Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

I was so excited when I saw this. A fantasy with a Black girl on the cover? Sign me up!

I want to talk about what I really liked with this book first.

We’ve got a non-Eurocentric society. We’ve got a non-Eurocentric cast. We’ve got griots, a found family. All these things I love. And it’s incredible to see this get published so more Black kids can see themselves in a space that has so long felt impossible for us to inhabit.

Asha is a 12 year old who was found as a baby and has been raised in a travelling troupe by a woman named Suna. She’s excited for her naming day, a day where she will have her mark revealed and be considered not just a child any longer.

Her naming day brings with it, questions and no one, not even Suna has the answers. When their troupe is attacked and Suna dies, Asha is told to seek the underground kingdom where the black flowers bloom.

Now what I didn’t like. And I’m wondering if it’s because I’m an adult and this is written for maybe kids that are on the younger side. Like, she’s 12 and when I was 10 I was reading about 12 and 13 year olds.

The things that really got me were the sparseness of the writing. It was tight. Instead of detailing the days of a journey it was summed up with “a few days later”/ “A few days passed” and continued on in that manner the rest of the book. It also felt very rushed. And when we’re introduced to the underground kingdom, we don’t really get a whole lot of history on it or the people. Just enough to get by. No explanation of the deities, or how the people’s abilities work.

And maybe that’s because it’s for younger readers. Being able to see the twist coming as an adult makes sense. However, it still felt like things were moving way too fast. This book could have used maybe another extra 100 pages and I think these problems would have been fixed.

Now this is going into spoiler territory.

Asha gets a spear named Frost. Either she’ll be able to wield it or it’ll kill her. Well, she’s able to wield it. Except, when she’s using it during the final battle, it truly feels like the spear is doing all the work. After an unknown amount of time training with it, what seems to be happening is Frost doing things and she’s just wielding it.

There’s also a part where a villainous character is mentioned as he relates to the big bad. He then shows up and is like “I’m here for your soul big bad” and that was a total left field moment.

It’s hard to rate because I don’t want to knock it for things I as an adult could see coming. But there are what feels like some genuine issues here.

Maybe it’s meant for 9/10 year olds.

For this, I’m giving it 3 stars out of 5.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks tot hem and the publisher.

This one was just okay. The concept is interesting, but the plot often felt very rushed and the twist was immediately obvious. It feels like this was possibly supposed to be a series of books but was cut down to a single volume. I'd be interested in reading other stories set in the world, but it doesn't seem like Asha has much more story to tell.

Thanks again Clarion Books and NetGalley for the eARC to read in exchange for an honest review!

"Where the Black Flowers Bloom" is a whirlwind fantasy that has the classic overpowered, chosen one trope enriched by otherworldly magic, found family goodness, fantastical creatures, and the fierce heart of a young warrior to be.

This alternate ancient African world is really interesting and stands out in cool ways. The story builds upon a strong foundation and kept me curious as to what would happen next. The cast of characters have strong voices and personalities and make great contributions to the quest.

However, I felt disconnected from the characters and by what was happening during some parts of the story. Almost like a spectator but I still wanted to see things through. And as I was reading, the writing felt…sparse? I’m not quite sure how to fully articulate it, but it was as if something was missing to tie things together and make scenes fuller, more detailed. I wanted more from the story.

While I found it difficult to shake these feelings, I do think "Where the Black Flowers Bloom" is an appealing fantasy adventure that is worth the read.

This exciting middle grade fiction book is about Asha, a girl who is being brought up by a troupe of performers because her parents are not in the picture. Asha is waiting anxiously for her coming of age ceremony where she will find out what her purpose will be, except that her mark is completely different from everyone else's so the troupe and her caregiver, Suna, are left wondering what it all means. When Suna and most of the rest of the troupe are murdered by a group of men masked as birds, Asha has to set out to find answers and avenge Suna's death. It's a wonderful fast paced story that middle graders are going to love.

When I saw that this was a middle grade fantasy fiction with a Black girl main character, I knew I wanted to read it! Plus the premise was very intriguing.

This was a lovely tale of found family and adventure! I enjoyed reading about Asha coming into her role as a leader and warrior with her steadfast friend by her side!

Because I am not the primary audience and I am “new” to middle grade as an adult,, it’s possible that I had expectations on world-building and pacing but I felt like there were some areas that could have been expounded upon in terms of world building and that might have helped with the quick pacing. But overall, I did enjoy this!

A fun, fast-paced adventure story filled with magic, friendship, and family. I loved the folktale vibes and the intriguing world that Smith created. And I was especially fond of the diverse and quirky characters.

This was a very good read that kept me intrigued all the way from the first page until the very end.