All The Bookish Escape You Need in Quarantine — Tomi Adeyemi
Uchenna Emelife
Recently, Tomi Adeyemi shared with the O, The Oprah Magazine five books she has read/reading/rereading (you get the gist) and wants everyone to read while in quarantine. This was part of the magazine’s "The Book Break" Series where acclaimed authors were invited to share quarantine book recommendations every week.
If your guess is that all five books is either YA or Fantasy — genres she is known for, then your guessing game while not being enough reason to be called excellent because it is Tomi freaking Adeyemi—What else could she be reading? It is nonetheless correct.
Let's get right into it already.
1. "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabba Tahir (April, 2015)
“An inspiration for me writing Children of Blood and Bone”
An Ember in the Ashes is a fantasy novel written by Pakistani-American author Sabaa Tahir. It was published on April 28, 2015 by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It is the first book in the An Ember in the Ashes series, followed by A Torch Against the Night.
Synopsis: The story follows a girl named Laia spying for rebels against the reigning empire in exchange for their help in rescuing her captive brother; and a boy named Elias struggling to free himself from being an enforcer of a tyrannical regime. The novel is narrated in the first-person, alternating between the points of view of Laia and Elias.
According to Tomi, it was a huge inspiration for her while writing Children of Blood and Bone. Isn’t that cool?
So if you’re second-guessing adding this to your cart, knowing this bit should definitely be convincing enough. There is no wrong with CBB.
2. "All the Stars and Teeth" by Adalyn Grace (February, 2020)
“Picture Pirates of the Caribbean meets Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road."
Synopsis: In All The Stars and Teeth, Princess Amora’s 18th birthday is finally here. She’s ready to show her kingdom that she has control of her special branch of soul magic that only the royal Montara line can wield and claim her place as the next High Animancer after her father. She parades around in her terrifying bone crown and epaulettes and they bring out a murderer for her to kill. She’s confident and proud of her skill and ready to show it off until she looks around at all the horrified faces in the crowd. Her confidence and concentration flag and she loses control of her magic and tortures the prisoner without mercy or any understanding of what she’s done. Amora is immediately deemed dangerous and locked up, sure that she will be executed shortly. She’s desperate for some way out when a mysterious sailor breaks into the prison and breaks her out. He has news for her about her kingdom. There’s a serious threat from a far off island that her father the king hid from her, and the sailor needs her magical help to fight against it.
( By Common Sense Media)
All the Stars and Teeth is definitely the bomb. Tomi says "Picture Pirates of the Caribbean meets Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road."
3. "The Poet X" by Elizabeth Acevedo (March, 2018)
“One of the best books I’ve ever read.”
Synopsis: The Poet X is a 2018 young adult novel by Elizabeth Acevedo. It follows the story of Xiomara, also known as X, who loves to write poetry. While she wants to compete in slam poetry contests, she finds it hard to share this writing with her family. Her mother is concerned with X being a good Catholic girl, while her twin brother receives so much praise that X feels inferior. X starts to have a romantic relationship with her lab partner Aman. Eventually X's mother finds the poetry forcing a confrontation between the two.
Tomi describes it as one of the best books she has ever read. I don’t think you read that correctly. One. Of. The. Best. Books. She. Has. Ever. Read. Better?
4. "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo (September, 2015)
“Picture Ocean’s Eleven but in Game of Thrones world”
Six of Crows is a fantasy novel written by Leigh Bardugo. The book follows six characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Nina Zenik, Jesper Fahey, Matthias Helvar, and Wylan Van Eck.
Blurb: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.
(By Grishaverse Fandom)
After describing Six of Crows as one of her favorite fantasies of all time, Tomi goes on to say "Picture Ocean’s Eleven but in Game of Thrones world" I will wait...
5. "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" (October, 2018) and "Imagine Me" (March, 2020) by Tahereh Mafi
For Tomi’s fifth book recommendation, there is A Very Large Expanse of Sea and Imagine Me both by Tahereh Mafi.
AVLES: It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.
Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.
But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.
Imagine Me: Imagine Me is the final book in the Shatter Me series. The series follows the narrative of Juliette Ferrars, a 17-year-old girl with a paralyzing and killing touch. She can take living organisms' energy.
Tomi admits she is yet to read Imagine Me but strongly recommends it. AVLES on the other hand, she says is one book everyone who loves a beautiful love story should read.
Oh well. That's it. I hope you feel proud of yourself now that you've 6 of your favorite author's favorite books in your cart. That's an achievement if you ask me. Haha.
I would like to know. Which of these books have you read? What books do you recommend to anyone craving escape from a crisis?
