“When Black boys find magic, they find themselves.”

What Worked: This is such a creative novel. I enjoyed so much how the author wove this magical community’s culture throughout American, African, and world history. The university, what’s at stake for these magical people, and how they operate is complex but not difficult to understand or connect with. The physical descriptions are engaging, and what’s fun about the audiobook is that there is additional sound/music whenever magic happens. I eventually transitioned to a combination of physical and audio so I could wrap my head around some of the words and languages they were using. That was to best reading scenario.

What Didn’t: As this is the start of a series, I wish the author had spread out more of the world creation rather than trying to cram it all into the first book. If Malik is going to be in college for four years, chunk out the information over time as readers need it, and make the world more complex as you go rather than right at the start. There is a LOT for readers to wrap their heads around with multiple completing storylines. Pacing out the information and the journey might have been more beneficial. Malik’s magical journey is a bit too quick. As someone who had no training, he masters these tasks as good as someone who has had training at magical elementary and high schools in just a few weeks of a summer program. It would have been nice to maybe start him younger and watch him grow into his magic instead of mastering it all at once. He has his character flaws for sure, but being this perfect at magic this quickly was a bit of a pet peeve for me.

I will be continuing with Book 2.

Rating: Liked it

DNFed at about 30 percent in . I was so excited for this book but the writing really took me out of the story. I could not stand the way AAVE was translated on the page. It was very cringe and unnecessary. I would read it in the tone it was intended without the intentional misspelling. It made the characters feel stereotypical and not real people . It really takes you out of the story and made it a less than enjoyable reading experience.

Williams' writing is lyrical and unflinching, and he paints a vivid portrait of the lives of his characters. He captures the beauty and resilience of the Black community, as well as the pain and suffering that Black people have endured.

This novel is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the experiences of Black boys in America. It is a powerful and moving story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

I truly got lost at Caiman University because of Williams’ ability to weave culturally relevant commentary into a transformative world plot set in the Deep South from Alabama to Louisiana. It was truly spectacular to read an epic in the making centered around a magical black boy! The relatable character arc was consistent and created edge of my seat suspense! What a well written- magically transformative story, BATR does not PLAY!! 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 (5 Stars) can’t wait to read the second installment!
Malik’s character has redeemable qualities who make you root for his success!

This was so interesting. It held a lot of the familiar tropes that you see in coming-of-age fantasy but definitely had a twist to it (the evil mom was not something I saw coming until just before the very end). Beyond that, I'm very interested in how this next book will turn out.

This was so good. I was absolutely locked in by 40% and the comp of magical HBCU x Legendborn was exactly correct.

This was frequently billed as "the HP series but at an HBCU," and it is, both for better and worse. Malik, a young Black man, learns that he has magic just in time for it to warn him of his mother's abduction by other magic users. Years later, he's reunited with family he didn't know he had, and is sent off to magic school, where he also meets up with an old friend, Lex. There's generational trauma, there are mean teachers, there is a two-faced teacher, there are parties, there is romance. But the novel as a whole feels like a reaction or response to other works--mostly, alas, HP--in the same genre--there's nothing terribly original in it. Orphan? Check. Magic parental stand-ins? Check. Difficulty controlling magic? Check. Classroom lectures about magic? Check. Having to prove your magic skills in front of others? Check. Being a Chosen One? Check. Bad wizards and good wizards in a fight? Check. Sneaking off campus? Check. Instead of reading Blood at the Root and thinking, "oh yeah, that's Hermione," and "oh, ok, so that's Snape," let me recommend work by P. Djèlí Clark, N. K. Jemison, (most of) Nnedi Okorafor, Rivers Solomon, Lauren Blackwood, Daniel José Older, and Natasha Bowen.

This book was written so young black males finally have a main character to call their own in the fantasy genre. Definitely for fans of Harry Potter, but set in a college atmosphere(upper YA). Not going to lie, I didn’t like Malik at first, but he had quite a bit of growth and character building throughout the book and ended on a high note. The story was well written, the world building was great, enjoyable side characters and found family. It’s full of adventure, past discovery, magic and betrayal. I did predict who one of the actual villains were, but the rest surprised me.

I ended up listening to the audio on Spotify premium. The way the file was uploaded to the NetGalley shelf was very hard to read for me.

Loved it! It’s about time there’s a book about the Black American culture and our Voodoo/Voodun/Hoodoo backgrounds. This book was everything it was hyped up to be for me. From being able to relate to the music references to understanding and relating to Malik’s misplaced anger, this book sucks you in from the jump and doesn’t let go. I’m kinda upset the author hasn’t written the second book in the series yet 😂 If it’s anything like book 1, I’m prepared to be amazed!

This was relatable and understandable of what us black people go through with family and life! Loved the writing, the plot (simple), the school! The magic is my fave because there was realism (kinda reminds me of The Poison Heart). Love the characters and their interactions with each other! Overall, this was a great debut! Will be reading another book from this author

Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams is summarized as a teenager on the run from his past discovering the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at a magical HBCU in the South.

Seven-year-old Malik races home from a Fourth of July party on a feeling that something was wrong. He arrives at his home and finds hooded figures surrounding his mother. At this moment his magic manifests itself for the first time, but when the dust settles his mother is gone, and there are dead bodies on the floor. For the next ten years Malik jumps from foster home to foster home. At seventeen he emancipates himself and goes on a rescue mission to save his foster brother Taye from his abusive family so they can start life over in California. While confronting his former foster dad, Malik’s magic causes an explosive scene and unknowingly sends a beacon out to a family in Louisiana who has been looking for him. In Louisiana, Malik finds himself with a grandmother, Mama Aya, he never knew existed and more questions than answers about what happened to his mother. He is also fighting anger and feelings of abandonment that he wasn’t found sooner.

Malik decides he will stay in Louisiana and is accepted into a magical HBCU called Caiman University. The same one his mother attended. He goes there with the goal of learning to use his magic and to find answers about what happened to his mother. He finds a mentor in his history professor, Professor Kumale. In his history class Malik learns about the feud between magical tribes, specifically the Borkors, who sacrifice conjurers to steal their magic, and Kwasan tribe, who defeated them a long time ago. Between learning about his mother’s interest in Bane magic, or dark magic, and the recent surge in magical kids going missing, Malik finds himself trying to figure out if the Borkors are back and his mother’s disappearance plays into everything happening.

I am looking forward to seeing where this story goes. I am sure as it progresses some holes in our knowledge will be filled in. What a great addition to the YA fantasy genre. Will be adding it to my recommendation lists.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novel just wasn't for me. The beginning hooked me, but by 50%, I felt like pacing really slowed and not much had happened. Judging by other reviews, I know I'm in the minority on this. I liked the characters and the premise but just couldn't get into it. Thanks for approving me to read Blood at the Root.

A really excellent debut. Some aspects of the magic felt a little rushed or underdeveloped but I really enjoyed the characters and story. I’d be excited to read more if this continues as a series!

I was super excited to read this after hearing the author talk about it on TikTok, but this was a disappointment.

This story did not seem authentic at all. The exaggerated “blackness” was annoying and had me wondering if the book was truly intended to be this great representation of us. I’m still waiting to see this “black boy joy”as Malik was angry and combative and just downright disrespectful to everyone he came into contact with the entire time.

This just didn’t work for me.

So first off, this book was not written for me - or really any adult reader (especially those of us that lack melanin), so 5 stars for a YA fantasy featuring a Black male protagonist. Though with the amount of swearing in it makes this a tricky book to talk about as a Teen Services Librarian (yes, teens swear - but questions on swearing in a text is one of the things I get asked a lot when helping with readers' advisory).

I think Williams does a great job world building - though the plot gets confusing at times because of it. Both Caiman University and the overall history within Blood at the Root is really interesting. I do wonder how the dialogue will age, but I think teens will be excited to have a book with characters that speak like they do with their friends.

The first half was a bit of a struggle for me but things did pick up once Malik got to Caiman and the last 20% was really good.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Labyrinth Road in exchange for an honest review.

Ten years ago, Malik raced home from a Fourth of July celebration to discover cloaked strangers surrounding his mother. In his fear and shock, he manifested a mysterious wind current, his mother was swallowed up by a bolt of green light, and a swirling ribbon of blue light shot from him, exploding everything around.

Losing his mother led to years in the foster system, where Malik met his foster brother Taye, and when the novel opens, Malik is on a mission to rescue Taye from an abusive foster home. Things quickly go awry, however, and Malik finds himself outside a gas station, reading a letter from the grandmama he didn’t know he had, inviting him to stay with her in New Orleans.

Malik quickly learns that the mysterious lights from ten years ago are manifestations of magic, and there is an entire world of magic he was completely unaware of, one his mother belonged to before she started dabbling in dangerous dark magic. At his grandmama’s insistence, Malik enrolls at Caiman University, an HBCU for Black students with magical abilities.

As Malik adjusts to his new world, new abilities, and new friends, he hears about a series of disappearances in the surrounding Black communities while also having nightmares about a mysterious group that he begins to suspect has something to do with his mother’s disappearance ten years ago.

Williams grew up during the explosion of the young adult genre when Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Percy Jackson topped the bestseller lists. He loved fantasy, but didn’t see himself and his friends depicted in these magical worlds, and so he set out to write his own book that “let Black boys be the heroes of their own stories.”

We love the world he created and the way he made the conventions of the “magical teen” genre his own, infusing Southern culture and Black culture, creating something that feels entirely new (and very modern). We think many students will love the book, and we’re glad Williams wrote the book he longed to read.

Do be aware that there is heavy use of profanity in the novel.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and Labyrinth Road for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

This review will be posted at https://threeheads.works/category/blog/ya-books/ on June 17, 2024.

Fantasy isn't usually my favorite, but I found this one to be engaging. Great audio! Similar vibe as Legendborn, without the Arthurian legend background.

An absolute 5 star read!! I do not think it compares to Harry Potter because I never read Harry Potter, however I highly recommend this book to everyone because it has so much action, magic, history, drama and themes. This book was a non-stop read for me. Following Malik as he learns more about his history, magic and family. At the young age of 7 Malik experiences trauma and sees his mother being killed or is she? Malik has been in foster care since this event and now he is out on his own and has to survive the world. The events that follow after he leaves foster is one that involves him finding out about his grandmother, increasing his knowledge about his magic, and finding out about the magical HBCU with other Black kids who are like him.

ALL THE STARS!!!!!

This book is like Legendborn meets Black Panther! I absolutely adore every single character.

Malik lost his mom to magic when he was young, and now his long lost family has found him after years of foster care and trauma. But he would do anything to protect his adoptive brother Tay, and someone is after the black kids of his home town. And along the way he will find clues to his mama’s disappearance. Could she still be alive? Malik must deal with his trauma and fight through the prejudice of the long standing wealthy magic families to follow the clues to find his mama and protect his brother.

I don’t pride myself on guessing endings, but when you’re neurodivergent you often just see the patterns and you know what’s going to happen. And I honestly thought Ladarrion Williams dropped too many hints, that I knew what would happen. But I did NOT see that plot twist coming!

I can’t say enough about this book. Just go get it already!

Harry Potter but make the characters unapologetically black!! I Will say, I wanted to thoroughly enjoy myself and love this way more than I did, but it seemed slow in some parts and the book didn’t need to be as long as it was. I loved how the magic was tied the ancestors and the twists and turns your own family will take you through! How this story ended, I believe there will be another book or two following? I’m sure I’ll follow up to see how to story concludes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.