I was expecting to really enjoy this, and I was thoroughly surprised with how much I frickin adored this sequel. I appreciate the author simultaneously dropping us back into the story and giving us a refresher of where we left off. This is a fantasy book, yes, about a girl doing all she can with her new found privilege while claiming her birthright, it’s also a tale of mental health, self care, and self-preservation being acts of resistance. Tarisai has a self-sacrificing nature due to her always feeling like she needs to prove that she belongs, and she folds herself and hides her rougher edges in order to be liked. I mean, damn. So MANY of us can relate to this. I felt so SEEN in Tarisai’s struggle to be “fine” and keep going, and I know so many Black girls and women in specific, especially those of us who deal with mental health issues, who can absolutely relate to this. I mean damn.

REDEMPTOR most definitely has feminist themes, and specifically explores the expectation of young women to aspire to motherhood, women in new positions of power previously unavailable to them, and women feeling undeserving and overwhelmed by the responsibility of breaking the glass ceiling. This book also has asexual rep, as well as depression and anxiety rep.

Raybearer is a solid YA Fantasy that deals with themes of self-acceptance, navigating a tricky and toxic parent-child relationship, and finding ones purpose in a world determined to limit their options. Tarisai is a character that goes through tremendous self-discovery from the time we meet her to the time the book ends, and her crew of best friends Sanjeet and Kirah are two of the best side characters I have ever encountered. The villain in this book is a bit unclear, and not at all in a bad way -- it makes you wonder what it really takes to be a villain and what it means to be "good" or "bad." I'm excited to see what Jordan Ifueko has in store for us in the second book!

This books packs A PUNCH. It weaves mythology and fantastical elements with real life, modern day political instances that inform our story and affect the lives of these two Black girls just trying to make it in their small Portland town. In Tavia, we find a girl subdued and repressed, even within the walls of her own home and because of her father's paralyzing fear. In Effie, we find a girl who is searching for who she is and her identity. Together, they are each other's rocks and sounding board. What I loved about this book was also the metaphor of sirens as Black girls and women who are always told they're too much. Sirens represent the Black girls and women who will not shrink themselves or hide who they truly are. Sirens represent the Black girls and women who have voices and are "different" and are thought to be a distraction to a larger, bigger movement. For every Black girl and woman who is not "what a Black girl is supposed to be or act" in the eyes of society and our own communities, we are sirens. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE.