CCBC Booklists

CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

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Raybearer

by Jordan Ifueko

CCBC Review:

In a fantasy set in a mythical African nation, young Tarisai, half-human and half-ehru (djinn), has been raised in isolation, trained by tutors preparing her to become one of the eleven members of Prince Ekundayo’s council. She barely knows her distant mother, whom she calls The Lady. What she does know is that her mother, through magic, has compelled her to kill The Prince Tarisai is supposed to dedicate her life to serving. As she tries desperately to resist the magic, Tarisai also attempts to unravel her mother’s background and the complicated history of their land, which includes grappling with the effects of imperialism and colonialism. Why does her mother want the prince dead? The question leads Tarisai to a discovery that will change her future and that of the empire. Ifeuko excels at world-building in her captivating first novel, creating a place so lush with sensory details readers will feel as though they have fully entered it. The complexity of the characters and their interdependency also serve to bring Tarisai’s world to life, and readers will struggle, as she does, with moral choices, love, political alliances, and forbidden knowledge in order to find and fulfill her true destiny. ©2021 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 12 and older
Age Range: Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13) Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format: Novel
Subjects: African Peoples Ethical/Moral Choices Fantasy Love and Romance Magic Mothers Politics and Political Systems
Diversity subjects: Black/African Multicultural General
On CCBC Booklist: Fantastic Fiction: Great Fantasy Books for Ages 11 to 17

Publishers: Abrams, Amulet
Publish Year: 2020
Pages: 343
ISBN: 9781419739828
CCBC Location: Fiction, Ifueko

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