A notable, big-budget film adaptation of an epic YA fantasy debut is making waves right now. As someone who’s read and been a longtime fan of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, first looks at the adaptation starring an all-Black cast, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King) with a screenplay written by Adeyemi herself, alongside Prince-Bythewood, had me on my feet.
But the excitement has been tinted by viral, emotional clips of Adeyemi distancing herself from the film. I don’t know what to make of the cryptic development, but I do know how I feel about the book. If you’re curious about the fantasy novel behind the adaptation, here’s your starting place, and if you want to hear more from the author, check out our 2018 interview with Adeyemi.
 Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi AdeyemiThe level of attention the first book in The Legacy of Orïsha trilogy achieved almost instantaneously is wild, especially for a debut. Perhaps it was the timing, publishing in 2018 mere months after the premiere of Black Panther, a film that left everyone thirsty for similar stories; the visually striking cover, especially evocative for fans of Marvel character Storm; maybe it was the theme of rising up against oppression and tyranny, so poignant during Trump’s first term. When Jimmy Fallon selected Children of Blood and Bone as the first ever “Tonight Show Summer Read,” it officially made it to the mainstream. |
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