From the National Book Award finalist and author of Pet comes a novel set in a magical West African world, about a teen girl who must save her missing twin while learning to navigate her own terrifying new powers. Somadina and her twin brother, Jayaike, are practically the same person: they finish each other's sentences and make each other whole. When the twins come of age, their magical gifts begin to develop, but while Jayaike's powers enchant, Somadina's cause fear to ripple through her town. Always an outsider, Somadina now faces blatant--and dangerous--hostility. And things go from bad to worse when her brother--the one person she trusted--vanishes. Somadina knows that no matter the dangers, she must track him down. Even if it means entering the Sacred Forest. Even if it means grueling, otherworldly travel she may not survive. Even if it means finding the hidden places where those closest to the spirit world don't dare to go. Does Somadina have the strength --within both her body and her soul -- for the trying journey ahead? National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi masterfully weaves a tale of family, identity, and the power of the past, in a world where the extraordinary is ordinary.
Author: Akwaeke Emezi Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers Published: 04/15/2025 Pages: 304 Binding Type: Hardcover Weight: 0.85lbs Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 1.30d ISBN: 9780593309070 Age Range: 12-UP
Review Citation(s): Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2025 Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2025 School Library Journal 04/01/2025 pg. 129 Booklist 04/01/2025 pg. 108 Publishers Weekly 04/14/2025
About the Author Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is the author of many books for both teens and adults. These include: Pet, a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, a Walter Honor Book and a Stonewall Honor Book; Bitter, a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick; the New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji, which was a finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize; Freshwater, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and shortlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award; Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir; and most recently You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. Selected as a 5 Under 35 honoree by the National Book Foundation, they are based in liminal spaces.
