I was blessed when Hear Our Voices selected me to be a part of their book tour for Legendborn. This book was filled with Arthurian legend, Black girl magic, and Southern magic.
Legendborn also asks the questions:
What is a legacy and who gets to decide who and what groups have one?
Who gets a seat at the table (the round table)?
When trying to infiltrate a secret society started in the 1700s it's only inevitable that race and slavery would come up and that is not something we often get from these legend retelling stories. It was very refreshing to read a book that didn't shy away from the history of slavery and the part it played in the building of these secret societies. Oftentimes, the legacy of our white leaders and forefathers is held in such high regard that we often forget the lives that were lost and the land that was stolen. We cannot brush past the fact that many of these schools and famous buildings (The White House) were built by slaves and yet they would never have access to these very places.
This book is filled with fantastic quotes, so here are some of the ones I loved*:
"To be able to trace one's family back that far is something I have never fathomed. My family only knows back to the generation after Emancipation. Suddenly, it's hard to stand here and take in the magnificence of the Wall and not feel an undeniable sense of ignorance and inadequacy. Then, a rush of frustration because someone probably wanted to, but who could have written down my family's history as far back as this? Who would have been able to, been taught to, been allowed to? Where is our Wall? A Wall that doesn't make me feel lost, but found." (135)
"I can't tell how old she is, of course, because Black women are magical like that." (160)
"This type of knowing is an expensive toll to pay. I can't forget the knowledge just because the price is high. And yet, something we have to tuck the reminders away today in order to grow power against them." (161)
"If the world is simple, certain people will always never be inconvenienced, never need to adapt. I disrupt these people, and you do too. You've been doing it since you walked in the door. I like disruptors and rhythm breakers. We should start a club." (185)
"How does this boy navigate my emotions like a seasoned sailor, finding the clear skies and bringing them closer, when all I seem to do it hold fast to the storms." (209)
"You're not a damsel to me, Bree. You're an Amazon. You're strong and you're beautiful and you're brilliant and brave." (215)
"Lots of Black folks in the States don't know their people more than four, give generations back, don't know names before the late 1800s -- and why would they? We didn't exactly inherit detailed family records when we were freed." (222)
Everything has two histories. Especially in the South." (230)
"Colonizer magic. Magic that costs and takes. Many practitioners face demons. Many of face evil. But from the moment their founders arrived, from the moment they stole Native homelands, the Order themselves gave the demons plenty to feed on. They reap what their magic sows." (233)
"I let my gaze draw lines here, too, from building to building, from tree to tree, from buried lives to beaten ones, from blood stolen to blood hidden. I map this terrain's sins, the invisible and the many, and hold them close. Because even if the pain of those sins takes my breathe away, that pain feels like belonging, and ignoring it after all I've just witnessed would be loss." (240)
"Our people have learned the hard way to hide our abilities from them, even when we were working in their homes and caring for their babies." (301)
"Love is a powerful thing. more powerful than blood, although both run through us like a river." (304)
"Death is not a connection. It is the sharp cut that severs us. Death separates us from one another, and yet it holds us close. As deeply as we hate it, it loves us more." (305)
"Don't make your life about the loss. Make it about love." (386)
"When the times comes, if it comes, don't be scared. Fight. Take risks. Follow your heart. and move forward." (391)
"I take the rest of the day to wash my hair -- and it's the most therapeutic, loving thing I could have done for myself. Condition, detangle, deep condition with a hear wrap, paint my nails and watch a movie while I wait, rinse. I emerge from the shower with my hair wrapped in a microfiber towel and rub the foggy mirror until I can see the genuine, full smile on my face. Tangles gone. Scalp clean. Curls moisturized and bouncy. Head and soul lighter." (399)
*book used for quotes: ARC of Legendborn
Happy Reading!
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