Young girls are supposed to tremble before gods - but it’s much better when those in power open their ears and learn from those who see the most. The Maid and the Crocodile is an absolutely exquisite edition to the world of the Raybearer duology.

Small Sade has aged out of the orphanage, and she’s hoping to live a safe and simple life as a maid. She just needs employers to accept her vitiligo and the fact that she walks with a cane. But then she accidentally stumbles into the lair of a dangerous & powerful god the commoners call the Crocodile, and binds their fates.

There’s more to the Crocodile than meets the eye, and he warns Sade that he’s cursed. He’s just trying to complete the revolution he started before his beastly transformation is complete – but Sade is a Curse Eater, perhaps the only person who could help change his future, and the future of everyone in Oluwan City.

Jordan Ifueko has made my jaw drop with yet another incredibly moving, expansive, and boundary-breaking story. I loved that this standalone flipped the narrative so that we got to hear from a commoner instead of a ruler, and it shifted my perspective around some of the original events. While the story technically works as a standalone, you will miss out tremendously if you don’t read the Raybearer duology before diving into it. 

Some topics & themes covered include the power in making your own choices (whatever they may be), worker revolutions, interrogating the costs of revolution & the necessity of being a part of and actively working for the community you want to help, domestic abuse cycles, and disability justice. Sade is disabled, and the ways in which she learns to demand accessibility and question why she is excluded from places that are supposed to be safe and welcoming to all is so beautifully done. Why did the map at the back of the book make me SO darn emotional?? 

Sade also learns the difference between hard work that is exploitative and hard work that comes alongside the joy of creating something and making a difference. Though she starts off in a place where she feels like she needs to be as small as possible in order to avoid harming others, she learns that there’s love in both the simple things and in pushing back against the way things are. All Sade wants is a quiet existence and a community, and it’s beautiful to watch her stay true to that while also shedding a lot of guilt and fear. In the end, nobody is allowed to make any choices FOR her, whether they think they have her best interests in mind or not (which is a frustrating situation you find yourself in again and again when you’re disabled). 

There’s a romantic subplot here, but really it’s just the start of their relationship (and we can only imagine what happens after the bounds of this story). I loved the ways in which they challenged each other and expanded the other’s vision and understanding of their world. 

This world! It’s so good. It’s a vibrant and detailed place that continues to expand - even though this book travels a lot less, we still learn so much more about the culture. The rules of magic are pretty vague, but the messaging and metaphors are brilliant. I particularly loved the descriptions of spirit silt that Sade sees and cleans. 

If you enjoy a disabled narrator with an arc that will warm your heart, social change & imagining healed communities, and a sweet found family, you’ll adore this. While many of the topics are heavy, the tone overall is lighthearted and things are kept simple enough for any young reader to understand. It ends with so much heart and hope that it feels like a little beacon of light and warmth in the darkness of our current reality.

Also, if you love a (minor) animal sidekick, Clemeh the gecko WILL steal your heart. 

CW: death (parent), ableism, classism, sexism, injury, pregnancy, self harm, body shaming, homophobia, grief, body horror, religious bigotry, vomit

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