By Akwaeke Emezi
Knopf / Random House, 2025
296 pages
978-0-593-30907-0
Age 14 and older
Long before Sọmadịna and her twin, Jayaike, were born, the creation of the Split ended the Starvation War. A yawning chasm, the Split severs the rest of the world from Sọmadịna’s island, where people receive one magical ability from the goddess Ala when they come of age. When the twins manifest multiple gifts—and one of Sọmadịna’s causes her to murder a violent peer against her will—they are deemed “abominations” by their mother and harshly shunned by the community. And then Jayaike is abducted by a sinister “hunter” who has appeared in Sọmadịna’s dreams. Sọmadịna and her best friend, Ụwafụlamiro, join Sọmadịna’s grandfather, Zerenjọ; and her sister, Nkadi; in the Sacred Forest. Zerenjọ and Nkadi are dịbịas, “masters of medicine and spirit” with powerful gifts; they help Sọmadịna prepare for the dangerous search for her brother. Together Sọmadịna, Ụwafụlamiro, and Nkadi set out on their journey. Sọmadịna struggles to accept and control her gifts, especially an emptiness that can kill anything in her path. She and Jayaike will not understand the full extent of their power until they are reunited and facing death at the hands of the hunter. Set in a West African-inspired fantasy setting, this richly imagined coming-of-age novel brings to life a world in which magic is both coveted and feared. At its heart is a girl learning to accept a gift that undeniably sets her apart. ©2025 Cooperative Children’s Book Center