“Every girl knows it by heart. We recite it whenever we enter a temple – a constant reminder that women were created to be helpmeets to men, subservient to their desires and commands.”
Namina Forna, The Gilded Ones



A great debut novel by Sierra Leonean author Namina Forna. Set in a west African-inspired kingdom of Otera. It is required all 16-year-old girls are to subject themselves to a blood-letting ritual to prove their purity. When Deka, the protagonist, bleeds the gold of demons, she is given the choice of fighting for the emperor or death.

A lot of action combined with an intense feminist story of sisterhood, where strength is found in female friendships and alliances. Plenty of twists to keep you reading on …. A fierce YA novel especially for our little Queens