Weekend Pick for June 7, 2024

Weekend Pick for June 7, 2024

Are you looking for something to read? 
​Check out our weekly suggestions!
Are your students looking for book recommendations?
Send them to browse through the picks for this or past years.
 For the picks from 2023 click here 
For the picks from 2022 click here
For the picks from 2021 click here
For the picks from 2020 click here.
For older picks click from 2019 click here.
For the even older picks click here.

​Dr. Shelly Shaffer is an Associate Professor of Literacy at Eastern Washington University. She is our weekend pick contributor for this weekend. Dr. Shaffer loves sharing books she’s read and her passion for anything Young Adult. She is happiest curled up with a book and her bulldogs. 

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

Shelly Shaffer

​​Many of us have been waiting for the 3rd installment of The Gilded Ones trilogy, The Eternal Ones (2024). This series is written by Namina Forna, who notably likes to write about “fierce female leads” (book jacket, The Eternal Ones). Featuring strong, female leads of color, this fantasy series imagines a world where those with darker skin and kinky hair are the most beautiful, the most sought after, and the most powerful. Each book in this series focuses on Deka, a girl living in Otera–a nation that has strict, hegemonic roles for males and females. 
​

The beautiful covers of each book feature Deka, a brown skinned beauty in braids, in three different profiles, which hint at some of the changes in her character throughout the series. Deka looks fierce, and the illustrator(s) Tarajosu and Elena Masci, capture Forna’s vision of strong, fierce, female leads perfectly. ​

The Gilded Ones (2020) begins with Deka who is living alone with her father, after her mother’s death. When Deka discovers that she has magical power, she faces persecution by men in her village, including her father. These men attempt to kill Deka, but because she is connected to the gods, she cannot be killed by traditional means. After each “death,” she goes into a gilded sleep as her body heals and recovers. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t experience the pain of death and the hurt of betrayal by men she has known and loved her whole life. On the contrary, these deaths continue to haunt her throughout the rest of the series. Readers find out that many of the alaki, also known as gilded ones, have experienced similar trauma at the hands of men in their villages, and their lives are constantly in danger by men who are threatened by their power.

Namina Forna

​After nine near-death experiences, Deka finally escapes and finds her way to the capital city of Otera, Hemaira, and the training grounds of the Warthu Bera. The Warthu Bera is a place for those who have connections to the gods–like herself. The training grounds are on the edge of Hemaira, and Deka finds connections with several other girls who become her friends. Soon, however, Deka finds out that she is not exactly like the others. Her powers are different–bolder, bigger–and she becomes the Nuru, the daughter of the Goddesses. Being the Nuru separates Deka from the others, but forges closer connections between herself and the goddesses.

During each of the books in this series, readers learn more of Deka’s powers and are with her as she is faced with impossible decisions. After her father’s betrayal, she is completely alone in the world, and she yearns for connections and family. This yearning becomes one of the characteristics that others in the books exploit. Despite this, Deka remains steadfast in her friendships and in the belief that she can change the world for the better. The Eternal Ones (2024) doesn’t disappoint. The last book in this series brings Deka’s struggles to the forefront, and ultimately, Forna writes a satisfying conclusion for fans of the books. All three books: The Gilded Ones (2020), The Merciless Ones (2022), and The Eternal Ones (2024) are must reads for anybody who loves fantasy. Forna’s worldbuilding brings the characters to life. ​