The target audience for this book appears to be children that are 12-18 years old or Young Adult. My personal opinion is that this is a very mature and triggering story and would be best for teens 16+. This book would be best for foster and adoptive families, as well as families with cross-racial/international adoption. It has a setting and multiple plots based in a culture different than our own. As the book progresses, the heroine adopts her own family among the friends and other maji she meets.
Children of Virtue and Vengeance, the second book in the Legacy of Orisha was released in December 2019, two years after the first book (Children of Blood and Bone) first appeared on shelves. Although highly anticipated by the vast fandom of CBB, I feel this second book fell flat in a number of ways. To begin, the author dumps you far from the end of the first book. This leaves you to muddle through her vague references and piece together the storyline on your own. Secondly, and perhaps more relevant to the matter at hand, the story, which should be lifting up and shining light on a marginalized character, does little to talk about her strengths and accomplishments and instead decides to focus on her failings and isolation in the world. I gave this book two hoots because although it deals with foster care, orphanages, and adoptive family, it does so in a harmful and triggering way. If anything can be gained from reading this book it is the exposure to a culture (even a fantastical one) different from our own. Foster parents of children of a different ethnicity may find this…
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About The Reviewer: Robyn
Robyn resides in Charlotte, NC where she divides her time working as a newborn care specialist, writing, and speaking at literature conventions around the Southeast. She pursued a double major in Sociology/Psychology at university, concentrating in child psychology. She rose to become president of the Sociology/Psychology Association chapter on campus. She was adopted as an infant and uses her experience as an adoptee in a cross-racial family to write and speak about challenges that may arise for both children and caretakers. When not writing, speaking, or holding babies, you can find Robyn in Asheville, NC hiking with her dog.
** Transfiguring Adoption is a nonprofit organization seeking to nurture growth in foster and adoptive families by giving a HOOT about their families. Transfiguring Adoption does not intend for its reviewers nor its review to be professional, medical or legal advice. These reviews and discussion guides are intended to help parents to better be able to connect and understand their children who come from traumatic backgrounds.**
