The Gilded Ones
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4.5 • 12 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TEEN VOGUE
"A dark feminist tale spun with blood and gold. Must read!" –Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.
But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.
Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat.
Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.
The start of a bold and immersive fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
All 16-year-old girls in Otera must endure the Ritual of Purity. Those who bleed red when cut are judged fit for marriage and motherhood; those who bleed gold are deemed impure and banished. Sturdy brown-skinned Deka is an outcast in Irfut, where villagers skew thin and blond, and she craves the rite's validation. When the ceremony is interrupted by deathshrieks vicious monsters with agonizing screams Deka miraculously repels the creatures, only to be dubbed a demon. Multiple attempted executions reveal that Deka is both gold-blooded and seemingly unkillable. After two months of torture, a mysterious woman, White Hands, extends an invitation: come to the capital, where the emperor is assembling an army of quasi-immortal "alaki" like Deka to combat deathshrieks. Deka enlists, relieved to find a place where she might finally belong, but the more she learns about deathshrieks and alaki, the more she questions Otera's patriarchal tenets and the emperor's true intentions. Formidable heroines and a thoughtful feminist myth-ology distinguish debut author Forna's West Africa inspired fantasy trilogy launch. Abundant action drives the pace, while a nuanced plot advocates social change by illustrating the myriad ways in which society cages and commodifies women. Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
Great Start to the series!
Enjoyable read!
Very intriguing plot!
I loved this book, especially the themes and plot line. But i have a couple critiques:
1- the character development and relationship development could take some work: we dont really get to seem Deka’s relationship with Keita, or britta for example, as in depth as id like. Her relationship, especially with Keita, seems to take a sudden jump that we dont get to seem develop slowly. Even with Britta, their relationship is meant to be very deep, but as a reader, you dont form an attachment to their relationship because you dont watch it develop in depth.
2- Constantly feeling confused: There are several parts in the book where it feels like there’s a big jump that is then hastily covered up with what i would say is a quick explanation. For example, when Deka wakes from the river in the temple and she’s fully healed, there is no more than a page or two to catch the reader up on what has apparently been explained to Deka as she recovered. Its all very hast the reader doesn’t really get that satisfying moment of “OHHHHH” once the answers to all our questions are revealed. As well as the moment when Jatu powers are revealed, it also just feels like a shoe-in subplot that we get no time to properly understand or adjust to.
Overall, although the plot was really interesting, and the themes really cool, i didnt get to form a proper attachment to any of the characters because the character building (as well as relationship building) is honesly not too well done. And many of the subplots, as well as even the characters conclusions we reach for the main plot, do not really seamlessly tie together, leaving me a little dissatisfied.
Lastly, there is zero allure to reading the rest of the books in the series, as the first book leaves no clue or cliff hanger about what more could possibly happen in the following two books.
Although i enjoyed reading the book, i wouldn’t call it a very full filling (albeit interesting) read. I do not think i will read the rest of the trilogy.
However, every critique i mentioned can easily be fixed as this creative author continues to develop her skills. This is, after all, her debut novel!