Reading Response #1: “Children of Blood and Bone” by Tomi Adeyemi

Introduction 

It has been nearly a year since I have read fantasy literature. I was not that excited to start rereading the genre, mainly because it was coupled with an assignment. Surprisingly though, I enjoyed my time reading Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. There were many things to like about the book, even in only the first chapter. Often, I find that fantasy books start way too slow; they always drag the beginning out with background information. However, Tomi gets into the story right away, developing a captivating plot and world. In other words, I am hooked and want to continue reading it. For the first book of the class, I have to say I am not disappointed at all.

Rhetorical Analysis

As a high fantasy novel, the world is entirely unknown to us; thus, Tomi Adeyemi must establish a reliable description of Orisha. If the author wants her audience to keep reading, she needs to create an immediate connection and belief in the world. In order to do so, she makes strategic use of developing daunting anecdotal and convincing character hierarchy.

Tomi Adeyemi has chosen to use one of the most effective rhetorical strategies: anecdotal stories. Anecdotal stories have a way of creating great interest. Her decision to start with one did not disappoint. It grabbed my interest immediately. It had all the great characteristics of an anecdote trying to frame the larger story. It gives a background of the life before and rapidly changes tone to the more daunting current situation. By putting the anecdote at the beginning of the book, she shows an understanding of taking the perfect opportunity or kairos. As a result, this masterful decision has garnered her audience’s intense interest for Orisha; readers are now intrigued and must read on to learn and experience more.

In addition to herself, Adeyemi creates an equally reputable character to help develop Orisha: Mama Agba. Mama Agba seems to be the oldest and most experienced character. In other words, she was developed to have the most knowledge about Orisha than the other characters. She also brings an outside perspective to the maji and diviners. Unlike them, she could have “blend in with the other Orishans, [and] avoid the guards’ torture”; however, she chooses to help them and endure the consequences of doing so (27). We can see her knowledge when she tells the history of the maji and their downfalls. While it is established most of the girls know it themselves, they are still “unable to resist” hearing the tale, showing the respect held for her (23). Both of these cases help portray her as a character above the others and having a worldly view of Orisha, thus developing here as the least biased character. Due to this development, the audience experiences ethos for her and can trust her words and views. For example, through the other characters, we know that the king is evil; however, because of Mama Agba’s ethnic disconnect from the victims, it becomes even more credible when she confirms the notion. By establishing such a character within the literature, Adeyemi has created verisimilitude for her high fantasy world.

As part of her young adult audience, I would say she succeeded in convincing me of Orisha’s reality. More than that, she has managed to pique the interest of a non-follower of the genre. With rhetorical skills like this, it is no wonder she is now a best-selling author. She has definitely gained a fan.