Blood at the Root

When Malik lost his mother at a young age, it was violent and traumatizing. And with the rush of emotion at seeing his mother torn from him, his magic exploded into life. Igniting everything around him. Placed into the foster system, he not only had to cope with the loss of his mother but also abusive foster parents and a power he had no idea how to control.

The trauma Malik endured is deeply seeded into his character. Flashbacks of the night his mother disappeared constantly plague him, and his trust does not come easily. He immediately goes on the defensive with all adults. Even when they are trying to comfort him, it is heartbreaking to see people try to make a connection, yet readers will also understand why Malik isn’t ready for them yet. He is easily overwhelmed by affection, and when he suddenly has a family he never knew existed it is way too much for him to handle.

However, Malik’s foster brother is one of the most important people in his life. As soon as he is able, Malik tears his brother away from his abusers. In the process, Taye enters a life filled with magic and family alongside Malik. While Taye remains a secondary character, he is never far from Malik’s mind.

Blood at the Root aligns with the younger generation's grasp of the world. There is also a fair bit of generational slang young adults would connect with and understand. The romance is pretty reflective of the genre involving a long-lost childhood crush. This would be best enjoyed by young adults.

I was a little skeptical at the beginning, but I just got so absorbed in the world that I kept going. And that was the right decision! The best parts: the writing in dialect, the suspicious people, the twists and the magical school tropes.
I love the way he wrote in dialect. A few times I had to stop and reread the line out loud to hear it, but I liked that because it really made this world come alive. It reminded me of Wuthering Heights with the level of dialect. It is hard to know who to trust because there are so many people with so many of their own goals. That lack of trustworthiness helped connect me to Malik. There were a few twists that I saw coming and some that I didn't. By the end of the book, those twists all came together logically. Several of them are painful, but Malik is determined, so I am excited to see what happens next in book two.
There were several places in the book that reminded me of pieces of Harry Potter and then the author turned that piece into something special in his world. So I really enjoyed recognizing a trope or characteristic and then seeing how Williams used that creatively in his book. He doesn't overdo it and it isn't obvious to the point of campy. So it is a perfect balance in my opinion.
I enjoyed the various languages that show up and the history moments that we see as well. That was another thing that helped create the world. It gave me a hint that there was more to come and we were only seeing a snippet.
The romance parts of the book were not well done. The friendships got better by the end of the book. I am hoping to see some of the interpersonal relationships improve in the next book.
So great world building, characters with strong motivations, and lots of interesting moments to create the overall plot. I can't wait for book 2.