Content Warnings: Death of a parent, generational trauma, racism, car accident, blood/gore, violence, anxiety, depression, PTSD, bullying, torture, slavery, murder, kidnapping, sexism, feelings of abandonment, and mention of rape.

I started reading this book last night thinking I’d read a few chapters, perhaps the first part, before going to bed at a decent time since I had to work at 7am this morning…I devoured over half the book and forced myself to put it down around 1am to get some much-needed sleep before my 6am alarm went off. As soon as I got home from work, and got some food in my stomach, I got comfy and dove right back in until I finished.

Deonn crafted this story in a way you’re able to devour 500 pages without feeling like it took any time at all. Not only do we get a fantastic modern-day Authur retelling but we see how trauma affects generations, how sometimes a child doesn’t see or understand the pain their parents have faced, how racism can deeply affect every aspect of your life, and how our pain and loss can affect those around us.

We have a beautifully crafted story that touches on very hard and emotionally heavy topics that are important for everyone to understand and discuss. Loss can profoundly affect us, yet so many people seem to disregard it or expect us to just “get over” a loss or feel awkward acknowledging our pain. We all react to loss in varying ways and it’s crucial we’re able to grieve in our own personal ways without judgment.

So many people, who’ve never faced racism, get nervous about discussing it and try to act like it hasn’t happened in hundreds of years…while the rest of us deal with racism every day. It’s important to understand how deeply racism affects some of our lives and how harmful trying to ignore or bury it can be.

It was so easy to relate and empathize with Bree as she struggles to find answers about her mother’s death and find out who exactly the Legendborn are, and if they have anything to do with her mother’s death.

Because of all the heavy topics discussed [racism, grief, and trauma being the biggest ones] I recommend making sure you’re in the right headspace to dive into this amazing story. The sequel comes out in November and I cannot wait to continue this journey. I was also excited to see that we should be getting a TV show adaptation as well!