Hey, everyone!

I wanted to post a few blogs throughout the month, but between us, June played no games! I have been busy almost every second of this month, lol. Apologies. But I can't let the month go by without sharing my thoughts.

Just a reminder: We have a Bookclub meeting the last Thursday of every month at 7pm over zoom. Last night was supposed to be our meeting for this book, but we ended up not having anyone come, which is not typical. So, I am wondering if just having a reoccurring meeting link isn't going to work. I will be sure to send out a link each month that is specific to that meeting. Next month's meeting will be on July 31st at 7pm, and here is the link for that meeting: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/84558987652?pwd=IbiiNYsyCba5rPVyLpUqSCCGiJqx8S.1

Now, my thoughts on TJ Young!

You've probably seen me say this on social media multiple times, but Antoine Bandele is one of my favorite writers. I think that TJ Young is one of the best written fantasies I have ever read. It is right up there with the greats, like Legendborn & The Blood Gift Duology.

I originally picked up this book as a part of the Ingram Sparks Influencer program--a program where they partner with bookish influencers in order to get bookish spaces talking about indie books. I picked this book because of the incredible cover and because I had heard of Antoine through a mutual friend, who is also a very gifted writer. I assumed any author he was openly endorsing would probably be a decent writer and turns out, I was right. Because a year later, this is still one of my favorite books.

The book follows Tj months after the death of his older sister, who their entire community of diviners--people supernaturally gifted by the Orisha--has heralded as "the chosen one". She had been so gifted that most of their people considered her to be a prophesied hero who would usher in a new era. So, you can imagine how devastated they collectively are when she is killed unexpectantly in battle before she can fulfill the destiny they had pushed on her. Now they are stuck with TJ, her little brother who hasn't even managed to demonstrate any gifts from the Orisha at all.

After some pushing and prodding, it seems that maybe he does have gifts, but nothing as impressive as his late sister. In fact, after testing the strength of his abilities, TJ finds himself--and the adults around him--wondering if his gifts are even worth investing in at all. In an effort to help him develop his gifts and figure out a bit about who he is, he is accepted into a remedial summer program where he can practice and learn alongside other kids with...problems.

This camp is where our story takes place. It follows Tj as he develops relationships with other campers, learns what it takes to find and explore his power, and prepares to step away from his sisters legacy and into his own purpose.

Like most people, I love a good found family story. And I think Antoine really gave us one here. Not only did TJ develop several very intimate relationships with fellow campers, but we also see a lot of nuance, love and toxicity in the relationships he develops. Just like in the real world. He builds relationships with people we knew from their very first line would be his community. But he also learns to love people that we begin the book destined to hate. We also get characters we think are in his corner who are using him, whether with good intentions or evil is irrelevant. Every single character and relationship is fleshed out, nuanced, interesting and important. They all have their own motivations, some of which are exciting and helpful to our dreams for TJ, some of which directly counter our own objectives as readers. Yet they manage to be honest, reasonable and important to the story.

I think Antoine is a master storyteller.

In the other column, I did struggle a bit with the fat representation. I didn't think it was particularly horrible, but I thought there was less care taken than I would have liked to see. Having read the rest of the series, I do think it is a problem that is isolated to this book though, which I appreciate.

Overall, I thought this was a phenomenal story and I cannot wait to read Antoine's future work.

Let me know in the comments what you thought of the book!

Also, if you haven't already grabbed your copy of The Waning, make sure you do right away. You are not going to want to miss this month's read. The Waning is a phenomenal story and I can't wait to talk about it with you all! If you need to grab your copy, you can click the picture at the bottom of this blog and it will direct you to my Bookshop.org storefront to grab a copy!

Thanks for being here everyone! I appreciate y'all!

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