5 Reasons to Read Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

Item: Blood Scion
Author: Richetta

Posted March 11, 2022 by Richetta in #ownvoices, Blog Tours, Young Adult / 3 Comments

I received this book for free from HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

5 Reasons to Read Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye
Published by HarperCollins on March 8, 2022
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Diversity & Multicultural, Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Class Differences
Pages: 432
Format: Hardcover
Source: HarperTeen
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“Equal parts soaring fantasy, heart-pounding action, and bloody social commentary, Blood Scion is a triumph of a book.” —Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times bestselling author of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
This is what they deserve.
They wanted me to be a monster.
I will be the worst monster they ever created.
Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods.
Under the Lucis’ brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.
Following one girl’s journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, Deborah Falaye’s debut novel, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of Children of Blood and Bone and An Ember in the Ashes.

Also by this author: Blood Scion

Have you picked up Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye yet? If you haven’t and you like young adult fantasy literature, you should consider adding it to your TBR. Today is my stop on the Colored Pages Book Tour and I have written 5 reasons to read Blood Scion. There is also some bonus content that includes 5 quotes that jumped out at me as I read. You can read a more traditional review of Blood Scion that I wrote earlier here, Review: Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye. Thank you to the publisher, HarperTeen and NetGalley for the gifted copy.

1. Black Woman Author and Young Adult Fantasy

If you are of a certain age, then you really didn’t have an opportunity to read about Black girls as protagonists in fantasy novels. The fact that many fantasies are based in Greek or other European mythologies, meant that Black girls remained unseen in the fantasy world. So when you see a Black woman write a fantasy novel about a Black girl featuring Yoruba/Nigerian mythology, it’s time to celebrate and prepare for a great, immersive read, which is what Blood Scion delivers.

Book Cover of Blood Scion — Purchase: Blackwells | Amazon
Book Depository | Barnes & Noble

2. Expand Your Knowledge of World Mythology

Have you diversified your reading to include non-European mythology? Well here is your chance! It’s time to learn about the Orishas as you follow the journey of young scion, Sloane Shade. This dark fantasy features Yoruba/Nigerian lore and mythology. The author is from Lagos, Nigeria and she grew up reading African literature and stories about Yoruba culture.

3. Understand the Cruelty of Children Forced to be Soldiers

Some people are always quick to judge, but there is a dark and evil torture that goes into developing a child soldier into a killing machine. Deborah Falaye does a good job of creating a world that brings light to the sufferings of child soldiers as well as how they fight to survive. The social commentary is woven into the narrative seamlessly.

4. Social Commentary

The social commentary that is woven into this novel is amazing and seamless. Within the main framing of this story you are aware that Falaye is exploring and commenting on the tragedy and horror of children who are forced to be soldiers. She explores both the trauma and the resilience of those children as they fight to survive and maintain what tiny pieces of their childhood they can salvage. But there are other issues that are addressed including colonization, the loss or suppression of culture as a result of colonization and oppression.

5. Sloane Blade + Black Girl Magic

First, if that isn’t a kickass action figure name, then I don’t know what is. Sloane is resilient and she is a fighter. She also has a fire in her veins both literal and figurative that drives her forward on her mission to discover what has happened to her mother. Seeing her journey as she struggles with her identity and the suppression of her power to how she maintains hope and her humanity in the midst of being conscripted as a child soldier.

I hope you enjoyed reading my 5 Reasons to Read Blood Scion! And of yeah, I know you peeped that awesome book cover!!!!

Top 5 Quotes

About the Author

Deborah Falaye is a Nigerian-Canadian young adult author. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where she spent her time devouring African literature, pestering her grandma for folktales and tricking her grandfather into watching Passions every night. When she’s not writing about fierce Black girls with bad-ass magic, she can be found obsessing over all things reality tv.

Deborah currently lives in Toronto with her husband and their partner-in-crime yorkie, Major.

BLOOD SCION is her first novel.

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