The Gilded Ones (#1 The Gilded Ones)

Author(s): Namina Forna

Young Adult

"Namina Forna Could Be The Toni Morrison Of YA Fantasy."-Refinery 29 The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired, feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice.   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.


Product Information

Female-led YA fantasy is an overcrowded genre, but Namina Forna brings a fresh perspective in her stormingly good debut The Gilded Ones (Usborne, 4 February). The west African-inspired kingdom of Otera requires all 16-year-old girls to subject themselves to a blood-letting ritual to prove their purity. When Deka bleeds the gold of demons, she is given the choice of fighting for the emperor or death. Action combines with an intense feminist story of sisterhood, where strength is found in female friendships and alliances. - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/12/young-adult-books-roundup-review

Namina Forna was born in Sierra Leone but emigrated with her family to the US in the 1990s, during her homeland's civil war, and has been travelling back and forth ever since. She has worked as a writer and producer for film and TV in LA since graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Namina was a finalist for NBC / Universal Writers on the Verge, a semi-finalist for the Sundance Screenwriting Lab and top 50 in the prestigious Nicholls Screenwriting Fellowship. Namina loves spicy food and witchy-looking cats, and has been known to wear unicorn onesies to the nearest taco truck. The Gilded Ones is her debut novel.

General Fields

  • : 9781474959575
  • : usborne
  • : Usborne GB
  • : 0.31
  • : February 2021
  • : 2.5 Centimeters X 19.8 Centimeters X 12.8 Centimeters
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Namina Forna
  • : Paperback
  • : English