But behind her spiky armor is someone who cares so much about the world and the people around her. She is someone who has been through a lot of pain and trauma and because of these experiences, she tends to lash out at others to protect herself. I think Karina’s most interesting characteristic is how loving she is. What would you say is Karina’s most interesting characteristic? Karina is a feisty, flawed, and endlessly brave heroine who readers root for from page one. I wrote an in-depth breakdown on the magic in the book, which can be read here: I used this as a structure for the magic system in ASOWAR, where the day of a week on which a person is born decides what kind of magic they can do. Among the Akan people of Ghana, my mother’s tribe, the day of the week on which a person is born holds great significance and even decides one of their names. One of my favorite sources of inspiration came through in the magic.

As a lifelong fantasy fan, I wanted to write a story that featured the same epic scale we see in a lot of high fantasy novels but centering on the kinds of cultures and people I grew up with. The tales of Anansi are some of the most well-known of those stories, but they are also so full of myth and magic and epic characters. I was born in Ghana, so my earliest introduction to fantasy was the epic folktales my family would tell me. What inspired you to write this novel? What were some of your influences for such a richly drawn setting and folkloric world? And of course, both Malik and Karina have to wrestle with their tasks once they actually meet and realize they have more in common than their enemies want them to believe. So Malik is trying to kill her, Karina is trying to kill him, and all the while a thousand-year evil is stirring back to life. Malik enters a competition to win Karina’s hand in marriage to get close enough to kill her, not knowing she’s hosting this entire competition to murder the winner for the spell. Meanwhile, Karina’s mother the queen has just been assassinated, and she needs the heart of a king in order to perform a forbidden spell to bring her back to life. When Malik’s younger sister is abducted by a vengeful spirit, he strikes a deal to win her freedom by murdering the crown princess of Ziran. Of course! A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN is a dual-POV YA fantasy novel inspired by West African folklore, and it follows two protagonists: a refugee named Malik and a princess named Karina. Let’s get started!įirst, can you tell us about your book, A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN?

We can’t wait to dive into the book, her writing, and the process. It’s already on the New York Time’s Bestseller list and has received so much buzz. Brown here to discuss her debut novel, A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN.

Welcome to the Children’s Book Review! We’re so excited to have Roseanne A. The Children’s Book Review Roseanne A Brown

A song of wraiths and ruin book