The Gilded Ones
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- Create Date：2021-05-07 10:51:12
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Namina Forna
- ISBN：1984848690
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Summary
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village。 Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition， Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs。
But on the day of the ceremony， her blood runs gold， the color of impurity--and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death。
Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate， or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her。 They are called alaki--near-immortals with rare gifts。 And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat。
Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance， Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known。 But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life， she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises。 Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be--not even Deka herself。
The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired， feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther。 In this world， girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice。
But on the day of the ceremony， her blood runs gold， the color of impurity--and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death。
Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate， or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her。 They are called alaki--near-immortals with rare gifts。 And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat。
Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance， Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known。 But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life， she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises。 Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be--not even Deka herself。
The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired， feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther。 In this world， girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice。
Reviews
John Easton
，
What an amazing read！ The fact that author NAMINA FORNA is a screenwriter does not surprise me。 Forna's debut novel is one part Joy Lick Club， another part Black Panterseems and seems made for the big screen。 What an amazing read！ The fact that author NAMINA FORNA is a screenwriter does not surprise me。 Forna's debut novel is one part Joy Lick Club， another part Black Panterseems and seems made for the big screen。 。。。more
Emily
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Let me start off this review by saying don't get the audiobook。 The narrator is mostly fine and I enjoyed the tone/pacing， but she gives one of the main characters such an irritating accent/voice that it made me literally want to give up on the book。YA fantasy isn't really my genre anymore so I don't have much to compare this to， but it felt unique to me。 I was surprised how dark it was at times - there were some upsetting torture scenes， and rape was also referenced （but not described in detail Let me start off this review by saying don't get the audiobook。 The narrator is mostly fine and I enjoyed the tone/pacing， but she gives one of the main characters such an irritating accent/voice that it made me literally want to give up on the book。YA fantasy isn't really my genre anymore so I don't have much to compare this to， but it felt unique to me。 I was surprised how dark it was at times - there were some upsetting torture scenes， and rape was also referenced （but not described in detail）。 There was a fun twist toward the end - I felt the author did a good job foreshadowing without ruining the reveal。 However， I felt the end was a bit rushed - I didn't understand why certain things happened at certain times。 There were also some questions I felt weren't adequately answered （（view spoiler）[ WHY keep Deka in the dark and train her to massacre death shrieks， and then tell the men that she can control death shrieks？ That could easily have been kept a secret so she wasn't sent on these quests that resulted in 1000s of deaths （hide spoiler）]）。 Also， for an otherwise very feminist book in messaging， the main character had an annoying lack of agency。 Overall though， it was a mainly entertaining book （which in my opinion would make a good and visually-stimulating film） 。。。more
Charlie
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3。5 stars。 This was an enjoyable read。 The writing wasn't great but the story was cool and I loved the idea of ancient goddesses and their descendants living in the world。 I'm looking forward to book two。 3。5 stars。 This was an enjoyable read。 The writing wasn't great but the story was cool and I loved the idea of ancient goddesses and their descendants living in the world。 I'm looking forward to book two。 。。。more
Kyle ⚜⛓⚜
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3。5 stars 3。5 stars 。。。more
Ruth （KindleReads）
，
A fantastic readThis wasn't a Perfect read but it sure was a fun one。 There is action， there are characters of color everywhere， there's this idealism about a class that is purely dominated by men and what would happen when it's threaten and even more interestingly the idea of something/someone being impure as a savior。 And those are some of the fundamentals of what makes this read such a good one。Now I do have to say there are some drawbacks， one of which is the pacing towards the latter half o A fantastic readThis wasn't a Perfect read but it sure was a fun one。 There is action， there are characters of color everywhere， there's this idealism about a class that is purely dominated by men and what would happen when it's threaten and even more interestingly the idea of something/someone being impure as a savior。 And those are some of the fundamentals of what makes this read such a good one。Now I do have to say there are some drawbacks， one of which is the pacing towards the latter half of the book。 And to be more pointly I'm talking about the end of the book， things just start taking off at a neck break speed and it doesn't slow down in any comfortable way and it just feels like there's so much conclusion trying to be bottlenecked into this rush ending when this book is clearly only book one in a sequel or trilogy or however long this book series decides to go on for。I would recommend this book and I'm excited to see what Namina Forna has a up her sleeves But I hope for the next story she decides to write or the continuation of this story she doesn't feel as rushed with piecing together it ending because I can tell that she takes the readers into account when she processes through what a main character would be thinking and well that's what made this book so fun to read our character challenges what she's being told in a way that someone normally would until we get to the end when again the neck breaks speed kicks in and our character stops considering things like they normally did throughout the whole story they just start accepting things and I'm like what！ Porque？ 。。。more
Anandi Puritipati
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TWs: Lots of blood and gore， anxiety， PTSD， assault， mentions of sexual abuse and assault， mentions of domestic abuse， misogyny。 Author Namina Forna said that she wrote this story for young girls all over the world — to let them know that they are stronger than they think， and that the systems that oppress them try to kill this spirit， but they can't。 Not really。 And， really， I think she succeeded in getting this message across。 When I picked this book up， I expected it to be a semi-lighthearted TWs: Lots of blood and gore， anxiety， PTSD， assault， mentions of sexual abuse and assault， mentions of domestic abuse， misogyny。 Author Namina Forna said that she wrote this story for young girls all over the world — to let them know that they are stronger than they think， and that the systems that oppress them try to kill this spirit， but they can't。 Not really。 And， really， I think she succeeded in getting this message across。 When I picked this book up， I expected it to be a semi-lighthearted， adventure filled young adult fantasy。 I mean， look at that cover！ It's just so cute！ I did not expect this book to dive into the very disturbing violence that women are subject to all over the world。 But it did， and it gave me pause， and it took me a good while to come to process everything I'd read。 At the end of the day， yes， this book is still an 'adventure filled fantasy，' I guess， but it is also a book that explores some dark themes and has a heaviness to it that I couldn't quite shake。Themes that made me want to scream aside， this book has a really soft writing style that I enjoyed！ It's very historical fantasy， and it worked with the setting nicely， imo！ There were a few bits here and there which weren't perfect - for instance， the author uses the term embrace instead of hug， and it's so funny in context， don't even ask me why — but overall， it was pretty good！ I really liked Deka as a character！ But I felt like everyone else around her needed a little work。 Despite this being one of those stories where The Whole Group is kind of a big deal， everyone except Deka did not seem very well fleshed out to me。 They weren't fully bland or anything， but I would've liked to have had a better understanding of them is all！ My favourite part of the book is definitely the setting！ There was just something so captivating about it！ I am always a sucker for a good "magic school" setting， and I also liked how Deka's magic worked！ It isn't a hard magic system， I don't think， but it was just really fun， all the same！ The plot is also pretty fun， but you can pretty much predict the twist really early on。 Like， come on， she's The Chosen One， you'll get it。 It's pretty well paced and the tone is pretty well-balanced too！ My only gripe with it is that *some* of the character actions did not make full sense to me。 I mean， I'll take what you give me but I'm also like。。。for real？ you know what I mean？ Also that romance just exists。 I care about them， I do， but this book could've done without。 I know as the resident asexual， me saying this is self-indulgent， but also。。。I am a sucker for a good romance。 You know this。 It just felt like this book did not need all that！ Their friend group was perfect， LET THEM BE BESTIES！！！ Overall， I really enjoyed reading the book， but there were a few things that prevented me from getting fully emotionally invested to the point where I could rate it a whole five stars！ I'm still really excited to see where this series goes because that ending was SUPER FUN and there's A Lot going on that needs to be addressed！ I think this book basically achieved what it set out to do， even if it was a little on the nose about it in some places， and you should definitely pick it up if you enjoy a slightly dark young adult fantasy！ 。。。more
Jessica Howard
，
I really enjoyed the beginning of this。。。 destroy the patriarchy！ And the evil demon-monsters at the same time！ Yay！ But overall it felt poorly paced。 There is a looooot of Deka's anxiety and doubt in the middle， and then SO MANY THINGS happen in like the last 4 chapters， it's super rushed。 I know that YA has more 'navel-gazing' than your average adult fiction， but sheesh， did Deka have to second-guess （and wrongly interpret） EVERY SINGLE THING AN ADULT SAID TO HER？！Also， wow I'm not used to tha I really enjoyed the beginning of this。。。 destroy the patriarchy！ And the evil demon-monsters at the same time！ Yay！ But overall it felt poorly paced。 There is a looooot of Deka's anxiety and doubt in the middle， and then SO MANY THINGS happen in like the last 4 chapters， it's super rushed。 I know that YA has more 'navel-gazing' than your average adult fiction， but sheesh， did Deka have to second-guess （and wrongly interpret） EVERY SINGLE THING AN ADULT SAID TO HER？！Also， wow I'm not used to that much dismemberment。 I don't want to spoil anything， but there's a particular scene near the end where I was like OH EM GEE NO GROSS GROSS GROSS。 Lol。 。。。more
Alyssa
，
Love a good story about strong women and female friendship。 My disappointment here was with the world-building: for me， the descriptions of the world of Otera and the mythical creatures within it fell flat。 I would've loved richer details to help me picture the author's vision more fully。 Love a good story about strong women and female friendship。 My disappointment here was with the world-building: for me， the descriptions of the world of Otera and the mythical creatures within it fell flat。 I would've loved richer details to help me picture the author's vision more fully。 。。。more
Kayleb DeMoss
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It’s more in the 4。5 stars side， but wow what a captivating and beautiful novel。 It drew me in from start to finish。 You just fall in love with Deka， and Britta。 Namina paints such a vivid picture that is so pure。 Loved it！
Jules
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If your blood means you are treated differently， how can you stay strong in the face of adversity？ A story of strong oppressed woman facing the consequences of a bygone era。Wow！ I didn’t imagine how much I was going to enjoy this book。 The Gilded Ones is fast paced and riveting， a great read to get you out of the dreaded slump！ I read this believing it was a stand-alone and now have the agonising wait for the 2nd novel The Merciless Ones， which I cannot wait to get my hands on！
Shannon Brady
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This book was my first ever buddy read and boy was I glad I had someone to share all my thoughts and theories with。Naminas world building was wrote along with the story line so you weren't reading 100 pages of just world building。She has put so many topics up in this book which I love。It's found family。 Its feminist and its just blooming brilliant！ This book was my first ever buddy read and boy was I glad I had someone to share all my thoughts and theories with。Naminas world building was wrote along with the story line so you weren't reading 100 pages of just world building。She has put so many topics up in this book which I love。It's found family。 Its feminist and its just blooming brilliant！ 。。。more
Cadguycad
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3。5-4。 Review to follow
Lindsey Chant
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Absolutely wonderful start to a series of books that I think is going to be memorable。 You continuously have all your fingers crossed for the heroine， Deka of Irfut， and for her friends who end up battling for their freedom and lives。 In this book all women are treated as inferior by men and have to go through a ritual at 16 to find out if they are pure enough to be accepted into society。 If they are not pure， they are classed as un-natural and forced to leave their homes。 Deka is one such of th Absolutely wonderful start to a series of books that I think is going to be memorable。 You continuously have all your fingers crossed for the heroine， Deka of Irfut， and for her friends who end up battling for their freedom and lives。 In this book all women are treated as inferior by men and have to go through a ritual at 16 to find out if they are pure enough to be accepted into society。 If they are not pure， they are classed as un-natural and forced to leave their homes。 Deka is one such of these women， as her blood runs gold during the ritual。 Forced to leave everything behind she encounters a mysterious woman who may or not be able to unlock the secrets to Deka’s past and hidden powers。 Lots of twists of turns in the second half of the book， and leaves me waiting for the second one to be published。 Definitely for fans of historical fiction and ‘magic’ （I would definitely think it as Roman Empire-ish and medieval） and touches of Black Panther and Handmaid’s Tale are also in here。 When you have read this book just imagine if Deka was in Gilead！！！ 。。。more
Alyssa
，
In a brutal， oppressive， and patriarchal world， sixteen year old Deka eagerly awaits the ceremony that’ll mark her as pure — only for her to discover that her blood runs gold， the color of impurity。 This makes Deka an unkillable girl， and she’s shortly whisked away to join an army of girls with extraordinary abilities， just like her。 But Deka is abnormal， even for a gold-blooded girl， and not everything is as straightforward as it appears to be。 I have to say， the first half of this book didn’t In a brutal， oppressive， and patriarchal world， sixteen year old Deka eagerly awaits the ceremony that’ll mark her as pure — only for her to discover that her blood runs gold， the color of impurity。 This makes Deka an unkillable girl， and she’s shortly whisked away to join an army of girls with extraordinary abilities， just like her。 But Deka is abnormal， even for a gold-blooded girl， and not everything is as straightforward as it appears to be。 I have to say， the first half of this book didn’t really work for me。 Though I was interested in the brutality of the world， it was undercut by a lot of YA tropiness — a bland girl with special powers， training montage where teenage girls suddenly become extremely skilled warriors within weeks， bland worldbuilding details I wasn’t particularly interested in， etc。 Even the themes of sisterhood and female friendship didn’t feel compelling enough。 It felt slow to me， and I was sure I’d give this book two stars at most。 Then things changed in the second half。 There was a lot more action， Deka came more into her own as a character， and I even started to like the romance somewhat， which had come across as forced initially。 I just felt more invested。 I was particularly interested in the mystery behind the death shrieks， and kept reading largely because I wanted to discover the truth behind them — and let me tell you， it did not disappoint。 The ending especially was a wild ride， and made the entire book end on a high note。 I felt very proud of Deka for embracing herself， and I think it’s a character arc that’ll resonate with a lot of readers， especially readers of color。 I’m easily annoyed with the way most YA books end because they always end on cliffhangers， but the Gilded Ones didn’t！ It wraps up very nicely， and could be read as a standalone if you wanted。 The Gilded Ones had a rough start， but by the end it turned out to be a pretty solid debut。 I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the sequel， just because I’m so pleased with where the story ended， but I’m certainly not against reading it， either。 If it’s like this book， I’m sure it’ll be good。 Recommended for fans of diverse protagonists or fantasy that isn’t afraid to tackle dark and heavy themes。 。。。more
Casey
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I really liked the story telling and setting up of this story。 You could really get into the background of the character and of the world and it was really good at describing what was happening。 I enjoyed it a lot and the cover is perfect
Erin Stitch Witch Reading
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4。5 stars。 I very much enjoyed this book， great world building， wonderful characters， and wonderful friendships between them。 It’s a bit violent， but almost cartoonishly so， I think because of the fantasy elements。 I would have loved the women power message if I read it as a teen。 That being said， it’s a little heavy handed and the story was very predictable。 It didn’t take away from my enjoyment， but it probably won’t be one I read over and over again。
Brittany
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I love it。 If your going to read this do the Audiobook！It's really good！ 😃 I can't wait for the next book to come out。 I love it。 If your going to read this do the Audiobook！It's really good！ 😃 I can't wait for the next book to come out。 。。。more
Kelsey
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3。5 stars
Letisha Brown
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There are books that have taught me about love， and about the power of women and the feminine。。。This book has done that and so much more。。。I would say more， but， I'm not a fan of spoilers。。。 There are books that have taught me about love， and about the power of women and the feminine。。。This book has done that and so much more。。。I would say more， but， I'm not a fan of spoilers。。。 。。。more
Carla JFCL
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This was a book club selection I never would have found on my own。 I really enjoyed it！ It’s YA fiction， which made it a fast read， and I enjoyed the “Hunger Games” vibe of it。 I’m hoping it gets made into a movie， because I don’t think my imagination does it justice; there’s so much of it I’d love to see on a big screen。
Rebecca McPhedran
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Deka is waiting for the Purity Ceremony-a blood ceremony to decide if she will be accepted into her community， or killed for having golden blood。 When she is cut， the color of her blood will determine her fate。 Will she be accepted， or considered a demon？ When her blood runs gold， and she is found to have special abilities that will help kill the dreaded deathshrieks。 she knows that she will face something much worse than death。 All she hopes for is friendship and love。 After being abandoned by Deka is waiting for the Purity Ceremony-a blood ceremony to decide if she will be accepted into her community， or killed for having golden blood。 When she is cut， the color of her blood will determine her fate。 Will she be accepted， or considered a demon？ When her blood runs gold， and she is found to have special abilities that will help kill the dreaded deathshrieks。 she knows that she will face something much worse than death。 All she hopes for is friendship and love。 After being abandoned by her childhood friends， and her father; it seems she will never know unconditional love。 Until everything she is taught to believe in is turned on its head， and she must trust those she's been told to fear。 Deka's entire existence will be questioned， and she must decide who she will become。 A fantastic story that revolves around female empowerment and female friendships， you can't help but root for Deka。 This book read like a movie， and I for one， would love to see it on the big screen。 A fantastic story。 I can't wait to read the next in the series。 。。。more
Polina ♆
，
I started reading this with no idea what I was actually reading。 I don't think I even read the synopsis throughout （but this is usually， so I can have better enjoyment of the reading）。 I think the only thing I knew was that the book is new and the cover is pretty XDWell， I actually liked the story。 It was a bit dystopian， so I was curious about world creation。 So here we have a society where girls are pretty much suppressed （what's new？！） and they need to go through a ritual of purity in which t I started reading this with no idea what I was actually reading。 I don't think I even read the synopsis throughout （but this is usually， so I can have better enjoyment of the reading）。 I think the only thing I knew was that the book is new and the cover is pretty XDWell， I actually liked the story。 It was a bit dystopian， so I was curious about world creation。 So here we have a society where girls are pretty much suppressed （what's new？！） and they need to go through a ritual of purity in which they pretty much cut them （not too violently though， after all， it's a ritual， you know - the whole village is watching and yes， this is perfectly fine according to their traditions） to see if they bleed "purely"。 If their blood is the usual red color they need to wear a mask to hide their purity， but if it's not they would be deemed impure and would be tortured until they die （whenever this death actually comes， because those girls can die several times until they reach their final one）。 And we are talking about teenage girls。 Imagine the PTSD those poor children going through。 Anyway。The main character is Deka and she as you may guess is impure since her blood is actually gold and not red。 Of course， she is tortured as expected， but surprisingly she is visited by a strange woman that offers her to be part of the emperor's army of special warriors， and because she literally has nothing to lose， obviously， she agrees。 And boy oh boy， if she thought that her life was hard until now， things won't get any less harder。So this is her journey into a new world where she learns that everything she knows might not be as it seems。Because I was listening to the audiobook the person reading it also used or had （I'm not sure， but the effect was nice） an accurate accent giving more authenticity to the story。 This was how I imagined those people will talk， to be honest。 So this added to the experience。Aside from everything exciting， I can't say that I was super duper invested in the story。 I wanted to see how it will end， but honestly， I would have been ok even if I haven't。 Although interesting the story wasn't close to me and the characters were pretty distant。 Not even for one second， I have thought that those people weren't just characters from a book。 And when I read something I really like to be an active part of it forgetting that all of this is actually fiction。 Here this didn't happen。 The main thing I actually liked is the way those girls figured out there is nothing to be ashamed and they have to be proud of who they are。 That was powerful and nicely made。Overall it's a nice read if you want to dive into a new fictional world， but keep in mind that this world can also be a bit different from your expectations。Real rating: 2。5 。。。more
Abbey Phelps
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A good story with a different take。 What could have been "just another。。。" was different and exciting。 While Namina is no Tamora Peirce and the story lagged in parts and was word for word repetitive in parts it was a good debut author and I can't wait to read her future books。 A good story with a different take。 What could have been "just another。。。" was different and exciting。 While Namina is no Tamora Peirce and the story lagged in parts and was word for word repetitive in parts it was a good debut author and I can't wait to read her future books。 。。。more
Janna
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3。5/5🌟: i'm a little bit undecided。 this was an enjoyable read， it really was。 first of all， please tell me that you also adore this stunning cover！i loved that there were trigger warnings at the beginning， i liked that it was fast-paced （fantasy oftentimes takes me forever to get through） and there was lovely representation， too: a Black mc， characters with varying body type sizes and other characters of colour and a minor queer female character。my friendship-loving heart was all giddy with the 3。5/5🌟: i'm a little bit undecided。 this was an enjoyable read， it really was。 first of all， please tell me that you also adore this stunning cover！i loved that there were trigger warnings at the beginning， i liked that it was fast-paced （fantasy oftentimes takes me forever to get through） and there was lovely representation， too: a Black mc， characters with varying body type sizes and other characters of colour and a minor queer female character。my friendship-loving heart was all giddy with the focus on female friendships in this one！！ more of this， please。 the romance felt kind of unnecessary， though。 like i didn't feel the chemistry at all， sorry。i did not like， however， that the book kinda suggests that adopted kids aren't "real" kids， because （spoiler's） father didn't love them enough， since he knew （spoiler） wasn't biologically his。 。。。more
Bethany
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3。5 stars。
Sarah
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I'm a huge Shayna Small fan， so when I saw that she narrated this YA fantasy， I gave it a shot。 And I'm glad I did！ Forna created an interesting world--young girls are cursed if they aren't "pure" at age 15， and they only know through a cutting ceremony。 Gold blood is impure （but that doesn't stop the village elders from collecting it and using the wealth！） and Deka has it。 Like many fantasies， Deka learns of her own worth to the world and her importance in it， but I enjoyed the ride， and her li I'm a huge Shayna Small fan， so when I saw that she narrated this YA fantasy， I gave it a shot。 And I'm glad I did！ Forna created an interesting world--young girls are cursed if they aren't "pure" at age 15， and they only know through a cutting ceremony。 Gold blood is impure （but that doesn't stop the village elders from collecting it and using the wealth！） and Deka has it。 Like many fantasies， Deka learns of her own worth to the world and her importance in it， but I enjoyed the ride， and her little pet that she collects along the way。 Lots of strong female friendships in this novel， but there's A LOT of misogyny， too。 There will be a sequel。 。。。more
Hanna
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I was not crazy about this when I started， it ticked a few too many generic-YA-dystopia boxes for me。 Luckily， that only lasted for about 30 pages。 And then we were off。 I enjoyed that strong girls and women in this book and even though I could have done with the romance， it didn't dominate the story。 The universe grew on me and especially the ending was fast-paced and gripping。 I was not crazy about this when I started， it ticked a few too many generic-YA-dystopia boxes for me。 Luckily， that only lasted for about 30 pages。 And then we were off。 I enjoyed that strong girls and women in this book and even though I could have done with the romance， it didn't dominate the story。 The universe grew on me and especially the ending was fast-paced and gripping。 。。。more
Miranda
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Brilliant world-building， many many strong female characters， women fighting misogyny and generally kicking ass， and exciting mythical creatures--reading this novel reminded me why I love reading YA fantasy。 Some parts are incredibly brutal， graphic， and triggering-capable， but author Namina Forna handled it all in such a way that used fantasy as a vehicle to explore the ways patriarchy preys on women。
Shawn Wells
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This book is phenomenal！ Beautifully crafted and executed。 Very diverse sisterhood that connects us in a way that many fantasies fall short of。 Centered in Africa using many African based legends and language。 I both read and listened to the audio book。 The narrator switched flawlessly from Scotich brogue to African accented speech。 Wow！ It explored societal structures and made me geek out with every page。 Overall life lessons about knowing yourself。 I will be getting recommending this to my 16 This book is phenomenal！ Beautifully crafted and executed。 Very diverse sisterhood that connects us in a way that many fantasies fall short of。 Centered in Africa using many African based legends and language。 I both read and listened to the audio book。 The narrator switched flawlessly from Scotich brogue to African accented speech。 Wow！ It explored societal structures and made me geek out with every page。 Overall life lessons about knowing yourself。 I will be getting recommending this to my 16 and 19 year old and anyone who loves to read and likes adventure。 。。。more
Erikka
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I genuinely enjoyed this。 I found the characters to be incredibly compelling， the plot had a nice pacing that kept my interest all the way through， and I especially like the development of a fantasy world in a non-Eurocentric location。 There was a twist ending that I didn’t see coming， which is always nice， and I feel like it wraps up the plot while also leaving room for expansion into another book。 I think the most important thing about this book is how it dealt with feminization and the changi I genuinely enjoyed this。 I found the characters to be incredibly compelling， the plot had a nice pacing that kept my interest all the way through， and I especially like the development of a fantasy world in a non-Eurocentric location。 There was a twist ending that I didn’t see coming， which is always nice， and I feel like it wraps up the plot while also leaving room for expansion into another book。 I think the most important thing about this book is how it dealt with feminization and the changing perspectives on women in Africa， and indeed the rest of the world。 We are blessed to be in a time when women are slowly gaining the equality that our ancestors fought for， and while I don’t see it all being perfect in my lifetime， it’s nice to see progress anywhere we can get it。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Gilded Ones
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Gilded Ones&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Gilded Ones&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0