**I received an electronic ARC through the publisher via NetGalley.**

LaDarrion Williams presents Blood at the Root, a YA fantasy centering Blackness and the magic found within it. Readers follow Malik, a Black teen who has grown up in the foster care system surrounded by rumors that he was responsible for his mother's death. When Malik makes the decision to steal a car and rescue his foster-sibling Taye from an abusive home, he doesn't realize that the decision to use the magic he has always feared sends out a beacon for the grandmother who has always looked for him. Malik rapidly finds himself enrolled at a magical university that is made by and for Black magical students. Malik finds himself at the center of a tribal divide with his mother's death and loyalties in question.

Let me first say that I am not a reviewer who shares an identity with the cultures covered in this novel. Please center reviews that come from Black reviewers.

LaDarrion Williams pulls no punches with this debut. Williams made the choice to write this book from Malik's perspective, which means that both the prose and much of the dialogue is in AAVE. The entirety of this novel is a love letter to Black culture. As someone who grew up in and around Black culture and attended university in Baltimore, I was able to appreciate and understand Williams' choices in writing as well as the various cultural references made, though I'm sure I missed some. For some readers, this choice from Williams will be a call home. For others, it may be a barrier to the story. For those who know AAVE but are unaccustomed to seeing and reading it rather than hearing it, it still may pose difficulties. I very much wish that I experienced this book in a blended read with the audiobook as the impact of the spoken word performance doubtless would have added that much more to my experience.

Williams created such an accessible cast of characters in not only Malik but those who surround him. No one is perfect. Everyone makes bad choices. But every single character is doing their best with their circumstances. Even if you don't agree with Malik, you can root for him and want more and better for him. I am also grateful to Williams to featuring queer Black men and nonbinary characters in Malik's inner circle. And for portraying them with nothing but love. This representation is often skipped, and it was so welcome here.

Williams' magic system relies on ancestral magic and root magic from various countries and languages of origin, but I was so pleased with the decision to feature Baron Samedi as a character and not solely his role as Loa. He has long been a favorite of mine, and Williams' depiction was a fun and refreshing take on the myth.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Blood at the Root, and I hope that this book finds its way not solely to the Black boy who needs it (though absolutely to him), but to the readers who don't share an identity with Malik and can gain empathy and open hearts from seeing this Black boy shine.

The ones you love, the ones you’d fight to the ends of the earth for, can die to you, in more than one way.

This read will absolutely transport you into … not exactly another world, but a different, much more interesting version of our world. And it’ll take you back in time a bit. Packed with adventure, dark magic and so much more, it was a very intriguing read.

Magic.
History.
Time-travel, ish.
Academy setting.
Mystery.
Politics (fictional, magical world politics, not real life!).
Dodgeball … with a twist.
Missing persons.
Young love.
Betrayal.
Evil.

Overall:
Truly excellent writing and good world-building. Suitable for all ages, IMO.


4 stars.

Another random library borrow that did not disappoint!