Raybearer

Tarisai was born with a wish in her heart, but not her wish. Her mother wants to use her to harm an old enemy, and Tarisai has no choice but to go along with it.

But as she finds her own found-family out in the world, she learns that there are some things more powerful than wishes. Her mother’s wish can only have so much power over her when she fights against her mother’s desires for her life. And Tarisai is stronger than she’s ever believed, which was an incredible twist to the plot.

I loved seeing Tarisai come into… show more.

Raybearer was recommended to me as being written by a friend of a friend, and I simply was not prepared for how beautiful this book would be.

I love fantasy worldbuilding, and Ifueko did an amazing job bringing a continent with complex peoples, nations, magic systems, and history to life.

I was taken back to all the things I loved about fantasy growing up, from cool creatures to unique magic to wonderful plot twists and characters you can’t help but fall in love with and root for. I also love that Ifueko takes inspiration from so many different cultures and… show more.

Since the late 2010s, there have been more fantasy novels published—especially those written for young adults—that feature young Black girls as protagonists than ever before in the history of publishing.

Of that motley crop, many of which draw on African history and empires for their fantastical settings, one that has since stood out to me has been Ifueko’s Raybearer. The language is exquisite, the storytelling is careful, the characters are compelling.

Like Fagunwa, the series draws much from Yoruba culture, but Ifueko is a different sort of artist, with an ear for fantastic storytelling that truly expands the genre… show more.

This fantasy novel isn’t as obvious of a pick as the others on my list, but I loved how the story showed the way in which cultural uniformity actually hinders the goal of unity. The book’s African-centrist global empire is a nice break from other fantasy worlds that seem to be all white, and I really appreciated the way in which the story acknowledges the complexity of working together with people of different backgrounds.