Children of Blood and Bone

Adeyemi, Tomi. Children of Blood and Bone. Book 1 of the Legacy of Orïsha series. 2018. 544p. ISBN 9781250170972. 

Orisha once was a land filled with magic. People could manipulate flames, water, and even the souls of the departed. A ruthless king took power, however, and immediately eliminated those known as maji, people would could control magic. As a result, magic died in Orisha. At least, that is the official line. In practice, magic survived, but those that practice it are being hunted down by the king and his forces. Zelie Adebola lost her maji mother by the king's command, and now she and her people are barely surviving on the scraps of humanity. 

Zelie runs into Princess  Arami, who has just escaped after discovering she herself has magical abilities. Zelie realizes that this may be the one way she can fight bak against the king and re-establish magic throughout the land, as Amari has as much claims to the throne as her father. Unfortunately, Inan, the princess's brother is looking for her, his devotion to destroy all things magic being widely known. 

As they cross Orisha, seeking allies and hoping to escape the prince, Zelie must not only avoid traps and the dangers offered by the land, but she must learn to control the magic that is slowly building inside her, with no one to give her the guidance she needs ...

After The Rain

 Okorafor, Nnedi, written by John Jennings and illustrated by David Brame. After The Rain. 2021. 128p. ISBN 978-1-4197-4355-9. 

Chioma is a police officer from Chicago, but she's spending her vacation with her grandmother in a small Nigerian town. When she hears a knock on the door, she opens it only to find a boy, with half of his brains blown out. In a panic, she closes the door, but then opens it again to help the boy, and wonders how he is still alive. She touches him, and her hand suddenly ignites. She trashes about, only to realize that her hand is not burning, and the boy is gone. 

Plagued with visions and hauntings, Chioma is soon confronted by a monster that only comes out when the rain falls. As lizards follow her, and as the visions get worse, Chioma finds it difficult to sleep, until the monster finally catches up with her and transports her away from her grandmother's home. Alone and violently attacked, Chioma must dig in her spiritual and cultural reserves to confront the monster and survive her experience.

Beautifully illustrated, After The Rain is based on Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor's short story On the Road and is a quest for identity and belonging. Chioma's struggles to really find out who she is, and her repressed memories of events that happened in her past mix together to build a new and healed character.