and a better editor will save it. An editor who takes more time to research the culture that is being represented. Someone who respects the culture. Because it felt like cosplay to me. The author did not display a love or respect for the folklore he is borrowing from. I hate the fact that I couldn't love the book, but I felt so insulted, I simply couldn't go on. If a re-write is done, I would absolutely love to read the final version, but I'm sure at this point, it wouldn't be possible. Sadly this book will not have done much to provide the diaspora with a story that I think they are ready and asking for.
June 22, 2024
Complete misogynoiristic, homophobic/transphobic, and overall antiblack horseshit. The author is a fan of The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and Harry Potter and it shows (and I mean this in the most negative sense possible). This review is not going to be nice or respectful bc this author doesn’t deserve respect, and I will be writing my main issues in bullet points bc there is literally so many things wrong wit this book it’s too much to name and I have trouble articulating my thoughts and I want to get them out as quickly as possible.
Edit: I also deeply resent the fact that the MC name is Malik and after having read this garbage I feel as though I deserve financial compensation for my name being used in such a manner. Pay up LaDarrion.
TW: for mentions of SA, human trafficking, misogynoir, and transphobia/homophobia
-This YA book participates in the adultification of Black children (something that people use to justify their murder/SA/imprisonment/etc.). It’s so disgusting that despite being set in college the characters are all children that are being written as if they are adults.
-Directly plays into propaganda that demonizes Haitian people despite the preaching on and on in the story about how white people are so antiblack for demonizing Black spirituality/magic.
-Incredible reductive, preachy, and repetitive as if the target audience are Woke™️ white people and not the Black people that want to be represented in fantasy settings.
-NONE of the dialogue reads as if an actual Black person is speaking. There are Black characters of different ethnicities in this book and they all speak like a white person typing into ChatGPT. AAVE/Ebonics has different dialects across the Black American diaspora, Black people from New York and Baltimore and Mississippi and Alabama do not speak the exact same and that Black person from whatever unspecified island in ch.11 is definitely NOT about to speak in butchered AAVE and call people “heffas”. Every Black person speaks like an antiblack caricature.
-Every Black woman or girl is written as either a jezebel or a mammy and it don’t matter how many times you describe them as a goddess or their hair as crowns, they’re still written abysmally and treated with disrespect.
-The SA and murder of Katia Washington is violent and unnecessary. The author has a tweet where he says and I quote “Often times Black boys don’t always get to be the main character in YA fantasy books. They’re either killed off or relegated to the side to help the white main character’s story forward. Not Malik.” And then proceeds to do the exact same thing with every Black woman or girl in this story. Why did you go out of your way to tell us that this girl was not only murdered but also sex trafficked? Why was that necessary? What did it add to the plot or story? On top of all that the MC’s response to his supposed love interest being rightfully upset about this Black CHILD’s murder was incredibly abusive, misogynistic, and overall disrespectful. In the middle of a discussion about Katia, the MC proceeds to get angry over Alexis allegedly sleeping with another boy (mind you these characters are children and they only just met again after 10 years). And we’re supposed to like and root for this character. And the fact that Alexis is demonized for hexing the rapists responsible is an extra layer of bullshit added to this garbage. There was no talk of any justice for Katia her death was used as a weak plot device to prop up the MC.
-The MC is a sack of shit. You can have flawed and even unlikeable characters in your story, but the MC isn’t even a well written flawed character he’s just an asshole that I guess we were supposed to like? His first meeting with Savon he misgenders them. He’s homophobic to D Low (I won’t even begin to get into how biphobic/homophobic it is to essentially name a queer boy Down Low it’s like something Tyler Perry would write as a homophobic joke but this author is deadass) and it’s so wild to me how in a fantasy setting this gay author not only decided that homophobia/transphobia exists but the MC should also participate in it. And he treats Alexis like his property-I mean girlfriend (despite them having only known each other for a few months 10 years ago when they were 6-7) constantly getting unreasonably upset at the idea of her being sexually and/or romantically involved with another boy. He’s overall a shit person and honestly doesn’t get even a little better the entire book.
In conclusion do not read this book. Not just because of the misogynoir or the homophobia but because it just fuckin sucks. If I could give this book negative stars I would. The writing is dense, repetitive, and nonsensical and many sentences will leave you sitting there scratching your head in confusion. He stole a lot of shit from different antiblack media he likes and didn’t even have the talent to make it better or even cohesive. I will never pick up another book from this author and genuinely think he needs to be banned from writing. I actually think somebody need to hack into his computer and delete the draft of the second book (and any other writing project he has currently) and make him an account on Indeed.com bc he needs to find a new profession.
Also LaDarrion please don’t ever compare yourself to Zora Neal Hurston again, it’s embarrassing to yourself and disrespectful to her. You’re not her, you’ll never be her, and your desperate clambering for validation is pathetic.
Edit: I also deeply resent the fact that the MC name is Malik and after having read this garbage I feel as though I deserve financial compensation for my name being used in such a manner. Pay up LaDarrion.
TW: for mentions of SA, human trafficking, misogynoir, and transphobia/homophobia
-This YA book participates in the adultification of Black children (something that people use to justify their murder/SA/imprisonment/etc.). It’s so disgusting that despite being set in college the characters are all children that are being written as if they are adults.
-Directly plays into propaganda that demonizes Haitian people despite the preaching on and on in the story about how white people are so antiblack for demonizing Black spirituality/magic.
-Incredible reductive, preachy, and repetitive as if the target audience are Woke™️ white people and not the Black people that want to be represented in fantasy settings.
-NONE of the dialogue reads as if an actual Black person is speaking. There are Black characters of different ethnicities in this book and they all speak like a white person typing into ChatGPT. AAVE/Ebonics has different dialects across the Black American diaspora, Black people from New York and Baltimore and Mississippi and Alabama do not speak the exact same and that Black person from whatever unspecified island in ch.11 is definitely NOT about to speak in butchered AAVE and call people “heffas”. Every Black person speaks like an antiblack caricature.
-Every Black woman or girl is written as either a jezebel or a mammy and it don’t matter how many times you describe them as a goddess or their hair as crowns, they’re still written abysmally and treated with disrespect.
-The SA and murder of Katia Washington is violent and unnecessary. The author has a tweet where he says and I quote “Often times Black boys don’t always get to be the main character in YA fantasy books. They’re either killed off or relegated to the side to help the white main character’s story forward. Not Malik.” And then proceeds to do the exact same thing with every Black woman or girl in this story. Why did you go out of your way to tell us that this girl was not only murdered but also sex trafficked? Why was that necessary? What did it add to the plot or story? On top of all that the MC’s response to his supposed love interest being rightfully upset about this Black CHILD’s murder was incredibly abusive, misogynistic, and overall disrespectful. In the middle of a discussion about Katia, the MC proceeds to get angry over Alexis allegedly sleeping with another boy (mind you these characters are children and they only just met again after 10 years). And we’re supposed to like and root for this character. And the fact that Alexis is demonized for hexing the rapists responsible is an extra layer of bullshit added to this garbage. There was no talk of any justice for Katia her death was used as a weak plot device to prop up the MC.
-The MC is a sack of shit. You can have flawed and even unlikeable characters in your story, but the MC isn’t even a well written flawed character he’s just an asshole that I guess we were supposed to like? His first meeting with Savon he misgenders them. He’s homophobic to D Low (I won’t even begin to get into how biphobic/homophobic it is to essentially name a queer boy Down Low it’s like something Tyler Perry would write as a homophobic joke but this author is deadass) and it’s so wild to me how in a fantasy setting this gay author not only decided that homophobia/transphobia exists but the MC should also participate in it. And he treats Alexis like his property-I mean girlfriend (despite them having only known each other for a few months 10 years ago when they were 6-7) constantly getting unreasonably upset at the idea of her being sexually and/or romantically involved with another boy. He’s overall a shit person and honestly doesn’t get even a little better the entire book.
In conclusion do not read this book. Not just because of the misogynoir or the homophobia but because it just fuckin sucks. If I could give this book negative stars I would. The writing is dense, repetitive, and nonsensical and many sentences will leave you sitting there scratching your head in confusion. He stole a lot of shit from different antiblack media he likes and didn’t even have the talent to make it better or even cohesive. I will never pick up another book from this author and genuinely think he needs to be banned from writing. I actually think somebody need to hack into his computer and delete the draft of the second book (and any other writing project he has currently) and make him an account on Indeed.com bc he needs to find a new profession.
Also LaDarrion please don’t ever compare yourself to Zora Neal Hurston again, it’s embarrassing to yourself and disrespectful to her. You’re not her, you’ll never be her, and your desperate clambering for validation is pathetic.
July 20, 2024
It’s not often that I rate books this low. I really REALLY tried giving this a chance because I admired the author for his creative efforts and the book sounded exciting. But it seems like we can’t get Magical Black People right as Black people.
I couldn’t make it to page 100. Really, I was mentally checked out by chapter 3. It tries much too hard to be Black, so much so that it feels like a white person wrote it. It doesn’t get any better when Malik actually gets to the university, when it throws a barrage of Black media references in your face in case you forgot that the Black book with Black characters is Black. It’s one thing to display Black Pride. There’s nothing wrong with that. But this book shoves it down your throat from page 1, and it gets progressively more aggressive to the point that you forget what the book is even about.
On top of that, the author advertises the book as being for Black people without Black trauma. However, it immediately starts with Black trauma with Malik living in the ghetto and living the stereotypical troubled Black boy life, which was already a red flag for me by chapter 1. I didn’t get this far, but apparently there are bits of homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny further in the story as well, along with some depictions of Hoodou being downright offensive, despite the author’s research.
Some of the dialogue was hard to read as well, as it kept switching between slang and standard English, which made Malik’s voice kind of confusing. I’ve read Black books that use slang and AAVE, but this wasn’t a case where it was executed properly. And some of the more modern slang in the dialogue felt very forced and didn’t flow right at all.
I’ve seen some people describe the book as if JK Rowling tried to write Black people or if Tyler Perry wrote a book. As much as it pains me to say it, those descriptions are pretty spot on. This is the second piece of mainstream Black magical media we have for 2023/2024 (the last one being The American Society of Magical Negroes) and we fell flat once again. Unfortunately, I do not recommend this one.
I couldn’t make it to page 100. Really, I was mentally checked out by chapter 3. It tries much too hard to be Black, so much so that it feels like a white person wrote it. It doesn’t get any better when Malik actually gets to the university, when it throws a barrage of Black media references in your face in case you forgot that the Black book with Black characters is Black. It’s one thing to display Black Pride. There’s nothing wrong with that. But this book shoves it down your throat from page 1, and it gets progressively more aggressive to the point that you forget what the book is even about.
On top of that, the author advertises the book as being for Black people without Black trauma. However, it immediately starts with Black trauma with Malik living in the ghetto and living the stereotypical troubled Black boy life, which was already a red flag for me by chapter 1. I didn’t get this far, but apparently there are bits of homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny further in the story as well, along with some depictions of Hoodou being downright offensive, despite the author’s research.
Some of the dialogue was hard to read as well, as it kept switching between slang and standard English, which made Malik’s voice kind of confusing. I’ve read Black books that use slang and AAVE, but this wasn’t a case where it was executed properly. And some of the more modern slang in the dialogue felt very forced and didn’t flow right at all.
I’ve seen some people describe the book as if JK Rowling tried to write Black people or if Tyler Perry wrote a book. As much as it pains me to say it, those descriptions are pretty spot on. This is the second piece of mainstream Black magical media we have for 2023/2024 (the last one being The American Society of Magical Negroes) and we fell flat once again. Unfortunately, I do not recommend this one.
Read
August 26, 2024Thank you netgalley and random house for the arc.
I loved the cover and what the book seemed to be about.
At 63% in the book i decided to DNF. I was really hoping to love and enjoy this book. It started falling flat and cringy to me. I was truly holding on but nothing made me want to finish it. Every time you turned around it felt like the author was trying to throw all the black pop culture references they could. I strongly dislike that. It’s like trying to prove you’re black and comes off trying too hard to fit in. Or like a non black person wrote the book.
Then the use of AAVE in conversations just seemed to be forced. Like yet again trying to prove you’re black or a non black person wrote it. Malik dealing with trauma out the gate and not seeing any black boy joy by the time i stopped reading. Also Malik acting as if Alexis is supposed to be his is crazy.
I think going back to the drawing board is best. Getting a better editing team or something because these things plus other stuff should’ve been picked up on.
Read if you want.
I loved the cover and what the book seemed to be about.
At 63% in the book i decided to DNF. I was really hoping to love and enjoy this book. It started falling flat and cringy to me. I was truly holding on but nothing made me want to finish it. Every time you turned around it felt like the author was trying to throw all the black pop culture references they could. I strongly dislike that. It’s like trying to prove you’re black and comes off trying too hard to fit in. Or like a non black person wrote the book.
Then the use of AAVE in conversations just seemed to be forced. Like yet again trying to prove you’re black or a non black person wrote it. Malik dealing with trauma out the gate and not seeing any black boy joy by the time i stopped reading. Also Malik acting as if Alexis is supposed to be his is crazy.
I think going back to the drawing board is best. Getting a better editing team or something because these things plus other stuff should’ve been picked up on.
Read if you want.
June 25, 2024
**TRIGGER WARNING: Family death, foster care system, mentions of assault, racial tension**
This is one of my favorite reads of 2024. When I heard others describe it as Harry Potter at a magical HBCU, I agreed.
This book is what everyone thought The American Society of Magical Negros was going to be.
I have seen in some reviews people complain about the language used in the book. However, as someone who coaches high school track and field at a predominantly black POC school and is the oldest sibling to a 19-year-old, the dialogue is what I loved about the story because it felt genuine. That is precisely how 17-19-year-olds talk.
My one critique of the book would be the lack of translation for the Kreyol. I am not complaining about translation because I'm Haitian American and grew up speaking Kreyol, so I was good there. Still, for those who do not know the language, the lack of translation could be bothersome to a reader because they may not be able to pick up on what is going on, but also having my Haitian culture presented in a light that was not simply a voodoo witch doctor. But it showed that my people have a vast and rich history. Also, not villainizing faith practices that are not Christianity.
Some also complained about Malik's lacking maturity. But, again, as mentioned, Malik is 17, and he hit as much maturation as we should expect from a teenage boy his age. Too many black stories, both fictional and nonfictional, have the black and minority kids having to handle excessive burdens and age faster than they need or should have to because of the trauma they had to endure, and I like that this writer didn't play Trauma Olympics with Malik. Malik did have traumas to face, but it was nothing along the lines of racism and police brutality. This was the typical traumas that many main characters of fantasy stories face. So, while blackness was celebrated, racial trauma was not at the forefront of this story, and I loved that.
**EDIT**
I would recommend reading this book while following along with the audiobook. The narrator does a great job of giving the appropriate inflections needed for the dialogue. Also, I see in some reviews folks talk about misogyny and misgendering. But in the story, Malik points out his ignorance in certain situations and says he needs to do better. I think some people who left negative reviews of this book were nitpicking to the point that the review doesn't feel genuine and more like a personal attack on the author.
This is one of my favorite reads of 2024. When I heard others describe it as Harry Potter at a magical HBCU, I agreed.
This book is what everyone thought The American Society of Magical Negros was going to be.
I have seen in some reviews people complain about the language used in the book. However, as someone who coaches high school track and field at a predominantly black POC school and is the oldest sibling to a 19-year-old, the dialogue is what I loved about the story because it felt genuine. That is precisely how 17-19-year-olds talk.
My one critique of the book would be the lack of translation for the Kreyol. I am not complaining about translation because I'm Haitian American and grew up speaking Kreyol, so I was good there. Still, for those who do not know the language, the lack of translation could be bothersome to a reader because they may not be able to pick up on what is going on, but also having my Haitian culture presented in a light that was not simply a voodoo witch doctor. But it showed that my people have a vast and rich history. Also, not villainizing faith practices that are not Christianity.
Some also complained about Malik's lacking maturity. But, again, as mentioned, Malik is 17, and he hit as much maturation as we should expect from a teenage boy his age. Too many black stories, both fictional and nonfictional, have the black and minority kids having to handle excessive burdens and age faster than they need or should have to because of the trauma they had to endure, and I like that this writer didn't play Trauma Olympics with Malik. Malik did have traumas to face, but it was nothing along the lines of racism and police brutality. This was the typical traumas that many main characters of fantasy stories face. So, while blackness was celebrated, racial trauma was not at the forefront of this story, and I loved that.
**EDIT**
I would recommend reading this book while following along with the audiobook. The narrator does a great job of giving the appropriate inflections needed for the dialogue. Also, I see in some reviews folks talk about misogyny and misgendering. But in the story, Malik points out his ignorance in certain situations and says he needs to do better. I think some people who left negative reviews of this book were nitpicking to the point that the review doesn't feel genuine and more like a personal attack on the author.
July 8, 2025
“Black girl magic is not just a hashtag. It’s a spell conjured up from the mouths of our ancestors. Black girl, you are God herself. Queen mother. Sister. Cinnamon princess. The healer of wounds. The giver of life. You are. I am. We are. Infinite.”
I was hooked from the beginning, though I found the middle a bit slow at times. However, the story wrapped up in a satisfying way, and I’m excited to see what book two has in store. As a student and alumni of an HBCU, I loved how relatable so many aspects of the story were, especially the rich depiction of Black culture. It made the experience feel authentic and personal.
I was hooked from the beginning, though I found the middle a bit slow at times. However, the story wrapped up in a satisfying way, and I’m excited to see what book two has in store. As a student and alumni of an HBCU, I loved how relatable so many aspects of the story were, especially the rich depiction of Black culture. It made the experience feel authentic and personal.
November 26, 2023
Thanks to Random House Children’s & Labyrinth Road for this digital ARC from NetGalley.
Blood Root is the Black fantasy novel many people needed growing up. I loved the representation of a black boy from the South as the main character, and the ties between voodoo & ancestral magic & Black History/inventions. Uncle Samedi ‘s character was amazing. The Black culture references was great to see. Ok, so now to the explanation of the rating.
The long lost grandmother was my favorite character, but disappointingly, many of the other women and girls in this book (including the love interest) were not fully developed characters to me. The love interest, Alexis is feels seen as nothing more than a love interest and an activist - and the main character always has his eye on her beauty, yet the love story seems no more than a first crush and trauma bond.
This book feels filled with trauma, from losing a parent, navigating the foster system, suddenly being in a university basically on his own, interactions with the police and more. His foster brother get to relax some, um when does he? Dude cannot catch a break! I was exhausted for the main character.
I wish that the book had more black boy joy and more HBCU traditions. I saw aspects of world building that approached a magical HBCU - but didn’t quite make it there. Additionally, the pop culture references were a lot and distracting in a way I’m not sure younger generations would relate to. To me, this book is written choppy and was difficult to read at times.
Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me, but it could definitely be for someone else. Looking forward to the release next year and hoping that others will have a different experience.
Blood Root is the Black fantasy novel many people needed growing up. I loved the representation of a black boy from the South as the main character, and the ties between voodoo & ancestral magic & Black History/inventions. Uncle Samedi ‘s character was amazing. The Black culture references was great to see. Ok, so now to the explanation of the rating.
The long lost grandmother was my favorite character, but disappointingly, many of the other women and girls in this book (including the love interest) were not fully developed characters to me. The love interest, Alexis is feels seen as nothing more than a love interest and an activist - and the main character always has his eye on her beauty, yet the love story seems no more than a first crush and trauma bond.
This book feels filled with trauma, from losing a parent, navigating the foster system, suddenly being in a university basically on his own, interactions with the police and more. His foster brother get to relax some, um when does he? Dude cannot catch a break! I was exhausted for the main character.
I wish that the book had more black boy joy and more HBCU traditions. I saw aspects of world building that approached a magical HBCU - but didn’t quite make it there. Additionally, the pop culture references were a lot and distracting in a way I’m not sure younger generations would relate to. To me, this book is written choppy and was difficult to read at times.
Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me, but it could definitely be for someone else. Looking forward to the release next year and hoping that others will have a different experience.
June 16, 2023
Just saw on TikTok! Can’t wait for this to be released.
March 18, 2025
“This is dedicated to the seventeen-year-old Black boy who the world told he doesn’t have magic.
Lemme let you in on a lil’ secret: you do. It is in your blood; it is nestled deep in your bones. It is in the very soil you walk on that’s been blessed by the sweat and tears of your ancestors. Walk in it with pride.”
I needed this book growing up, and I'm hella juiced that it finally exists! It reminds me of my love for Harry Potter during childhood—eagerly going to bookstores to buy the next book in the series and staying up all night to read. As an adult, I also connected with Black Panther especially the movies. Having both of those worlds in one book was amazing. I got completely lost in the story and the world-building.
I can understand how some people might find the author's writing style and frequent use of slang annoying, but for me, that made it incredibly relatable. The betrayals in this book broke my heart. If I were a teenager or young adult, this would easily be one of my ultimate favorites, alongside Ace of Spades. I borrowed a copy from my library, but I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my overcrowded bookshelf! 😂👏🏾👏🏾 I can't wait for the next release this summer!
Lemme let you in on a lil’ secret: you do. It is in your blood; it is nestled deep in your bones. It is in the very soil you walk on that’s been blessed by the sweat and tears of your ancestors. Walk in it with pride.”
I needed this book growing up, and I'm hella juiced that it finally exists! It reminds me of my love for Harry Potter during childhood—eagerly going to bookstores to buy the next book in the series and staying up all night to read. As an adult, I also connected with Black Panther especially the movies. Having both of those worlds in one book was amazing. I got completely lost in the story and the world-building.
I can understand how some people might find the author's writing style and frequent use of slang annoying, but for me, that made it incredibly relatable. The betrayals in this book broke my heart. If I were a teenager or young adult, this would easily be one of my ultimate favorites, alongside Ace of Spades. I borrowed a copy from my library, but I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my overcrowded bookshelf! 😂👏🏾👏🏾 I can't wait for the next release this summer!
July 23, 2024
This is a YA book about a magical Black HBCU, I loved the idea but think the execution was flawed. The book is way too long, and slow, and I felt like most of the twists were just there to twist, but didn't move the plot forward. It was hard to follow and I never really cared about the characters, I also struggled to keep them all straight. The book has potential and the author has a great imagination, but the editor needed to be considerably more rigorous with this story.
January 5, 2025
4.5 Stars!
"The magic of resilience is in his blood"
Yall I loved this book. I said over on Fable that yall need to stop reading that racist transphobic British lady's books and read this book instead.
Blood at the Root is about a young Black man..really a boy who learns that he is not alone in having magic powers. I don't know why this book is classified as Young Adult because our man character Malik is in college and this book reads like just straight Urban Fantasy. This books writing style kinda reminded me of a less intense SA Cosby and yall know I love that man.
I loved this book. I loved the world. Malik is a very realistic character, his anger is very understandable. I can't wait for the next book in the series because I know it's going to be wild.
"The magic of resilience is in his blood"
Yall I loved this book. I said over on Fable that yall need to stop reading that racist transphobic British lady's books and read this book instead.
Blood at the Root is about a young Black man..really a boy who learns that he is not alone in having magic powers. I don't know why this book is classified as Young Adult because our man character Malik is in college and this book reads like just straight Urban Fantasy. This books writing style kinda reminded me of a less intense SA Cosby and yall know I love that man.
I loved this book. I loved the world. Malik is a very realistic character, his anger is very understandable. I can't wait for the next book in the series because I know it's going to be wild.
July 30, 2024
Book Stats
Stars: DNFED @25%
Start Date: 07/22/24
Ending Date: 07/29/24
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Form: E-Arc/ Audiobook
Page Count: 432
Publishing Date: 05/07/24
Point of View: 1st Person
Setting: Helena, Al
My Blog: https://tanyasreading.wordpress.com/2...
StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews...
Thank you Netgalley for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book feels like a badly written Tubi Movie...
This book came to my attention thanks to Tiktok during the height of HAMU Tittok last year. HAMU (Hogwarts Agricultural and Magical University) was created by black titokers who loved Harry Potter and wanted to create a HBCU Hogwarts using the black experience and culture. Since around the same time, the video game, Hogwarts Legacy, was popular with a lot of people playing it.
For context, HBCU means Historically Black College and Universities since I am going to be saying that phrase a lot during this review.
So I started really seeing the author promoting this book calling it the Black Harry Potter with a Magical HBCU which for the most part sounded interesting. So when the arc came out I decided to request for it and got approved. I tried reading it three times and for some reason could get past the first few pages until I got the audiobook.
Let me tell you I should have listened to my subconscious and not even tried.
Why am I DNFing this book?
The author has been saying on their twitter and titkok pages as they heavily promoted this Black Magical HBCU as no black trauma which is further from the truth.
In the prologue and the first couple chapters this is what happens.
1.The prologue has the death of a parent and the first chapter has that character in the foster care system meaning they were in a single parent home to begin with. Meaning the absence of a father figure.
2.Honestly no mention of a father or father figure at all so far in the MMC life..
3.The community that the MMC was in didn’t step up for him and thought he killed his mom.
4.The potential Main Female Character was abandoned by her parents for doing magic.....
5.The MMC foster brother was abused by his foster parents.
6.The MMC pretty much didn’t even know he had a grandmother or relatives on his mama side of the family for ten years.
This is all in the first six chapters of the book. Like did he understand what black trauma actually means before saying it’s no black trauma in it?
I have been reading a lot of books with black authors with black characters and not once did these authors say that the book is not going through some kind of trauma. Hell, one of my favorite reads this year has the main two characters trying to figure out who framed their grandmother which led to her death and who killed their father. Those two characters go through a lot of shit in two books but don’t hear that author saying “Oh there is no trauma in it,”
The author is promoting this book to black boys so they can finally see themselves but have the main character hijack and steal a car in the first chapter. Something that most deniably get a black boy arrested and possibly killed for.
This book is trying so hard to appeal to blacks and the culture while still missing the mark. It doesn’t feel authentic because of it due to the fact Black Culture is not how many freaking black pop culture references you can make. You don’t need Temptations, Black Panther, Fast and the Fury or Drumline movie references for it to be black. Black Culture is using the experiences that black people can relate to. It's pretty using your own experience (not a caricature of an experience) to shape the story that people of that culture will understand. It is just too much and it comes off as being cringe instead of something you can enjoy.
Also instead of embracing the black culture it just feels like it’s mocking it especially when it comes to how the elders laugh and do things. Also how the black church is run as well.
The author is promoting this book as a Magical HBCU but not once did the author “shout out” the HBCUs in Alabama or in general but did shout the two most popular PWI schools in Alabama. Since the book takes place in Helena, Al before it goes to Louisiana.
It’s a line in particular where the MMC is learning the name of Magical HBCU.
“I know,” I hear Mama Aya tell him. “I need you ta let him into Caiman.”Hearing that word, my mind goes back to last night, finding my mama’s college hoodie. The way they’re talking about it makes it seem like it’s University of Alabama or Auburn University."
I'm not trying to be picky but if this supposed to have a HBCU like magic school why are mentioning the two PWI "muggle" schools ( Alabama and Auburn) instead of mentioning the "muggle" HBCU's?
You know like Selma University, Tuskegee, Miles, Stillman, Alabama State University, Alabama A&M and Concordia to name a few ? It would make more sense to mention those HBCU's since you are supposed to be basing the college off of them. Granted the MMC worldview can be stunted and him not knowing about the HBCUs. You know what? Let me take that back. Unless he went to a majority white elementary, middle and high school, he should have known about the HBCU’s because he may have had teachers that went there.
I wanted to DNF faster but I wanted to wait until he got to school before I made my decision. Once I got there my mind was made up that I was not going to continue.
How the hell the dean of the school is going to show up the whole campus where we see students walking around doing magic duels, playing basketball, riding bikes and other student activities. Show murals of Kobe Bryant and Chiswick Bosman, say 15,000 students that attend, have a student exchange program show pics of past students shaking Martin Luther King. Jr. 's hand but not once mention where the hell the dorms are?
The reason why I say this is because if you have that many students on your campus and the fact you have to teleport to the campus since it's hidden from the outside world, where the hell are that many students going to sleep? Especially the ones who come from different countries. I bring this up because the world building of this book so far is so nonexistent. How the magical system works in this book is not there either. This book needs to be better researched instead of throwing a black pop culture reference every five seconds and the MMC saying the n-word with the a on the end all the time.
So this book was not for me at all.
If you want a book written by a Black Male Author with one of the main characters/pov is a Black Male Teenager that does magic and have to deal with things that shape them, I recommend the Blood Debt Series by Terry Benton Walker.
If you want a Black Fantasy or Magical Realism in General I have recs I collected
1.Blood Debt Series by Terry Benton Walker
2.The Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deonn
3.The Belles Series by Dhonielle Clayton
4.The Marvellers series by Dhonielle Clayton
5.Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
6.Wings of Ebony Series by J.Elle
7.House of Marionne Series by J.Elle
8.The Poison We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
9.With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
10.The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
11.So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
12.Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
13.The Effigies Series by Sarah Raughley
14.The Bones of Ruin Series by Sarah Raughley
15.Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton
16.Raybear Series by Jordan Ifueko
17.Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
18.Blood like Magic Series by Liselle Sambury
19.Skin of the Sea Series by Natasha Bowen
20.The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
21.The Forge and Fracture Saga by Brittany N Williams
22.The Blood Gift Series by N. E. Davenport
23.A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Seriesby Roseanne A. Brown
24.This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings
25.The Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
26.Crimson Hunter by N.D Jones
27.The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi
28.Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
29.Bellamy and The Brute by Alicia Michaels
30.Daughters of Nri by Reni K Amayo
31.Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown
32.Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
33.Kingdom of Souls Series by Rena Barron
34.Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
35.The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow
36.Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden
37.Dread Nation Series by Justina Ireland
38.A River of Royal Blood Series by Amanda Joy
39.A Song Blow Water by Bethany C. Morrow
40.The Goddness Twins by Yodassa Williams
41.Nic Blake and the Remarkables Series by Angie Thomas
42.Of Blood and Lightning by Micki Janae
43.Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye
44.Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron
45.The Smoke That Thunders by Erhu Kome
46.A Phoenix First Must Burn Anthology
47.I Feed Her to the Beast by Jamison Shea
48.Legacy of Orïsha Series by Tomi Adeyemi
49.In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran
50.It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass
51.Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
52.Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brow
53.The Good Luck Girls Series by Charlotte Nicole Davis
54.Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope
55.The Monsters We Defy by L. Penelope
Anything by Nnedi Okorafor
Anything by N.K Jemisin
Anything by P. Djèlí Clark
Anything by Kalynn Bayron
Anything by Octavia Butler
Stars: DNFED @25%
Start Date: 07/22/24
Ending Date: 07/29/24
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Form: E-Arc/ Audiobook
Page Count: 432
Publishing Date: 05/07/24
Point of View: 1st Person
Setting: Helena, Al
My Blog: https://tanyasreading.wordpress.com/2...
StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews...
Thank you Netgalley for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book feels like a badly written Tubi Movie...
This book came to my attention thanks to Tiktok during the height of HAMU Tittok last year. HAMU (Hogwarts Agricultural and Magical University) was created by black titokers who loved Harry Potter and wanted to create a HBCU Hogwarts using the black experience and culture. Since around the same time, the video game, Hogwarts Legacy, was popular with a lot of people playing it.
For context, HBCU means Historically Black College and Universities since I am going to be saying that phrase a lot during this review.
So I started really seeing the author promoting this book calling it the Black Harry Potter with a Magical HBCU which for the most part sounded interesting. So when the arc came out I decided to request for it and got approved. I tried reading it three times and for some reason could get past the first few pages until I got the audiobook.
Let me tell you I should have listened to my subconscious and not even tried.
Why am I DNFing this book?
The author has been saying on their twitter and titkok pages as they heavily promoted this Black Magical HBCU as no black trauma which is further from the truth.
In the prologue and the first couple chapters this is what happens.
1.The prologue has the death of a parent and the first chapter has that character in the foster care system meaning they were in a single parent home to begin with. Meaning the absence of a father figure.
2.Honestly no mention of a father or father figure at all so far in the MMC life..
3.The community that the MMC was in didn’t step up for him and thought he killed his mom.
4.The potential Main Female Character was abandoned by her parents for doing magic.....
5.The MMC foster brother was abused by his foster parents.
6.The MMC pretty much didn’t even know he had a grandmother or relatives on his mama side of the family for ten years.
This is all in the first six chapters of the book. Like did he understand what black trauma actually means before saying it’s no black trauma in it?
I have been reading a lot of books with black authors with black characters and not once did these authors say that the book is not going through some kind of trauma. Hell, one of my favorite reads this year has the main two characters trying to figure out who framed their grandmother which led to her death and who killed their father. Those two characters go through a lot of shit in two books but don’t hear that author saying “Oh there is no trauma in it,”
The author is promoting this book to black boys so they can finally see themselves but have the main character hijack and steal a car in the first chapter. Something that most deniably get a black boy arrested and possibly killed for.
This book is trying so hard to appeal to blacks and the culture while still missing the mark. It doesn’t feel authentic because of it due to the fact Black Culture is not how many freaking black pop culture references you can make. You don’t need Temptations, Black Panther, Fast and the Fury or Drumline movie references for it to be black. Black Culture is using the experiences that black people can relate to. It's pretty using your own experience (not a caricature of an experience) to shape the story that people of that culture will understand. It is just too much and it comes off as being cringe instead of something you can enjoy.
Also instead of embracing the black culture it just feels like it’s mocking it especially when it comes to how the elders laugh and do things. Also how the black church is run as well.
The author is promoting this book as a Magical HBCU but not once did the author “shout out” the HBCUs in Alabama or in general but did shout the two most popular PWI schools in Alabama. Since the book takes place in Helena, Al before it goes to Louisiana.
It’s a line in particular where the MMC is learning the name of Magical HBCU.
“I know,” I hear Mama Aya tell him. “I need you ta let him into Caiman.”Hearing that word, my mind goes back to last night, finding my mama’s college hoodie. The way they’re talking about it makes it seem like it’s University of Alabama or Auburn University."
I'm not trying to be picky but if this supposed to have a HBCU like magic school why are mentioning the two PWI "muggle" schools ( Alabama and Auburn) instead of mentioning the "muggle" HBCU's?
You know like Selma University, Tuskegee, Miles, Stillman, Alabama State University, Alabama A&M and Concordia to name a few ? It would make more sense to mention those HBCU's since you are supposed to be basing the college off of them. Granted the MMC worldview can be stunted and him not knowing about the HBCUs. You know what? Let me take that back. Unless he went to a majority white elementary, middle and high school, he should have known about the HBCU’s because he may have had teachers that went there.
I wanted to DNF faster but I wanted to wait until he got to school before I made my decision. Once I got there my mind was made up that I was not going to continue.
How the hell the dean of the school is going to show up the whole campus where we see students walking around doing magic duels, playing basketball, riding bikes and other student activities. Show murals of Kobe Bryant and Chiswick Bosman, say 15,000 students that attend, have a student exchange program show pics of past students shaking Martin Luther King. Jr. 's hand but not once mention where the hell the dorms are?
The reason why I say this is because if you have that many students on your campus and the fact you have to teleport to the campus since it's hidden from the outside world, where the hell are that many students going to sleep? Especially the ones who come from different countries. I bring this up because the world building of this book so far is so nonexistent. How the magical system works in this book is not there either. This book needs to be better researched instead of throwing a black pop culture reference every five seconds and the MMC saying the n-word with the a on the end all the time.
So this book was not for me at all.
If you want a book written by a Black Male Author with one of the main characters/pov is a Black Male Teenager that does magic and have to deal with things that shape them, I recommend the Blood Debt Series by Terry Benton Walker.
If you want a Black Fantasy or Magical Realism in General I have recs I collected
1.Blood Debt Series by Terry Benton Walker
2.The Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deonn
3.The Belles Series by Dhonielle Clayton
4.The Marvellers series by Dhonielle Clayton
5.Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
6.Wings of Ebony Series by J.Elle
7.House of Marionne Series by J.Elle
8.The Poison We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
9.With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
10.The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
11.So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
12.Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
13.The Effigies Series by Sarah Raughley
14.The Bones of Ruin Series by Sarah Raughley
15.Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton
16.Raybear Series by Jordan Ifueko
17.Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
18.Blood like Magic Series by Liselle Sambury
19.Skin of the Sea Series by Natasha Bowen
20.The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
21.The Forge and Fracture Saga by Brittany N Williams
22.The Blood Gift Series by N. E. Davenport
23.A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Seriesby Roseanne A. Brown
24.This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings
25.The Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
26.Crimson Hunter by N.D Jones
27.The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi
28.Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
29.Bellamy and The Brute by Alicia Michaels
30.Daughters of Nri by Reni K Amayo
31.Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown
32.Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
33.Kingdom of Souls Series by Rena Barron
34.Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
35.The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow
36.Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden
37.Dread Nation Series by Justina Ireland
38.A River of Royal Blood Series by Amanda Joy
39.A Song Blow Water by Bethany C. Morrow
40.The Goddness Twins by Yodassa Williams
41.Nic Blake and the Remarkables Series by Angie Thomas
42.Of Blood and Lightning by Micki Janae
43.Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye
44.Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron
45.The Smoke That Thunders by Erhu Kome
46.A Phoenix First Must Burn Anthology
47.I Feed Her to the Beast by Jamison Shea
48.Legacy of Orïsha Series by Tomi Adeyemi
49.In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran
50.It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass
51.Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
52.Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brow
53.The Good Luck Girls Series by Charlotte Nicole Davis
54.Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope
55.The Monsters We Defy by L. Penelope
Anything by Nnedi Okorafor
Anything by N.K Jemisin
Anything by P. Djèlí Clark
Anything by Kalynn Bayron
Anything by Octavia Butler
June 26, 2024
THIS HAS OFFICIALLY BECOME MY FAVORITE FANTASY OF THE YEAR (as of June 2024)! (and there's good competition). 6 STARS for me with an introductory series!
Where do I begin? Do I begin as a black girl from Birmingham, Al reading about a black boy from Helena, AL and all the references to my city, my alma mater (Auburn University - WAR EAGLE!), landmarks and reminders of summer *swoon*
Do I begin with the completely tabbed up physical copy I have full of AAVE and black southern slang that felt like I was talking to a REAL COUSIN? (Seriously, my book is bleeding with tabs full of "lol" and "and I know that's right!" moments)
Do I begin with the amazing accompanying audio performance? Filled with actual sound effects that had my heart racing and feeling like I was in the actual moment being teleported or blown around in the wind?
How about the nostalgia and feeling I got when discussing the overall college experience coupled with (as someone who went to a PWI) an even closer look into HBCU life.
THEN YOU GONE SLIP IN SOME POETRY TO OUR BLACK QUEENS?! ALL. THE YESES.
This fired on ALL CYLINDERS for me and it honestly would have been biased for me right off the bat based on the setting, alone -- but then when you get into the ~actual storyline~ Malik Baron held his own!
An orphan with a chip on his shoulder ever since he lost his mother at the age of 7 when magical powers appeared. Now 17, he finds out there's an entire world of Black Magical Beings (including, but not limited to *conjurers, fairies, shape shifters, and cross road spirits*). There's even a school dedicated to the CULTIVATION OF *BLACK MAGIC* AND by black, we're not talking what the white washed and redirected public would think. We're talking black as in *MELANATED*.
*A BLACK HOGWARTS, YALL!!*
In the last decade or so, there has definitely been a beautiful renaissance of burgeoning black magical worlds -- filling in the gaps we were left with in my (millennial) youth. So I'm not going to say this book is the first to give what we were missing in the HP Universe (and the problematic author who wrote them) but it is by far the one that I personally resonate with the most.
Does it end with a few questions? Yes. Without giving any spoilers. I wanna know WHO IS DA PAPPY?! LOL And I definitely want to see where this is going with Alexis... but understanding that this is just book 1 in what is meant to be an entire series. I am completely satisfied with the ground work laid here.
I loved Uncle Sam. Mama Aya melted me. Malik has some growth to do but he's a 17 year old boy (let’s start there, I think so many people expected this CHILD to be fully woke and correct every step of the way… he’s literally a minor) who may very well have just become the most magical black boy in the Bayou! I'm exited to see where he goes!
Additional Themes: African Spirituality, Enslavement (chattel slavery), LGBTQ friendly
*** EDIT: After going back and reading some of 1 star reviews here I think it’s important to say that all the people who had a problem with the AAVE being used in the way it was seem to be more concerned on how NON people of color would perceive this book. As someone who is from exactly where the character is from… I can confirm… we talk EXACTLY like that. If you have a problem with the dialect, you simply haven’t been around enough people from the Deep South.
Those who get it, got it… those who don’t… won’t.
Where do I begin? Do I begin as a black girl from Birmingham, Al reading about a black boy from Helena, AL and all the references to my city, my alma mater (Auburn University - WAR EAGLE!), landmarks and reminders of summer *swoon*
Do I begin with the completely tabbed up physical copy I have full of AAVE and black southern slang that felt like I was talking to a REAL COUSIN? (Seriously, my book is bleeding with tabs full of "lol" and "and I know that's right!" moments)
Do I begin with the amazing accompanying audio performance? Filled with actual sound effects that had my heart racing and feeling like I was in the actual moment being teleported or blown around in the wind?
How about the nostalgia and feeling I got when discussing the overall college experience coupled with (as someone who went to a PWI) an even closer look into HBCU life.
THEN YOU GONE SLIP IN SOME POETRY TO OUR BLACK QUEENS?! ALL. THE YESES.
This fired on ALL CYLINDERS for me and it honestly would have been biased for me right off the bat based on the setting, alone -- but then when you get into the ~actual storyline~ Malik Baron held his own!
An orphan with a chip on his shoulder ever since he lost his mother at the age of 7 when magical powers appeared. Now 17, he finds out there's an entire world of Black Magical Beings (including, but not limited to *conjurers, fairies, shape shifters, and cross road spirits*). There's even a school dedicated to the CULTIVATION OF *BLACK MAGIC* AND by black, we're not talking what the white washed and redirected public would think. We're talking black as in *MELANATED*.
*A BLACK HOGWARTS, YALL!!*
In the last decade or so, there has definitely been a beautiful renaissance of burgeoning black magical worlds -- filling in the gaps we were left with in my (millennial) youth. So I'm not going to say this book is the first to give what we were missing in the HP Universe (and the problematic author who wrote them) but it is by far the one that I personally resonate with the most.
Does it end with a few questions? Yes. Without giving any spoilers. I wanna know WHO IS DA PAPPY?! LOL And I definitely want to see where this is going with Alexis... but understanding that this is just book 1 in what is meant to be an entire series. I am completely satisfied with the ground work laid here.
I loved Uncle Sam. Mama Aya melted me. Malik has some growth to do but he's a 17 year old boy (let’s start there, I think so many people expected this CHILD to be fully woke and correct every step of the way… he’s literally a minor) who may very well have just become the most magical black boy in the Bayou! I'm exited to see where he goes!
Additional Themes: African Spirituality, Enslavement (chattel slavery), LGBTQ friendly
*** EDIT: After going back and reading some of 1 star reviews here I think it’s important to say that all the people who had a problem with the AAVE being used in the way it was seem to be more concerned on how NON people of color would perceive this book. As someone who is from exactly where the character is from… I can confirm… we talk EXACTLY like that. If you have a problem with the dialect, you simply haven’t been around enough people from the Deep South.
Those who get it, got it… those who don’t… won’t.
September 24, 2024
Breaking out all if the proper grammar, spelling, and syntax I have in me to tear this fuckass book to shreds.
There are spoilers in this! This is the spoiler warning because I don't want to have to hide this review in full, so this is your final warning.
There are so many different places I could start with this, so I'll try and keep it linear. I will be fully transparent here: I have read several reviews of this book over the past 3 months in order to make sure that I was not losing my mind for hating this. Many of the reviews I read brought up things that I will bring up here, so please forgive me for any unintended repetition. Please take the time to read the other reviews of this book, specifically this one by Steven Underwood (the $5 paywall is very much worth it). There are a lot of things addressed in that review specifically regarding the cultural and religious elements that were appropriated to create the magic system in this book, and while I will mention my feelings on that, Underwood is far more qualified and educated in that area.
I learned about Blood at the Root via one of Ladarrion Williams' TikToks at some point, thought the story seemed cool, saw the cover reveal a couple months later, and then forgot about the book until I pulled it out of the PRH box of frontlist while checking in ne books at my job. I had planned to read it over the summer for a book bingo square, and, again, failed to do so. Then, around the middle of July, there were about 24 hours of Twitter Discourse that BatR was dragged into. From what I could tell, a couple of black women had given the book a bad review, and fans of the book turned around and said, "Well, you like Legendborn, and that's just a book about a black girl written for the white gaze!"
That drew me in. Anyone who has asked me what book they should read at any point over the last 2 calendar years will tell you that I've tried (and mostly succeeded) to cram Legendborn down their throats. Now, I'm not one to say that people have to like the same things I like (that's fascism) but Legendborn is about a black girl who attends a PWI (one that the author attended) and is almost immediately swept into a magical situation that leads her to try and investigate the death of her mother. The book is full of white people, yes, because those white people are all suspects or adjacent to suspects that Bree has for who may have killed her mom. This setting is purposeful, and the black girl at the center of it, whose POV the entire story is told from, does not once leave a space for white people to be comfortable in her experiences with white supremacy. No one is required to enjoy reading that, but the truth is there.
Due to the bickering this incident caused, I learned a few things about BatR before diving in. I learned that there is a plethora of racism and racialized trauma, despite the fact that the author said that he didn't want to write a book with those elements. I also learned that there was a plethora of homophobia, biphobia, and a cute little sprinkle of transphobia on top. Finally, I learned that the way that women are treated in this with a heaping spoonful of misogyny, and upon reading the book it is clear that it is specifically misogynoir (the intersection of sexism and anti-blackness). All that (and more, how fun) will be addressed in this review.
In order to organize myself while reading this, I had color coded highlights; Yellow for editing issues, blue for things that annoyed me, red for major red flags, purple for misogyny, and orange for any weird stuff about queer people. Green was for things I actually liked, but I only used that color 10 times out of the at least 200 (maybe 300??) highlights I made.
I do think that this book was written in good faith, or that that existed at some point in the process of its creation, but the fact of the matter is that before any social or moral ills degraded the quality of this book, the prose did it first. Williams attempts to do something that the late Zora Neal Hurston did in writing something entirely in a dialect of AAVE. There is nothing inherently wrong with this and I would love to see another Black YA author pull it off successfully, but the way its done in BatR is egregious. There are regular instances of dialogue not flowing or having any cadence, despite Williams' use of drawwwwnn outttt words and ALL CAPS EXCLAMATIONS!!!!!!!! (this is an accurate parody of his use of punctuation) oritalics for emphasis. The use of italics alone is normal, and I would encourage Ladarrion to proceed with only that as he drafts the next two books in this trilogy. The drawn out words work against the AAVE used here because every word seems to be expanded on the exact wrong word. This is a very good argument for why you should not try and write a drawl with onomatopoeia! Not everyone will read the word as you intend, and you're better off assuming that people will read it as you intended in their head and that the person narrating the audiobook hits the correct beats.
The other glaring issue with the use of AAVE in this is that it is wholly inconsistent. Malik and about 90% of the all-black cast have their dialogue written in the dialect, and there is a clear intention to continue this thread into Malik's first person narration. Unfortunately, the AAVE stops whenever it comes time to describe a magical flashback or some important lore is happening. Here are two examples that highlight the contrast:
I hope that this is a sufficient comparison for this point. Malik's voice is completely lost in the second quote and traded for what I can only describe as Standardized English (SE). If this book was a true attempt to follow the path that Zora Neale Hurston—who is not only mentioned by name in this book in one of the less cringeworthy cultural references, but also on his Twitter in reference to himself and poor reception of his book—there should have been a commitment to making sure that the use of AAVE was consistent across the board. Unlike Hurston's most famous novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, BatR is written from the first person perspective and not the omniscient 3rd person, and that means that the entire book should have stuck to the vernacular instead of jumping out of it whenever the going gets tough. In short, this may be a debut author, but the editor of this book did not do enough work to make sure that that wasn't glaringly obvious, and that is a failure on their part as well.
With the prose in the background, its time to turn to the bigotry that this book is steeped in. To be fully transparent, I am a mixed-race black lesbian, and I will specifically discuss the flaws in this book relating to those identities. I am not part of any of the faiths or other cultures that are appropriated and adapted in this, but I will say that there is a well done critique of the books use of Hoodoo and Voodoo figures in Steven Underwoods review, and I will again suggest that anyone reading this takes the time to read that as well.
I'll start with how queerness is spoken about. I spent a significant amount of time trying to see if Ladarrion Williams had stated his sexuality anywhere on the internet, and aside from his plays that feature a range of queer characters, the only mentions I found were a couple of reviews of this book where he is referred to as a "gay author". My core issues with how he handles queerness do not change whether or not this is the case, but it is important to note that a straight person writing poor representation of queer characters is not the same as when a queer person does the same thing. Regardless, there are a lot of glaring problems here. We'll start with Savon, the nonbinary secondary character who uses they/them pronouns. Here is an excerpt from the scene where they're introduced:
The intention seems pretty clear here—Malik misgenders Savon in his head, we're supposed to assume its because he may not know a lot of queer people, and then once Savon gives their pronouns Malik will use them because he's not actually a bigot, he's just a person who made an assumption about someone that closeminded and untrue despite having no ill intent. This is not an inherently bad thing to try and write about, but it is done with absolutely no nuance and is never examined. Malik never thinks to himself "Oh, that was fucked up, I should be more conscious of what I assume about people considering I'm probably about to be in community with more queer people at this college," or anything along those lines. Because there was no effort put into explaining why Malik misgendering Savon in his head was wrong (and in turn making this part of a book a lesson about growing as a person), the misgendering is fully unnecessary and should have been cut by the editor or a sensitivity reader. Ironically, Legendborn is the best point of reference on this; when Bree meets Greer, a nonbinary tertiary character, they are only ever referred to with they/them pronouns. There is no speculation or narrative hint to what gender they were assigned at birth because there isn't a place for that in the book, and everyone moves on in a normal and accepting fashion while commiserating about being the most diverse people in a room of straight white people.
Next is the name of a certain character. There are two queer men in this book—Donja, whose sexuality is barely important to the story and who I will get back to later, and D'Angelo, who eventually becomes Malik's roommate. Except, D'Angelo doesn't go by his full name. Instead, he is referred to as "D Low" for the entire book. If you want to give Ladarrion Williams the benefit of the doubt (which I will not be doing), you could argue that D Low makes sense as a name for D'angelo. Maybe if I was supposed to consider the innocence of the nickname, it should've been presented as "DLo" or "D'Lo", but it wasn't, so I will do no such thing. Anyone who knows surface level Black queer lingo will recognize D Low's name as one of the many ways to say DL or Down Low in reference to a potentially queer man hiding his sexuality from the public. This choice, objectively is very weird. I've spent 15 minutes trying to come up with an example or allegory that can better explain how unhinged it is to name a queer character after a phrase people use to describe someone as in the closet, and I'm going to stop trying before my brain melts out of my ears. Either you get why its an ugly writing choice or you don't, and that's that.
Now for the more minor offenses, which are only minor because I have less to say about them as individual events. I think it's weird that the "all-inclusive" "safe space" frat is called the House of Transcendence. I just do! It feels very flippant and I'll just leave it at that. Next, Chapter 25 starts out with Malik recapping how D Low shared his experiences as a Black bisexual man. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with this, but it's so hastily presented to the audience instead of showing us the conversation that D Low had with the group. Malik just says "D Low told us this" and then the story moves on, to the detriment of the book and to D Low's character. Even this moment between the D Low and Malik is more impactful than that:
The last big thing for me to sink my claws into is pretty all encompassing. There is an obscene amount of misogynoir in this book, and I cannot believe that it got past all of the layers a traditionally published book has to go through. We'll start small and go from there. As many other reviewers here will point out, this book heavily leans on mammy stereotyping when it comes to the older black women in the story. Both Mama Aya (Malik's grandmother) and the unnamed librarian who helps Malik in chapter 15. Then, we see other older women being spoken of in a casually sexist manner.
Onto the true victim of all of the sexism in BatR: Alexis Williams. The most importing thing to know about Alexis—according to Malik and therefore the book—is that Malik fell in love with her when they were placed in the same orphanage (despite none existing in the modern day) after their parents died. Despite only knowing each other for a few months when they were 7 years old, Malik is still convinced that she's the love of his life 10 entire years later.
Alexis is a kind person who, when reunited with Malik, makes an effort to include him in her friend group. The first friend of hers that Malik meets is Donja, who he is immediately antagonistic to.
The only other woman Alexis' age who has a name is Dominique, a girl who clearly has a crush on Malik and who has some sort of preexisting rivalry with Alexis (which we never explore). After Donja and Malik get in a magical fight (remember, this is a fantasy novel) Malik gets upset when she tries to stay neutral and accuses her of being in a sexual relationship with Donja, which she denies (he doesn't believe her lol). She rips him a new one, which ultimately doesn't matter because they're throwing out I-love-yous and an age appropriate sex scene well before the book is over.
Alexis barely exists outside of Malik's view of her as something he possesses, and I wish that Ladarrion Williams was a better writer because she, of everyone, has the most potential here. Instead, she is barely more of a person than the women who make up a football field of sexy lamps in the background, and it fucking sucks.
I'm just now learning that Goodreads has a character limit, so I'll leave the rest of my complaints to rest (for now). Know this: This book is poorly written, sexist, weird about queerness, and has a ton of annoying pop culture references that I didn't even get to complain about! Are a lot of thematic beats straight out of Black Panther? For sure. Maybe next time, we should stop at "Black Harry Potter" and do something else.
There are spoilers in this! This is the spoiler warning because I don't want to have to hide this review in full, so this is your final warning.
There are so many different places I could start with this, so I'll try and keep it linear. I will be fully transparent here: I have read several reviews of this book over the past 3 months in order to make sure that I was not losing my mind for hating this. Many of the reviews I read brought up things that I will bring up here, so please forgive me for any unintended repetition. Please take the time to read the other reviews of this book, specifically this one by Steven Underwood (the $5 paywall is very much worth it). There are a lot of things addressed in that review specifically regarding the cultural and religious elements that were appropriated to create the magic system in this book, and while I will mention my feelings on that, Underwood is far more qualified and educated in that area.
I learned about Blood at the Root via one of Ladarrion Williams' TikToks at some point, thought the story seemed cool, saw the cover reveal a couple months later, and then forgot about the book until I pulled it out of the PRH box of frontlist while checking in ne books at my job. I had planned to read it over the summer for a book bingo square, and, again, failed to do so. Then, around the middle of July, there were about 24 hours of Twitter Discourse that BatR was dragged into. From what I could tell, a couple of black women had given the book a bad review, and fans of the book turned around and said, "Well, you like Legendborn, and that's just a book about a black girl written for the white gaze!"
That drew me in. Anyone who has asked me what book they should read at any point over the last 2 calendar years will tell you that I've tried (and mostly succeeded) to cram Legendborn down their throats. Now, I'm not one to say that people have to like the same things I like (that's fascism) but Legendborn is about a black girl who attends a PWI (one that the author attended) and is almost immediately swept into a magical situation that leads her to try and investigate the death of her mother. The book is full of white people, yes, because those white people are all suspects or adjacent to suspects that Bree has for who may have killed her mom. This setting is purposeful, and the black girl at the center of it, whose POV the entire story is told from, does not once leave a space for white people to be comfortable in her experiences with white supremacy. No one is required to enjoy reading that, but the truth is there.
Due to the bickering this incident caused, I learned a few things about BatR before diving in. I learned that there is a plethora of racism and racialized trauma, despite the fact that the author said that he didn't want to write a book with those elements. I also learned that there was a plethora of homophobia, biphobia, and a cute little sprinkle of transphobia on top. Finally, I learned that the way that women are treated in this with a heaping spoonful of misogyny, and upon reading the book it is clear that it is specifically misogynoir (the intersection of sexism and anti-blackness). All that (and more, how fun) will be addressed in this review.
In order to organize myself while reading this, I had color coded highlights; Yellow for editing issues, blue for things that annoyed me, red for major red flags, purple for misogyny, and orange for any weird stuff about queer people. Green was for things I actually liked, but I only used that color 10 times out of the at least 200 (maybe 300??) highlights I made.
I do think that this book was written in good faith, or that that existed at some point in the process of its creation, but the fact of the matter is that before any social or moral ills degraded the quality of this book, the prose did it first. Williams attempts to do something that the late Zora Neal Hurston did in writing something entirely in a dialect of AAVE. There is nothing inherently wrong with this and I would love to see another Black YA author pull it off successfully, but the way its done in BatR is egregious. There are regular instances of dialogue not flowing or having any cadence, despite Williams' use of drawwwwnn outttt words and ALL CAPS EXCLAMATIONS!!!!!!!! (this is an accurate parody of his use of punctuation) oritalics for emphasis. The use of italics alone is normal, and I would encourage Ladarrion to proceed with only that as he drafts the next two books in this trilogy. The drawn out words work against the AAVE used here because every word seems to be expanded on the exact wrong word. This is a very good argument for why you should not try and write a drawl with onomatopoeia! Not everyone will read the word as you intend, and you're better off assuming that people will read it as you intended in their head and that the person narrating the audiobook hits the correct beats.
The other glaring issue with the use of AAVE in this is that it is wholly inconsistent. Malik and about 90% of the all-black cast have their dialogue written in the dialect, and there is a clear intention to continue this thread into Malik's first person narration. Unfortunately, the AAVE stops whenever it comes time to describe a magical flashback or some important lore is happening. Here are two examples that highlight the contrast:
Soon as I touch the door, the lock on the car instantly clicks to unlock. I hop in and close the door real soft. The rain continues to drum on top of the car, and now the wind whips around, blowing yard signs and leaves everywhere.vs.
Their skin is black as midnight.
All of them. Beautiful Black skin wrapped in glory and frustration like stars in the inky, dark sky. Welts and bruises decorate their faces like war paint.
It’s their story. Their history.
Through the boscage and mist, they all stand idly in the middle of the sugarcane field like they’re waiting for something.
I hope that this is a sufficient comparison for this point. Malik's voice is completely lost in the second quote and traded for what I can only describe as Standardized English (SE). If this book was a true attempt to follow the path that Zora Neale Hurston—who is not only mentioned by name in this book in one of the less cringeworthy cultural references, but also on his Twitter in reference to himself and poor reception of his book—there should have been a commitment to making sure that the use of AAVE was consistent across the board. Unlike Hurston's most famous novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, BatR is written from the first person perspective and not the omniscient 3rd person, and that means that the entire book should have stuck to the vernacular instead of jumping out of it whenever the going gets tough. In short, this may be a debut author, but the editor of this book did not do enough work to make sure that that wasn't glaringly obvious, and that is a failure on their part as well.
With the prose in the background, its time to turn to the bigotry that this book is steeped in. To be fully transparent, I am a mixed-race black lesbian, and I will specifically discuss the flaws in this book relating to those identities. I am not part of any of the faiths or other cultures that are appropriated and adapted in this, but I will say that there is a well done critique of the books use of Hoodoo and Voodoo figures in Steven Underwoods review, and I will again suggest that anyone reading this takes the time to read that as well.
I'll start with how queerness is spoken about. I spent a significant amount of time trying to see if Ladarrion Williams had stated his sexuality anywhere on the internet, and aside from his plays that feature a range of queer characters, the only mentions I found were a couple of reviews of this book where he is referred to as a "gay author". My core issues with how he handles queerness do not change whether or not this is the case, but it is important to note that a straight person writing poor representation of queer characters is not the same as when a queer person does the same thing. Regardless, there are a lot of glaring problems here. We'll start with Savon, the nonbinary secondary character who uses they/them pronouns. Here is an excerpt from the scene where they're introduced:
The dude next to him seems more in his feminine bag. Sheer confidence radiates from him with his drawn-on eye makeup, lip gloss, and different-colored nails...The twin brother with colorful nails steps in front, clearing his throat. “Umm, I can introduce myself. Wassup, cutie, I’m Savon. Pronouns they, them, and that Bitch.”
The intention seems pretty clear here—Malik misgenders Savon in his head, we're supposed to assume its because he may not know a lot of queer people, and then once Savon gives their pronouns Malik will use them because he's not actually a bigot, he's just a person who made an assumption about someone that closeminded and untrue despite having no ill intent. This is not an inherently bad thing to try and write about, but it is done with absolutely no nuance and is never examined. Malik never thinks to himself "Oh, that was fucked up, I should be more conscious of what I assume about people considering I'm probably about to be in community with more queer people at this college," or anything along those lines. Because there was no effort put into explaining why Malik misgendering Savon in his head was wrong (and in turn making this part of a book a lesson about growing as a person), the misgendering is fully unnecessary and should have been cut by the editor or a sensitivity reader. Ironically, Legendborn is the best point of reference on this; when Bree meets Greer, a nonbinary tertiary character, they are only ever referred to with they/them pronouns. There is no speculation or narrative hint to what gender they were assigned at birth because there isn't a place for that in the book, and everyone moves on in a normal and accepting fashion while commiserating about being the most diverse people in a room of straight white people.
Next is the name of a certain character. There are two queer men in this book—Donja, whose sexuality is barely important to the story and who I will get back to later, and D'Angelo, who eventually becomes Malik's roommate. Except, D'Angelo doesn't go by his full name. Instead, he is referred to as "D Low" for the entire book. If you want to give Ladarrion Williams the benefit of the doubt (which I will not be doing), you could argue that D Low makes sense as a name for D'angelo. Maybe if I was supposed to consider the innocence of the nickname, it should've been presented as "DLo" or "D'Lo", but it wasn't, so I will do no such thing. Anyone who knows surface level Black queer lingo will recognize D Low's name as one of the many ways to say DL or Down Low in reference to a potentially queer man hiding his sexuality from the public. This choice, objectively is very weird. I've spent 15 minutes trying to come up with an example or allegory that can better explain how unhinged it is to name a queer character after a phrase people use to describe someone as in the closet, and I'm going to stop trying before my brain melts out of my ears. Either you get why its an ugly writing choice or you don't, and that's that.
Now for the more minor offenses, which are only minor because I have less to say about them as individual events. I think it's weird that the "all-inclusive" "safe space" frat is called the House of Transcendence. I just do! It feels very flippant and I'll just leave it at that. Next, Chapter 25 starts out with Malik recapping how D Low shared his experiences as a Black bisexual man. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with this, but it's so hastily presented to the audience instead of showing us the conversation that D Low had with the group. Malik just says "D Low told us this" and then the story moves on, to the detriment of the book and to D Low's character. Even this moment between the D Low and Malik is more impactful than that:
“Shiiiid, when you’ve been locked in a closet that was made to trap you, you go wild when you get that lil’ taste of freedom.”There are also no named queer women! This is especially minor compared to a lot of the stuff I've talked about here but if this book is all about representing people in the Black community, where are the lesbians?
“Hey, you out that biiihhh now.”- Chapter 19
The last big thing for me to sink my claws into is pretty all encompassing. There is an obscene amount of misogynoir in this book, and I cannot believe that it got past all of the layers a traditionally published book has to go through. We'll start small and go from there. As many other reviewers here will point out, this book heavily leans on mammy stereotyping when it comes to the older black women in the story. Both Mama Aya (Malik's grandmother) and the unnamed librarian who helps Malik in chapter 15. Then, we see other older women being spoken of in a casually sexist manner.
First, it’s a lady that peels herself from one of the barstools. Her hair is silver and shaped in crochet braids. She has on an outfit that’s obviously too young for her—and a glass of some kind of liquor in her hand. - Chapter 15We then have the nameless "baddies" and "hotties" that are all over the Caiman University campus.
On my right, a couple of baddies strut by, looking me up and down, smiling. I nod a wadup, trying hard not to look at them jeans, hugging them in all the right places.There are plenty of other examples of sexist microaggressions, and I think that if it was only one or two things I would have let them slide (maybe I wouldn't have even caught them) but because there are so many, it creates a pattern that you can't ignore. This is not to say that girls shouldn't be allowed to shake ass! They should be able to do whatever they want! But these women are not real, they don't have any names because they're all background characters, and there is no legitimate reason to pepper in the fact that all of the female students on campus are really hot and want to fuck Malik and his male friends really, really badly.
They giggle and press on. - Chapter 7
Onto the true victim of all of the sexism in BatR: Alexis Williams. The most importing thing to know about Alexis—according to Malik and therefore the book—is that Malik fell in love with her when they were placed in the same orphanage (despite none existing in the modern day) after their parents died. Despite only knowing each other for a few months when they were 7 years old, Malik is still convinced that she's the love of his life 10 entire years later.
And then like always, my lil’ bit of happiness got snatched away. Alexis was adopted and was gone... My best friend, my first love, driving away… - Chapter 1Any rational person would think, "Oh, well, they were 2nd graders and that's a childhood crush, so neither of them owe each other a relationship." Malik does not think like this. When he arrives at Caiman U, Alexis is trying to rally her fellow students to support the search for some missing human girls. He thinks about how "her beautiful mahogany face [has] been getting her through the darkest of days," which is wild because the last time he saw her she was literally 7 years old and instead this would be a good time to put an effort into describing how she's aged since he last saw her. Malik is instantly in a state of mind where Alexis is inherently in some sort of romantic situation with him because of their puppy love situation from back when they were kids even though he hasn't seen her in a fucking decade, and that entitlement poisons their romantic subplot.
Alexis is a kind person who, when reunited with Malik, makes an effort to include him in her friend group. The first friend of hers that Malik meets is Donja, who he is immediately antagonistic to.
Oozing with golden-boy privilege, Donja is clearly one of those light-skinned niggas who can go for a discount Drake. Straight hipster vibes with one earring dangling from his left ear, colored fingernails. A beanie curved on his head, with a beaded necklace hanging out from his half-buttoned shirt, his chest all out. His beard doesn’t even connect for real, and his head is full of curly brown hair. - Chapter 8Malik is immediately threatened by Donja's existence and asks if they're dating, which Alexis quickly swats down. Donja takes a bit of humor in this moment and Malik is pissed.
The only other woman Alexis' age who has a name is Dominique, a girl who clearly has a crush on Malik and who has some sort of preexisting rivalry with Alexis (which we never explore). After Donja and Malik get in a magical fight (remember, this is a fantasy novel) Malik gets upset when she tries to stay neutral and accuses her of being in a sexual relationship with Donja, which she denies (he doesn't believe her lol). She rips him a new one, which ultimately doesn't matter because they're throwing out I-love-yous and an age appropriate sex scene well before the book is over.
Alexis barely exists outside of Malik's view of her as something he possesses, and I wish that Ladarrion Williams was a better writer because she, of everyone, has the most potential here. Instead, she is barely more of a person than the women who make up a football field of sexy lamps in the background, and it fucking sucks.
I'm just now learning that Goodreads has a character limit, so I'll leave the rest of my complaints to rest (for now). Know this: This book is poorly written, sexist, weird about queerness, and has a ton of annoying pop culture references that I didn't even get to complain about! Are a lot of thematic beats straight out of Black Panther? For sure. Maybe next time, we should stop at "Black Harry Potter" and do something else.
July 5, 2024
Blood at the Root was absolutely amazing.
I haven’t read fantasy fr since Harry Potter in high school & let me tell you this EATS way more & I’m standing on that. The culture of Louisiana, (my home) the Creole French, HBCU representation, BLACK Magic 🪄WE LOVE TO SEE IT !!
Maliks story grabbed me in from the beginning. A tragic event during childhood changed everything for him. The writing of the magic & action was done so well Omg. I don’t even wanna tell too much because I want you to read it. The plot twist @ the end I really didn’t see coming fr. My heart ached so bad. Pls just Move it up on your TBR. This is such a great introduction to fantasy.
Where is part two? I need that STAT Mr. LaDarrion 😩
I haven’t read fantasy fr since Harry Potter in high school & let me tell you this EATS way more & I’m standing on that. The culture of Louisiana, (my home) the Creole French, HBCU representation, BLACK Magic 🪄WE LOVE TO SEE IT !!
Maliks story grabbed me in from the beginning. A tragic event during childhood changed everything for him. The writing of the magic & action was done so well Omg. I don’t even wanna tell too much because I want you to read it. The plot twist @ the end I really didn’t see coming fr. My heart ached so bad. Pls just Move it up on your TBR. This is such a great introduction to fantasy.
Where is part two? I need that STAT Mr. LaDarrion 😩
April 1, 2024
*review based on an arc*
This is a book takes place in a magic university (not high school!) for Black students and faculty. That said, the two weakest points in the story, for me, were the magic system and the school setting. As far as magic goes, there appear to be no rules. Most of the magic seems to consist of flipping cars over or using the powers of your mind to break someone else's bones and twist them up like a pretzel. But anybody could do it: first-years, seniors, teachers. Main character Malik can call down a storm, his uncle has death magic, and his grandmother can turn shadows into fierce animals that attack at her command, but everybody else does the same things: flip cars, choke people from a distance, break bones with their minds, and just shoot magical energy at each other. I don't know that I've seen a magical system so underdeveloped. I guess the sky was the limit, but it was just chaos to me.
There were some things about the school that were really well done. My favorite part is when the main character steals something from a special collection at the library, which has special wards in place. The dorms are described in great detail. I feel like I have actually sat in the chancellor's office. The students all share an app, which wasn't a thing back when I was in college but probably actually is now, and that's a good idea for sharing news. But other than that, I believe we only attend two classes with Malik, when he is brand new at the school and doesn't know anything about anything. I feel like the reader missed out on a lot of the college experience that we could have been shown. There are some "magic duels" on campus but again, the magic system is so random, it was just people throwing magic energy at each other and I wasn't really invested in the outcomes of those battles. At least when the bad guys attacked, they flung cars. lol
Okay, those are my only real complaints. As for the rest, the plot of this book was really cool! There were a lot of twists at the end I didn't see coming. (And one that was a little too obvious, but it's fine. You still feel the impact.) It was complex without being convoluted.
Main character Malik rescues his adopted brother Taye from abusive foster parents using his powers, then they go on the run. Their escape plan is complicated when Taye has a diabetic episode, having forgotten his medication at the foster home, then a stranger appears (favorite character alert!!!) to show Malik that he has the power to heal, not just harm. And he guides the boys on their journey to Malik's long-lost grandmother and the secret college for conjurers.
Malik has plenty of challenges ahead of him. He's met family he didn't know he had, navigating a new school, trying to figure out if his childhood crush still feels the same. There's a faction of evil spellcasters kidnapping and killing students from the university, and he's finding out more about the mother he never knew than bargained for.
There are a lot of characters in this book and they're very entertaining. Uncle Samedi is my favorite. To me he was just so unique and interesting. He's more of a necromancer than the general run-of-the-mill mages in the book. He didn't seem quite human. I liked the students and faculty at the school a lot. They gave the book some flavor and sometimes even comic relief. I felt like there was a good balance of queer content, too. And it keeps you guessing the way some characters seem to walk a fine line between "good guy" and "bad guy," like the school chancellor, another of my faves.
I'd be glad to read more in this series, but hope some of the kinks will be worked out in the future. And in case you're interested, there is a 30-minute indie short-film based on the book that you can watch for free on YouTube. Just search the book's title and you can find it.
This is a book takes place in a magic university (not high school!) for Black students and faculty. That said, the two weakest points in the story, for me, were the magic system and the school setting. As far as magic goes, there appear to be no rules. Most of the magic seems to consist of flipping cars over or using the powers of your mind to break someone else's bones and twist them up like a pretzel. But anybody could do it: first-years, seniors, teachers. Main character Malik can call down a storm, his uncle has death magic, and his grandmother can turn shadows into fierce animals that attack at her command, but everybody else does the same things: flip cars, choke people from a distance, break bones with their minds, and just shoot magical energy at each other. I don't know that I've seen a magical system so underdeveloped. I guess the sky was the limit, but it was just chaos to me.
There were some things about the school that were really well done. My favorite part is when the main character steals something from a special collection at the library, which has special wards in place. The dorms are described in great detail. I feel like I have actually sat in the chancellor's office. The students all share an app, which wasn't a thing back when I was in college but probably actually is now, and that's a good idea for sharing news. But other than that, I believe we only attend two classes with Malik, when he is brand new at the school and doesn't know anything about anything. I feel like the reader missed out on a lot of the college experience that we could have been shown. There are some "magic duels" on campus but again, the magic system is so random, it was just people throwing magic energy at each other and I wasn't really invested in the outcomes of those battles. At least when the bad guys attacked, they flung cars. lol
Okay, those are my only real complaints. As for the rest, the plot of this book was really cool! There were a lot of twists at the end I didn't see coming. (And one that was a little too obvious, but it's fine. You still feel the impact.) It was complex without being convoluted.
Main character Malik rescues his adopted brother Taye from abusive foster parents using his powers, then they go on the run. Their escape plan is complicated when Taye has a diabetic episode, having forgotten his medication at the foster home, then a stranger appears (favorite character alert!!!) to show Malik that he has the power to heal, not just harm. And he guides the boys on their journey to Malik's long-lost grandmother and the secret college for conjurers.
Malik has plenty of challenges ahead of him. He's met family he didn't know he had, navigating a new school, trying to figure out if his childhood crush still feels the same. There's a faction of evil spellcasters kidnapping and killing students from the university, and he's finding out more about the mother he never knew than bargained for.
There are a lot of characters in this book and they're very entertaining. Uncle Samedi is my favorite. To me he was just so unique and interesting. He's more of a necromancer than the general run-of-the-mill mages in the book. He didn't seem quite human. I liked the students and faculty at the school a lot. They gave the book some flavor and sometimes even comic relief. I felt like there was a good balance of queer content, too. And it keeps you guessing the way some characters seem to walk a fine line between "good guy" and "bad guy," like the school chancellor, another of my faves.
I'd be glad to read more in this series, but hope some of the kinks will be worked out in the future. And in case you're interested, there is a 30-minute indie short-film based on the book that you can watch for free on YouTube. Just search the book's title and you can find it.
July 16, 2024
I had difficulty connecting with the writing style, as it felt forced and trying too hard to appeal to the "black" audience. The dialogue didn't resonate with me, and I didn't find it relatable or authentic. I think it's important for representation in media to feel genuine and respectful. Unfortunately, this didn't quite hit the mark for me.
June 13, 2024
After getting like 80% through I thought for sure this was self-published, and not exactly in a bad way, it just felt so unedited. To my shock this is from Random House? Like what? There were times a character would suddenly be outside in the yard when they were just in the kitchen (they did not teleport--which I have my issues with) or one of the kids near the end of the book is said to be wearing their uniform, but nowhere else was it mentioned they even have one. This passage especially jolt me out of the story:
(Spoilers btw)
"Taye falls to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Stop!!! Fuckin' stop!"
Professor Kumale's eyes shift to me, and a twisted grin decorates his face. "If you do not want him to kill Taye, take me to the Scroll of Idan."
"I don't know where that shit is!" Taye falls to the ground, writhing in pain. "Fuckin' stop!"
Exactly how it was written. There are so many flaws in this small chunk, it was wild, like did no one look over this before it went out? And this wasn't the only place this happened.
Editing aside I found the world building really strange? Like there was no rules except for when they had to be prevented from doing something. They would flail their hands around and boom magically whatever they wanted to appear, to do, spell, hex, it was there. Sometimes they say words. And the teleporting. Constant teleporting.
Which is part of my other complaint about this book. I'm not sure what the age is intended here. It reads middle school, but the characters are in "college", they have sex (ohmygoshhhh the sex scene, kill me---okay that was mean xD but like the romance itself-----I'm gonna be here all day).
The writing itself made it read so young because it would put in things like "AH!!! Sssss!" Like oh he's in pain I see. Or "Donja looks soooooo scared" not dialogue, just a comment in the prose. Or "Taye!!!!!!!!" I screamed for him." like I got that buddy by the amount of exclamation points you used. And my other saved one "I reach my hand into the hole in the wall, pulling back a...a scroll of paper?!" Like it just comes across so young and then it doesn't help he's doing a report on the Louisiana Purchase and playing dodgeball. Like huh? And the constant bam teleport! contributed to the young feeling in a way I can't fully explain.
The romance too was very pls stop, she does not like you like that. And then suddenly she does. Oh wait it was a trap! Oh but it's fine because we still like her?
Oh yeah and then his bizarre reactions whenever anyone around was gay. Like he had never heard it before. And then we get his friend's coming out story but no we don't, we're told we heard it and his response is 'wooow me being a straight man I could never imagine such a thing but so proud of him' which I don't know, was such a strange thing to put in.
That aside I feel like there is a good story here. I just think the writing is lacking. And it can't decide what age its for (does not help that the author compares it to Percy Jackson and Harry Potter which are for younger kids). But the story itself is there and I hope with the second one it can be a bit more substantive on what it is.
There were moments were I was like ohmygosh I can feel how special this would be to be reading and see yourself in the story. And I loved the relationship between the brothers. I feel like if this author keeps going their stories will only get better.
(Spoilers btw)
"Taye falls to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Stop!!! Fuckin' stop!"
Professor Kumale's eyes shift to me, and a twisted grin decorates his face. "If you do not want him to kill Taye, take me to the Scroll of Idan."
"I don't know where that shit is!" Taye falls to the ground, writhing in pain. "Fuckin' stop!"
Exactly how it was written. There are so many flaws in this small chunk, it was wild, like did no one look over this before it went out? And this wasn't the only place this happened.
Editing aside I found the world building really strange? Like there was no rules except for when they had to be prevented from doing something. They would flail their hands around and boom magically whatever they wanted to appear, to do, spell, hex, it was there. Sometimes they say words. And the teleporting. Constant teleporting.
Which is part of my other complaint about this book. I'm not sure what the age is intended here. It reads middle school, but the characters are in "college", they have sex (ohmygoshhhh the sex scene, kill me---okay that was mean xD but like the romance itself-----I'm gonna be here all day).
The writing itself made it read so young because it would put in things like "AH!!! Sssss!" Like oh he's in pain I see. Or "Donja looks soooooo scared" not dialogue, just a comment in the prose. Or "Taye!!!!!!!!" I screamed for him." like I got that buddy by the amount of exclamation points you used. And my other saved one "I reach my hand into the hole in the wall, pulling back a...a scroll of paper?!" Like it just comes across so young and then it doesn't help he's doing a report on the Louisiana Purchase and playing dodgeball. Like huh? And the constant bam teleport! contributed to the young feeling in a way I can't fully explain.
The romance too was very pls stop, she does not like you like that. And then suddenly she does. Oh wait it was a trap! Oh but it's fine because we still like her?
Oh yeah and then his bizarre reactions whenever anyone around was gay. Like he had never heard it before. And then we get his friend's coming out story but no we don't, we're told we heard it and his response is 'wooow me being a straight man I could never imagine such a thing but so proud of him' which I don't know, was such a strange thing to put in.
That aside I feel like there is a good story here. I just think the writing is lacking. And it can't decide what age its for (does not help that the author compares it to Percy Jackson and Harry Potter which are for younger kids). But the story itself is there and I hope with the second one it can be a bit more substantive on what it is.
There were moments were I was like ohmygosh I can feel how special this would be to be reading and see yourself in the story. And I loved the relationship between the brothers. I feel like if this author keeps going their stories will only get better.
May 31, 2024
Welcome to the Blackgical Revolution . . .
Whhhhhy was this book so good though? The representation was everything it’s definitely giving Black boy magic. I mean if all fantasy books came like this I would devour them every time‼️ We get so much from this one a magical HBCU, generational trauma, betrayal from both family and friends, new found community, brotherly love, feuding covens, magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.
Living most of his life being blamed but also blaming himself for the disappearance/death of his mother Malik was left to look after himself. For years he tried to forget about his magic and not show anyone because when he thought about it all it brought him was pain. Now, that he’s of age he’s finally ready to start a new life for him and his foster brother Taye. In an attempt to rescue his brother connections to a long-lost grandmother are revealed to Malik which will result in him attending the same magical university his mother had. While at Caiman University Malik’s future will open up to more than he could have imagined. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution.
This is a book I highly recommend for anyone interested in reading fantasy. The magic will keep you engaged, the action will keep you on edge, but the hidden secrets and past trauma will keep you invested. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. Loved the cover so much I had to purchase a copy. Special thanks to the author, @penguinrandomhouse #LabyrinthRoad, & @libro.fm for my advanced listening copy‼️
Whhhhhy was this book so good though? The representation was everything it’s definitely giving Black boy magic. I mean if all fantasy books came like this I would devour them every time‼️ We get so much from this one a magical HBCU, generational trauma, betrayal from both family and friends, new found community, brotherly love, feuding covens, magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.
Living most of his life being blamed but also blaming himself for the disappearance/death of his mother Malik was left to look after himself. For years he tried to forget about his magic and not show anyone because when he thought about it all it brought him was pain. Now, that he’s of age he’s finally ready to start a new life for him and his foster brother Taye. In an attempt to rescue his brother connections to a long-lost grandmother are revealed to Malik which will result in him attending the same magical university his mother had. While at Caiman University Malik’s future will open up to more than he could have imagined. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution.
This is a book I highly recommend for anyone interested in reading fantasy. The magic will keep you engaged, the action will keep you on edge, but the hidden secrets and past trauma will keep you invested. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. Loved the cover so much I had to purchase a copy. Special thanks to the author, @penguinrandomhouse #LabyrinthRoad, & @libro.fm for my advanced listening copy‼️
December 23, 2024
I’ve seen the mix reviews but I really did enjoy this black fantasy.
Read
March 13, 2024LaDarrion gave us a story so heavily steeped in Black culture. I mean if it was tea, that tea bag sat in that water for 10 years and you forgot what color the water was to begin with because the hue at the end was so deeply rich. I absolutely loved how he wrote in his authentic voice and infused the story with references that many of us in the Black community are very familiar with. The AAVE…it just read so natural to me. Like I was listening to a friend talk and I applaud LaDarrion for making the decision to fully lean into AAVE and the publisher for not watering it down.
I also really enjoyed the writing. It’s very sensory and detailed in a way that I could see the scenes playing out in my mind and I felt like I was put into Malik’s shoes; making the movements he made and feeling what he felt. This story is a great foundation to be adapted to screen. I really hope we get to see this story on screen one day.
Overall, I enjoyed the mystery of the plot. I was fully invested in finding out about Malik’s mother and following his journey of discovery. The beginning 25% and ending 25% had me fully engaged. I do think some of the primary focus was lost in the middle at times. I still really enjoyed because of the secrets, lies, betrayals, and revelations. Towards the end when secrets really start coming to the light, I was literally screaming.
Can’t wait for book 2.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced eARC.
I also really enjoyed the writing. It’s very sensory and detailed in a way that I could see the scenes playing out in my mind and I felt like I was put into Malik’s shoes; making the movements he made and feeling what he felt. This story is a great foundation to be adapted to screen. I really hope we get to see this story on screen one day.
Overall, I enjoyed the mystery of the plot. I was fully invested in finding out about Malik’s mother and following his journey of discovery. The beginning 25% and ending 25% had me fully engaged. I do think some of the primary focus was lost in the middle at times. I still really enjoyed because of the secrets, lies, betrayals, and revelations. Towards the end when secrets really start coming to the light, I was literally screaming.
Can’t wait for book 2.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced eARC.
December 27, 2023
Some of the book's greatest hits, "...I'm ret to go","Ahhhh sookie sookie,", "BFFR", & "...bruh, you hella corny". This book is a mixture between, Stomp the Yard, Wakanda Forever, & Harry Potter(if they all were black). The story takes place in the south with a young, hard shelled, young man named Malik who is just trying to find his place. After losing his mother ten years ago and discovering his magic, he seeks answers. So off to Caiman University! Some pros...the world building and the ancestry of the characters were excellent to read. I loved all the past and current connections in the story. I did also love the fight scenes. Now some cons...you can tell a millennial wrote this. I found myself turned off and distracted by some of the speech in the book, some I included at the beginning of this review. My advice to the author is to take down some of that because it got in the way of the storytelling, especially when all these older adults were around. Also, the levels of betrayal in the story seemed too predictable. Overall, I finished it in two days on my Kindle and I would read the sequel.
May 7, 2024
Blood At The Root literally had me held against my will for days, the post book hangover was real. The best thing about this book was the culture, representation, and the way the author didn’t lose his voice in the process. As a Social Worker, I was especially interested in seeing how Malik, a young black male who ended up in the system, would respond to his adversities. And I think the author did that part of the story justice. Malik was strong willed, protective, but also cautious with the way he moved. Without giving anything away, I was blown away with the complexity of the story, the vivid and intricate details, and the plot twists and suspense - it all came together beautifully. I can wholeheartedly say this was one of my favorite reads this year. I am packing up and headed to Caiman University, I just want to experience the richness of the campus and see the student life. I cannot wait for my hardcover to come in the mail!
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc copy.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc copy.
Read
February 12, 2025I had no idea that there was a secret HBU for magic users! But I'm certainly not surprised!
I'm also quite pleased to see that this is listed at book one, there's a lot of series potential here, and I'd love to see more!
Content warning: The language is SALTY, but also very realistic.
*I am not rating any books eligible for the World Fantasy Award*
I'm also quite pleased to see that this is listed at book one, there's a lot of series potential here, and I'd love to see more!
Content warning: The language is SALTY, but also very realistic.
*I am not rating any books eligible for the World Fantasy Award*
February 21, 2024
Thank you netgalley for this ARC this one was one of my most hyped books of this year and i am so glad i got the chance to read it... Before my review i need to say YALL NEED TO READ THIS ONE. This book was so good what really sucked me in was Baron samedi, Brigette, And of course mama aya. Malik was such a great lead in this novel and the amount of storylines and twist and turns this book had was everything.. The HBCIU with MAGIC? This novel had such great magic elements and the magic scenes were EPIC you just didnt know what someone was going to do even the side characters were so lovable and i love that each person had such great personality and villains of course. I dont want to say too much about the storylines becuase i dont want to spoil for anyone so i wont go too much in detail.. Following a situation that happens when Malik is a young boy regarding magic and then he decides its time to get away from the people who are not good for him and bringing Taye along with him he sees someone that happens to give him a piece of information making him start to learn more about himself and join an HBCIU and meets alot of interesting people there.. people who have super strong magic and he learns alot about his history and why he has the magic he has etc.. This novel had so many beautiful moments and the writing was super detailed and amazing. My favorite part of this novel was the memory aspect and the details in these memories. Im telling yall if you love YA and fantasy this novel is for you. I NEED MORE! Also lets talk about how beautiful this cover is with all the blue ugh i just cant say anything negative about this perfect novel. STRONG 5 ⭐️ LaDarrion be so proud of you this novel it was EPIC.
June 26, 2024
Initial reaction: 4-4.5 stars. There's many layers to Blood at the Root that I really enjoyed, writing, character attention and detail, magic system and display. I'm still thinking about certain aspects of it long after reading it, though there are some aspects that I'm critical of that can be seen as flaws of the main character, not the narrative itself.
Full review:
All right, everyone. I'm ready to dive into this one because this book has been on my radar for a long time, was a highly anticipated read for me, AND I got it as a galley from NetGalley, so of course I knew that I would read it. (Albeit much later than than release.) I think getting to it later had me tempering my expectations of it as a YA Urban Fantasy/Fantasy with contemporary leanings, a magical HBCU with classes on said magic, with a Black boy as the main character and focus POV while on the run from his past. All of that sounded great to me, and for the most part - it delivered on those promises.
Note well: I am NOT an expert on the Yoruba, Orisha, and practices of Vodou. I think there are other reviewers who are far better equipped than me to tackle on how well this book treats those portrayals, although I'll say that it's lightly incorporated in the practices, spells, and overarching worldbuilding of this story. There are some books that I've read where I've been informed that the portrayals are not good (i.e. Skin of the Sea, that's a book I have yet to finish). I can however speak specifically to some of the critiques made on the content for portrayal of story. We'll get to that soon.
"Blood at the Root" is the first book of a series centered around 17-year old Malik. Ten years before, Malik witnessed the traumatic vanishing of his mother during the Fourth of July celebration in his home of Alabama. Ever since that night, Malik has felt his powers were cursed and that he was blamed/the cause of that traumatic event. But at 17, he hatches a plan to get himself and his foster brother Taye out of an abusive home life to go to California, make a new start. I think it's not a stretch to say that throughout this story, Malik is a very flawed character and his background is quite the traumatic one, especially coming from the foster care system. But it's told on his own terms, in his identity as a Black teen. I think that's important to establish in contrast to many narratives that frame it from a non-marginalized lens. Malik is messy, he makes mistakes/bad decisions. You get that from point one in the book. But you also understand his desperation in getting himself and Taye to a better life, even with limited resources at his hands and a power he doesn't understand. Even further, he sometimes takes that power too far in his desperation/anger.
Malik and Taye end up in a precarious situation that almost gets them caught. They are helped by a stranger while also getting an invitation to meet with Malik's long lost grandmother (Mama Aya), who runs a magical HBCU. Caiman University, which just so happens to be the same university Malik's mother attended. Mama Aya reveals that she and her daughter had a massive falling out, but that hadn't stopped her from trying to find Malik. She pulls some strings to get Malik enrolled in Caiman University, to better hone his magic and provide a space for him to live/be. Malik is conflicted about this (of course), but it's hard to refuse when it not only gives him a space to better wield his magic, provide a stable home for Taye, and help him find the pieces of his mother's past and what led to the events of his mother's disappearance. Being on campus also reunites him with another familiar face - the girl he was in love with back when he was in foster care - Alexis.
I think it's important to say that Malik is a very well crafted flawed character that's willing to learn though reluctant to trust. You see that in several examples as you follow Malik's adjustment to University life. You can tell that his worldview is sheltered/limited to an extent. Regarding some of the reader comments/feedback about a character being misgendered in here - I saw that was quickly corrected and illustrated as a learning experience for Malik as he gets to know his gay, bisexual, and non-binary peers, and there are several examples where the community is featured on page in an inclusive manner. Could this have been showcased better? I think so, but I can't speak to it because I'm not from the LGBTQ+ community, so I think it's worth listening to those who are of that spectrum of identity in terms of what could be done better. You don't have to show someone of different identity being disrespected in order to acknowledge the respectful way to see/address someone. That's important to note when we're talking about positive representation of inclusive communities. I thought it was nice to be able to see, for example, a space where Malik hears from a Black man who acknowledges his bisexuality and how that's erased in the community, in which Malik goes up to him after the talk and thanks him. (Of course that happens just before a very harrowing scene which is residing in my mind, rent free, but I'll talk about that later in this review.)
What I can speak to is some claims of of misogyny and misogynoir in here which...yeah, we need to talk about it. All, this book is filled with very flawed, messy, dramatic characters. These are teens/young adults in college. Also adults participating in power plays that often result in manipulative tactics to hide the secrets they have to keep. You learn of multiple betrayals happening among the cast at the drop of a hat - Malik learns this many times the hard way. Writing flawed Black women and girls in a narrative is not misogynoir. Nor is writing/expressing attraction towards/for those characters misogyny, such as observing some girls twerking at a college party. Not by itself. Depends on how that's done and there's a line to it. Nor is calling attention to Black girls who go missing or are harmed misogynoir, I understood what this book was doing with that and I'm like "Okay, you're hitting on so many different things that the community cares about/is intimate with the Black experience. I get it." Sometimes it felt like it could be a bit ambitious to take on all of that with everything going on in the narrative, but in the narrative, it made sense.
Like I understood, realistically, Malik's perspective as a straight Black teen having these first time experiences - his desires, his thoughts, really the narrative collectively does a good job of getting into his head through his ups and downs. He's a well-rounded character, if flawed. There was probably only one major point where I got VERY annoyed by Malik in terms of how he treats Alexis. It's clear he likes her - he's liked her since they met at the orphanage when they were younger kids and he says this. But when it comes to how he treats her when she potentially likes another guy, ehhh. I wanted to collect him and say "That's none of your doggone business whether she's sleeping or not sleeping with someone else, leave her alone, mind your business." And I don't doubt other readers reading those scenes would agree. Thankfully Alexis collects him on page in very similar form to what my internal thoughts were about it. And Malik is self-aware to state on page more than a few times how he screwed up with her. It's realistic teen relationship drama, and showcases both characters being in their own heads and flawed, while also playing it out on page. It is not the same as, say, Becca Fitzpatrick's YA novel "Hush, Hush" where Patch continuously crosses Nora's boundaries, stalks and antagonizes her to reckless abandon, and it being seen as desirable in text. I think it's worth noting the nuance, dynamics, and being transparent about it, but I understand that even with that note, people aren't going to like how that plays out.
What I really liked about this novel was being able to see Malik interact with a wide cast of characters, experiment with his magic, experiencing the emotional ups and downs on each revelation he makes about his mother's past and the people around her. And the fight scenes/scenes of peril in this book are wicked good, along with the vivid writing. I genuinely feared for Malik during multiple points in this book he gets on the other end of terrible magic and betrayals. I mentioned one of the scenes where Malik gets attacked right after a lecture - that scene stayed with me and I was wondering, right along with the other cast of characters, whether he was going to make it out of that okay.
There are moments of Black Boy joy in this book, where you see Malik being able to have fun with and see his foster brother, quiet moments where he spends with Mama Aya, and getting to know his professors and peers. And even further, feeling like he gets to know his community and come to terms with his sense of identity, a feeling of being home. However, you also get the weight of what costs magic has, the levels of tension, peril, and betrayal that Malik ultimately has to contend with, the history he witnesses and how that's tied to him, and how he has to navigate that. I usually say the best stories are those that not only have a wide range of narrative tones and emotional experiences for the characters within, but also allow me to really delve into who they are, even if I don't always like what they do. That's how I felt about "Blood at the Root" - I felt like I went on a whole journey reading this narrative. And it makes me want to know/experience more of it, even with some pretty heavy occurrences/losses for the characters within.
I liked the journey, and for my first experience with LaDarrion Williams's work, it was an intriguing one. I'm hoping to dive more into the author's work and more of this series in the future to see where it goes. Overall, despite some bumps in the road, I liked "Blood at the Root." Really, really worth it if you can get the audiobook narration for this story - it has sound effects, and is well in character voice for Malik being narrated by Jalyn Hall (who has a nice singing voice, I might add).
Overall score: 4/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher. Also listened to the audiobook narration, which I purchased for myself.
Full review:
All right, everyone. I'm ready to dive into this one because this book has been on my radar for a long time, was a highly anticipated read for me, AND I got it as a galley from NetGalley, so of course I knew that I would read it. (Albeit much later than than release.) I think getting to it later had me tempering my expectations of it as a YA Urban Fantasy/Fantasy with contemporary leanings, a magical HBCU with classes on said magic, with a Black boy as the main character and focus POV while on the run from his past. All of that sounded great to me, and for the most part - it delivered on those promises.
Note well: I am NOT an expert on the Yoruba, Orisha, and practices of Vodou. I think there are other reviewers who are far better equipped than me to tackle on how well this book treats those portrayals, although I'll say that it's lightly incorporated in the practices, spells, and overarching worldbuilding of this story. There are some books that I've read where I've been informed that the portrayals are not good (i.e. Skin of the Sea, that's a book I have yet to finish). I can however speak specifically to some of the critiques made on the content for portrayal of story. We'll get to that soon.
"Blood at the Root" is the first book of a series centered around 17-year old Malik. Ten years before, Malik witnessed the traumatic vanishing of his mother during the Fourth of July celebration in his home of Alabama. Ever since that night, Malik has felt his powers were cursed and that he was blamed/the cause of that traumatic event. But at 17, he hatches a plan to get himself and his foster brother Taye out of an abusive home life to go to California, make a new start. I think it's not a stretch to say that throughout this story, Malik is a very flawed character and his background is quite the traumatic one, especially coming from the foster care system. But it's told on his own terms, in his identity as a Black teen. I think that's important to establish in contrast to many narratives that frame it from a non-marginalized lens. Malik is messy, he makes mistakes/bad decisions. You get that from point one in the book. But you also understand his desperation in getting himself and Taye to a better life, even with limited resources at his hands and a power he doesn't understand. Even further, he sometimes takes that power too far in his desperation/anger.
Malik and Taye end up in a precarious situation that almost gets them caught. They are helped by a stranger while also getting an invitation to meet with Malik's long lost grandmother (Mama Aya), who runs a magical HBCU. Caiman University, which just so happens to be the same university Malik's mother attended. Mama Aya reveals that she and her daughter had a massive falling out, but that hadn't stopped her from trying to find Malik. She pulls some strings to get Malik enrolled in Caiman University, to better hone his magic and provide a space for him to live/be. Malik is conflicted about this (of course), but it's hard to refuse when it not only gives him a space to better wield his magic, provide a stable home for Taye, and help him find the pieces of his mother's past and what led to the events of his mother's disappearance. Being on campus also reunites him with another familiar face - the girl he was in love with back when he was in foster care - Alexis.
I think it's important to say that Malik is a very well crafted flawed character that's willing to learn though reluctant to trust. You see that in several examples as you follow Malik's adjustment to University life. You can tell that his worldview is sheltered/limited to an extent. Regarding some of the reader comments/feedback about a character being misgendered in here - I saw that was quickly corrected and illustrated as a learning experience for Malik as he gets to know his gay, bisexual, and non-binary peers, and there are several examples where the community is featured on page in an inclusive manner. Could this have been showcased better? I think so, but I can't speak to it because I'm not from the LGBTQ+ community, so I think it's worth listening to those who are of that spectrum of identity in terms of what could be done better. You don't have to show someone of different identity being disrespected in order to acknowledge the respectful way to see/address someone. That's important to note when we're talking about positive representation of inclusive communities. I thought it was nice to be able to see, for example, a space where Malik hears from a Black man who acknowledges his bisexuality and how that's erased in the community, in which Malik goes up to him after the talk and thanks him. (Of course that happens just before a very harrowing scene which is residing in my mind, rent free, but I'll talk about that later in this review.)
What I can speak to is some claims of of misogyny and misogynoir in here which...yeah, we need to talk about it. All, this book is filled with very flawed, messy, dramatic characters. These are teens/young adults in college. Also adults participating in power plays that often result in manipulative tactics to hide the secrets they have to keep. You learn of multiple betrayals happening among the cast at the drop of a hat - Malik learns this many times the hard way. Writing flawed Black women and girls in a narrative is not misogynoir. Nor is writing/expressing attraction towards/for those characters misogyny, such as observing some girls twerking at a college party. Not by itself. Depends on how that's done and there's a line to it. Nor is calling attention to Black girls who go missing or are harmed misogynoir, I understood what this book was doing with that and I'm like "Okay, you're hitting on so many different things that the community cares about/is intimate with the Black experience. I get it." Sometimes it felt like it could be a bit ambitious to take on all of that with everything going on in the narrative, but in the narrative, it made sense.
Like I understood, realistically, Malik's perspective as a straight Black teen having these first time experiences - his desires, his thoughts, really the narrative collectively does a good job of getting into his head through his ups and downs. He's a well-rounded character, if flawed. There was probably only one major point where I got VERY annoyed by Malik in terms of how he treats Alexis. It's clear he likes her - he's liked her since they met at the orphanage when they were younger kids and he says this. But when it comes to how he treats her when she potentially likes another guy, ehhh. I wanted to collect him and say "That's none of your doggone business whether she's sleeping or not sleeping with someone else, leave her alone, mind your business." And I don't doubt other readers reading those scenes would agree. Thankfully Alexis collects him on page in very similar form to what my internal thoughts were about it. And Malik is self-aware to state on page more than a few times how he screwed up with her. It's realistic teen relationship drama, and showcases both characters being in their own heads and flawed, while also playing it out on page. It is not the same as, say, Becca Fitzpatrick's YA novel "Hush, Hush" where Patch continuously crosses Nora's boundaries, stalks and antagonizes her to reckless abandon, and it being seen as desirable in text. I think it's worth noting the nuance, dynamics, and being transparent about it, but I understand that even with that note, people aren't going to like how that plays out.
What I really liked about this novel was being able to see Malik interact with a wide cast of characters, experiment with his magic, experiencing the emotional ups and downs on each revelation he makes about his mother's past and the people around her. And the fight scenes/scenes of peril in this book are wicked good, along with the vivid writing. I genuinely feared for Malik during multiple points in this book he gets on the other end of terrible magic and betrayals. I mentioned one of the scenes where Malik gets attacked right after a lecture - that scene stayed with me and I was wondering, right along with the other cast of characters, whether he was going to make it out of that okay.
There are moments of Black Boy joy in this book, where you see Malik being able to have fun with and see his foster brother, quiet moments where he spends with Mama Aya, and getting to know his professors and peers. And even further, feeling like he gets to know his community and come to terms with his sense of identity, a feeling of being home. However, you also get the weight of what costs magic has, the levels of tension, peril, and betrayal that Malik ultimately has to contend with, the history he witnesses and how that's tied to him, and how he has to navigate that. I usually say the best stories are those that not only have a wide range of narrative tones and emotional experiences for the characters within, but also allow me to really delve into who they are, even if I don't always like what they do. That's how I felt about "Blood at the Root" - I felt like I went on a whole journey reading this narrative. And it makes me want to know/experience more of it, even with some pretty heavy occurrences/losses for the characters within.
I liked the journey, and for my first experience with LaDarrion Williams's work, it was an intriguing one. I'm hoping to dive more into the author's work and more of this series in the future to see where it goes. Overall, despite some bumps in the road, I liked "Blood at the Root." Really, really worth it if you can get the audiobook narration for this story - it has sound effects, and is well in character voice for Malik being narrated by Jalyn Hall (who has a nice singing voice, I might add).
Overall score: 4/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher. Also listened to the audiobook narration, which I purchased for myself.
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