Blood Scion

Lore & Background

Deborah Falaye grew up in Nigeria, where she was immersed in Nigerian and Yoruba mythology and culture, largely through her grandmother. After migrating to Canada, she noticed how different she was from other black children and resolved to write a book based on her culture. She wrote two unpublished books before settling on Blood Scion, which she began writing in 2012. The novel was inspired by the Orisha, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, and the #BringBackOurGirls movement, which protested the kidnapping of school girls by Boko Haram terrorists. Falaye also drew on the trauma of child soldiers who have taken part in wars.

Reader's Guide

Blood Scion is significant as the debut novel of Deborah Falaye, a Nigerian Canadian writer who spent a decade crafting a story that merges West African mythology with contemporary issues. The novel's inspiration from the #BringBackOurGirls movement and the trauma of child soldiers gives it a real-world urgency, while its fantasy setting allows exploration of colonization and cultural erasure. The book's positive reception and placement on multiple 'most anticipated' lists indicate its impact within the young adult fantasy genre. As the first book in a planned series, it establishes a foundation for further exploration of its themes and characters. Its legacy lies in bringing Yoruba mythology to a broader audience and using speculative fiction to address historical and ongoing violence against marginalized communities.

Did You Know?

• Deborah Falaye wrote Blood Scion over 10 years, beginning in 2012.
• The novel was inspired by the #BringBackOurGirls movement in Nigeria.
• The book is set in a fictional country called Nagea, colonized by the Lucis.

Author's Journey & Creative Roots

Deborah Falaye grew up in Nigeria, where her grandmother served as a primary wellspring of Yoruba mythology and cultural storytelling. That early immersion in oral tradition and the tales of the Orisha planted seeds that would eventually grow into a full-length novel. When her family later relocated to Canada, Falaye found herself navigating a new cultural landscape as a Black young woman, noticing how her heritage set her apart from peers. That sense of displacement and the desire to preserve her cultural identity became a driving force behind her writing. Before Blood Scion, she had already completed two unpublished manuscripts, but it was in 2012 that she finally began the project that would consume the next decade. Her formative reading included Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, the first book she encountered as a child, which left an indelible mark on her literary sensibility. The ten-year gestation period allowed the story to mature alongside her own evolving understanding of identity, heritage, and the narratives she felt compelled to tell for a young adult audience.

World & Plot

Blood Scion is set in Nagea, a fictional nation that draws heavily on Nigerian geography and Yoruba cultural elements. At the heart of the story is Sloane Folashadé, a fifteen-year-old girl who belongs to the Scions — a people born with magical abilities inherited from the ancient Orisha gods. Their oppressors, the Lucis, are a colonial force that has seized control of Nagea, systematically erasing Yoruba culture and heritage. On her birthday, Sloane is conscripted into the Lucis military alongside her peers, becoming a child soldier. She turns down the chance to flee with her village boyfriend and is instead transported to the island of Avalon, where she undergoes brutal combat training. Her mission is to fight other Scions and participate in the genocide of her own people. To survive, Sloane must conceal her true identity, uncover the fate of her mother — whom she believes the Lucis murdered — and work to dismantle the colonial army from within.

Real-World Inspirations & Thematic Motivations

Falaye has spoken openly about the real-world events that shaped Blood Scion's narrative. The mass kidnapping of schoolgirls by Boko Haram in Nigeria, and the subsequent #BringBackOurGirls movement, served as a direct catalyst for the novel's central premise of children being forcibly recruited into military service. The trauma experienced by child soldiers who have endured prolonged conflict and are then expected to reintegrate into civilian life is another thread woven throughout the story. Colonization and the cultural erasure it inflicts on indigenous populations form the backbone of the Lucis-Scion conflict. Falaye also drew literary inspiration from Achebe's Things Fall Apart, A Long Way Gone, and They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children. These works, dealing with post-colonial identity, the psychological scars of war, and the dehumanization of young people in conflict, provided both thematic and structural models for her own narrative.

Critical Reception & Anticipation

Blood Scion was widely regarded as one of the most anticipated young adult titles of 2022. Upon its March 8 release through HarperTeen, the novel earned generally favorable reviews from both critics and readers. Booklist awarded it a starred review, describing the pacing as fast and the narrative as engaging. Kirkus Reviews framed the book as a powerful commentary on colonization and the fundamental right to rebel against oppressive systems. Publishers Weekly offered a more detailed assessment, calling it a harrowing duology opener that explores survival, sacrifice, and vengeance while illustrating how trauma can drive acts that are simultaneously heinous and heroic, and how love can be a source of extraordinary strength. YA Book Central labeled it a riveting and compelling dark fantasy, while Culturess's Sarah Perchikoff predicted it would captivate readers from the very first page. The novel was also recommended by popular media outlets including The Mary Sue, Bustle, BuzzFeed, and Tor.com, broadening its reach beyond traditional book-review channels.

Gallery