Efua Traoré's Reading List

"Raybearer fascinated me right from the beginning through its lyrical prose. Jordan Ifueko has a beautiful way with words and it was an absolute pleasure to read this book. Raybearer is about 16 year old Tarisai, hidden away from the world by her mysterious mother, The Lady. All her life Tarisai is trained and tested by tutors, preparing her for her life mission, which is to join the crown prince council of 12 members representing the 12 realms. When she discovers that her purpose is to kill the one person in the world she has sworn to love and protect, Tarisai embarks on a journey to find out the truth about herself. I was absolutely intrigued by the complex structure of Ifueko’s world-building and the enchanting mythical creation story of her world. Her characters and their relationships are deep and complex and very relatable. She included themes of belonging, and built in snippets of some wonderful West African customs like the griots, who are traditional storytellers. And she also included a theme close to my heart, which is the erasure of old traditions and cultures through new powerful ones. The ending of the book was breathtaking and I can hardly wait to finally read the sequel."

"This is a dark, powerful story of female empowerment that I had been very eager to read and I was not disappointed. 16 year old Deka’s world falls apart when on the day of the blood ceremony her blood runs gold, the colour of impurity, rather than red. Already an outsider all her life because of her mother’s origin, Deka has always only wanted to belong. But a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to the brutal fate of an outcast, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. Deka chooses the army of alaki – near-immortals with rare powers. And together with new friends and allies Deka joins the fight to stop the empire’s greatest threat. Namina Forna sends Deka on an epic journey of sisterhood, self-discovery and struggle against a deeply patriarchal and oppressive society. The world is skilfully crafted, the enemy is ghastly and spine-chilling and Namina masterfully builds up a mystery around these evil creatures, which unfolds towards the end, keeping you glued to the pages. The story is at times traumatic and violent which was sometimes quite shocking. But it is a moving read that leaves a powerful, lasting impression."

"What I loved most about this book were the mythological aspects. In Nigeria and in much of Africa , the supernatural is still very much a part of everyday life and I find the idea of a magical world, parallel to ours, absolutely befitting in an African setting. The story is about 12 year old Sunny, a Nigerian-American albino girl who moves to Nigeria from America and has problems fitting in. When a boy in her class rescues her from a bully and becomes her friend, she soon discovers she has magical abilities and is initiated into the Leopard society, a magical parallel world. Sunny and her new friends soon find themselves on a dangerous mission to stop a terrible and evil villain. Nnedi Okorafor has an exceptionally creative mind (which anyone who has read any of her other books will already know) and in Akata Witch she created a stunning world skilfully interwoven with Igbo mythology. Some of the wonderful curiosities of the mythology are the fiery palm-frond-covered masquerade Ekwensu, and the Tungwas, which are floating balls of flesh that can spontaneously explode into tufts of hair and teeth. I love that she included the Nsibidi scripts, a fascinating old writing system in southern Nigeria that is said to date back earlier than 400 AD."

"When this book came out I was literally trembling with excitement because I had just written Children of the Quicksands , which is also built on Yoruba mythology and also draws on the powers of the Orishas – goddesses and gods who command the elements. I remember shouting: I knew it! I knew we had wonderful mythologies that people would love to read about! Tomi Adeyemi’s action-filled and incredibly fast-paced novel is about 17 year old Zélie and her companions who have all suffered in different ways at the hands of the cruel king and their unjust world. In a tight race against time, they are on a quest to bring magic back to the land of Orïsha and restore power to the oppressed maji. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . The story is written from the points of view of three very different characters giving you a wonderful insight from opposite perspectives. Yes, the scenes are remarkably evocative and the storyline, which explores themes of racial and social injustice, is very powerful. Her chapters generally leave you feeling like you were run over by a whirlwind. Yes, she does that in a very impressive way, making the reader hurt and root for the protagonists. Yes, absolutely! The book has a very cinematic and epic feel to it and I was thrilled to hear that there are plans to turn it into a movie."

"I have a strong fascination with twins and the cover of this book is incredible, depicting the beautiful twin protagonists. I just had to read it! This is the story of Naala and Sinai, twin girls separated at birth and growing up under very different circumstances. They are yet to find each other and discover the dormant magical power that lies within them. And together they will have to face the Eze, the terrible ruler of the Kingdom of Nri, who separated them, who defeated the gods himself and will go to any length to keep the power in his hands. Reni K Amayo draws you into her intricately crafted world with vivid scenery and a lot of imagination. Absolutely! And she creates fascinating, multi-layered characters and relationships, thereby touching on feminist themes like solidarity between female enemies in the face of a greater enemy: a patriarchal society . The story takes a gentle hold of you but then tightens its grip firmly until you can’t drop the book. I was particularly intrigued by the creation myth and the departure of the gods and goddesses from earth. Not everything was revealed in this book and I look forward to the sequel which I believe will reveal more of this beautiful creation myth. That’s very possible! I am sure that, to some extent, we will have had different reading experiences. Equally enthusiastic and impressed experiences, I can imagine, but perhaps with some more moments of recognition on my side and admiration for the finesse with which mythologies, history or traditions have been intertwined with creative storytelling. Sign up here for our newsletter featuring the best children’s and young adult books, as recommended by authors, teachers, librarians and, of course, kids. I just began reading A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown which has started off just as beautifully as the previously mentioned books and is alternately narrated from the perspectives of a female and male protagonist. I recently read Ayesha Harruna Attah’s The Deep Blue Between which is a beautiful story of family, fate and loss set in 19th century West Africa and Brazil. It is not fantasy but I’ll mention it here because I really loved the incredibly vivid depiction of life and its challenges in that period of history. It will appeal to young readers and anyone who loves historical fiction . As mentioned before, the number of African inspired fantasy books for teens and young adults has greatly increased in the past few years. I have only highlighted and discussed five here but there are so many more. However, what I still miss are more African-inspired books for younger readers. This was why I felt the urge to write Children of the Quicksands for my daughters. There are still so many stories that need to be told, so many beautiful African mythologies, traditions, folklore and settings to draw on and I hope more authors will be inspired to write for younger readers as well."