Abeni’s Song was a fun middle grade fantasy novel, drawing inspiration from West African and African-Diaspora folklore. The relationship between humans and nature and the balance of good and evil forms the basis of the magic system. The jump from the prologue to the first chapter was a bit disorienting, but pays off by the end of the novel. I also flew through this story because of the propulsive nature of the plot, not just because it was a middle grade novel. I look forward to reading the sequel.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Abeni's Song is a middle grade fantasy novel written by award winning fantasy author P Djèlí Clark (A Master of Djinn, Ring Shout). The novel is I believe Clark's first foray into younger fiction and features a novel set in a West African-inspired world, as a 12 year old girl Abeni finds herself the only survivor of an attack on her village by a magical army...one which uses a strange song to hypnotize and kidnap all of the other kids. And so begins a story where Abeni is first taken away by the old woman - thought to be a witch - whose magic saved her from the same fate and then embarks on her own journey to try to save both the others in her village from the magical army's evil leader, the Witch Priest. Along the way Abeni winds up allying with a magical man made of straw, and a pair of animal spirits as she grows, learns and develops into the person needed to save her people.

It's in some ways a fairly standard story, but Clark tells it very well, with a West African backdrop in both its magical setting and its less magical parts (White Slavers are implied to be a threat who are never actually seen or understood) that makes this stand out amongst other similar fare. Some plot elements are rather predictable, but our lead character is an excellent protagonist and the story is both very satisfying on its own and at the same time promises a sequel that I (and younger readers) would be pretty interested in reading.



Plot Summary:
Abeni wakes up happy on her 12th birthday. She has a good life in her village with loving parents (both well respected in the village) and a loving brother, and a best friend in her troublemaking friend Fomi. She admires the slightly older (and very handsome) boy Ekwolo and dreams of the next year, when she will take the first rites of adulthood. But for now, she simply wants to enjoy the village's annual Harvest Festival festivities.

But then the Old Woman who lives near the village - the one rumored to be a witch - returns with a message. 12 years ago the Old Woman was involved in helping Abeni's parents give birth to Abeni. But now, she comes to tell the Village that they have ignored her warnings too long, and that they need to leave immediately...or else it will be too late. But the Old Woman's words are ignored once more, and an army of strange "storm women" attacks the village soon after, using strange powers, magical ropes, and a haunting song that enraptures all of the children and leads them to their capture. All except for Abeni, who escapes thanks to the Old Woman and her strange magic.

Desperate to return to her village and to find her loved ones, Abeni frets and searches for a way back. But she will soon learn that the only way she will ever be able to find her friends and loved ones again is to actually listen to the Old Woman - to learn that there are things and spirits in the world like she'd never imagined....
--------------
Abeni's Song is well, Abeni's story, with the entire narrative after the first chapter (which is basically a prologue the book returns to in its final act) taking place from Abeni's third person point of view. The story follows Abeni as she loses seemingly everything after her village is attacked, has to learn about the world and all that features in nature and the spirits that dwell within it, and then goes on her own quest to save her village - especially the kids who were once taken from it by the army of storm women and the goat-masked man with his magical song. And of course along the way Abeni meets new allies and people, especially a pair of animal spirits who she encounters and befriends along the way.

The result is something that most readers will have seen before from other Middle Grade works - the story of the child having to save her people and thus, after training, going on a quest to save them and picking up new allies/party-members to join her who will help her make a difference in the end, the prophecies she hears that eventually make bigger sense once secrets are revealed, and how Abeni as the protagonist learns and grows into a different more mature person along the way. This is all standard fare and such that middle grade readers probably will have encountered all of this before.

But Abeni's Song still distinguishes itself - both by doing this plotline extremely well, such that you care very much about the characters and are still eager to find out what's been coming next and through its West African inspired setting. The setting isn't overt about using being from a single West African people or religion (we don't see Orishas for example here) but its use of spirits and animal people and talking pots and objects is all seemingly inspired by West African lore; as is its antagonists. Most notably the setting is clearly inspired by slave-trade era West Africa, with its whole cast generally being Black (one antagonist is described - to the protagonist's shock- as an albino and she's never seen that before) with "Ghost Ships" being given adult people from the continent to be taken away - clearly to be slaves of Europeans elsewhere in this world. It's a setting that's different from what many Western readers will have expected, but one that works really well at grounding this story just a bit differently than the usual many readers will have come across, and it fits in nicely.

All in all Abeni's Song does what you want to be an entertaining and effective middle grade novel and it ends in a way that is quite satisfying while at the same time it leaves open various plot elements for a sequel to follow up on. So middle grade readers who read this will probably both enjoy and find themselves a new series to look forward to in maybe a year's time or so.

Abeni's song is a middle-grade African mythology inspired fantasy book. I really enjoyed this one so much I will be purchasing a copy for my younger brother

Magic, mystery, and cliffhangers, Clark used all in this work. Abeni a curious and full of life 12 year old ready for more responsibility yet still having fun around her village with childish antics suddenly finds herself in charge of far more than she ever imagined. Her story brings you through loss, new friendship, and pursuit of those responsible for war, destruction, and loss. A wonderful, mystical read that draws many parallels to those stollen from their villages of Africa and enslaved who disappeared from their families and homeland. There is closure yet much wondering about the Witch Priest at the end and very much open ended enough for a sequel while still stands on its own.

I don't think that the story would have come to life in such a way otherwise. I can't even properly put into words how beautiful this story was. The world building is gorgeous and lush, I wanted to just fall right into the pages. The characters are ones that you can't help but love. The thing that excited me the most about this book is the amount of culture and folklore that is threaded throughout this story. There are some extremely important topics in this book that i think were done with so much care and taste. I cannot wait for book two!

If you read this, do not pick up the audiobook. The narration made a significant negative impact on my reading experience. The voices that the narrator chose for nearly every spoken line really annoyed me. I did not love the way the Clark incorporated this mythology into the story and slowly expanded the world. I should give this book another read sometime in the future to better separate the audiobook experience from the book itself.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing / Starscape for the ARC. Much appreciated!!

Abeni is a young girl who is on her way to her 13th year and is happy in her village with her mother, father, and older brother. A feast day is coming up and the village is alive with the prospect of another bountiful year full of good vibes and fellowship among the people. However, during a parade, a witch appears, asking for a child to take as her due and issuing a dire warning to Abeni's village, the most recent of warnings they haven't heeded. Then, Abeni's village comes under attack and they all are taken away by the strange warriors, leaving Abeni to fend for herself, against the witch.

P. Djeli Clark is a master storyteller and I have yet to encounter any of his works that hasn't held me and refused to let go before the last page. This book explores many themes, like grief, feelings of loss, kinship, and communion with spirits/ nature. This book teaches very powerful lessons about growth and friendship as well.

When the story starts, Abeni is a bit willful in nature, but overall a sweet girl. As she goes about her adventures, she becomes less willful and learns to become more selfless, not that she was selfish before. While she has her one friend in the beginning, she gains new friends from different walks of life and learns to see the world through their eyes as well. As someone who was once a young, Black girl, reading about her friendships and how they protect and fight for each other, as well as laugh and play with each other, this book made my heart soar and I wish for every Black girl to read it and help dispel the idea that we're always at each other's throats and can't get along.

That aside, the worldbuilding that Clark employs in this book is awe-inspiring. I was never exposed to much West African mythology, through no fault of my own or my mother's (Mompard sure did her best to expose me to as much Black/African-American literature as she could), so reading about the various myths and legends that are employed in this book really made me come alive. No shade to the various European myths that I've been inundated with throughout my life, but it was refreshing to see some myths that resonated with me and sounded like some of the stories I read about from Southern American tales. Reading this book felt like having a good, home-cooked meal, surrounded by your family and elders who have long since gone ahead of you into the beyond.

5/5 Stars from me and I look forward to reading the next book in this series and seeing where Abeni's adventures take her. I highly recommend this book for any middle school reader or really anyone who wants to take a journey.

This book was pure magic from start to finish. I loved getting to know Abeni and this book kept me reading from the first page. I also appreciated the world building and the writing style was very engaging.

I really appreciated how fast-paced this book was. I think kids who love fantasy and magic will love it, and the African influences really set this book apart. A welcome addition to tween fantasy. I can't wait to read more from this author.

I enjoyed the dynamic between the characters. Abeni, Nyomi, Zaneeya, and Asha are all such unique characters and each contributes well to the group dynamic. I love me a good found family and this one had all of the elements I love - the rough one who resists the pull of the family, the energetic one who loves everyone, and the nervous one who just wants to be included. All three brought something that Abeni needed to learn so she could grow.

However, nothing really pulled me forward. One of the big "twists" wasn't really a twist and could be seen a mile away. The moment where Abeni falls from grace doesn't last long enough to be really impactful and the scene ends up being unmemorable to me. I wanted to enjoy the plot more, but nothing ever made me feel like I needed to keep moving forward.

I really wanted to like this, but it was not working for me. I found Abeni to be really annoying and the story to be too slowly paced to work for me. There were an obscene amount of exclamation points used and it was a really big turn off for me.

While this is a book aimed at children, I feel like a lot of them will be turned off by the extremely long chapters and the sheer amount of text that is on each page. It's formatted like an adult book would be instead of a middle grade, and I don't imagine that will encourage children to pick it up.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and YA Books Central for an advance copy.

I absolutely loved this. I would describe this as Spirited Away meets Tristan Strong. Whimsical and heartfelt. Full of action, personal growth, and strong friendships. There are some dark themes, but they are engaged with in a way that is approachable to younger readers. I eagerly anticipate any future books set in this world.

I have loved Clark's adult offerings, and after the magic and whimsy of the Dead Djinn in Cairo universe, I had faith in his ability to transition to middle grade. Perhaps it's my own fault for not reading a whole lot of middle grade, for trying to compare Abeni with Aru Shah or Artemis Fowl, but Abeni was missing a clearly defined "self", and her narration was rather passive. For a middle grade, I was looking for adventure, for magic, for mayhem, for a band of misfits learning where they belong...

But this story was heavy and the prose and dialogue was choppy and didn't carry us forward. And Abeni herself gave us very little to latch onto.

This was a fantastic, African inspired middle grade novel! I loved the adventure and magic as well as the found family element. This was so fun to read!

From the sensory descriptions of the Harvest Festival and a magical hut in the forest with dozens of ever-changing rooms, to talking pots and straw men, you’ll be enchanted with the world Clark’s created. It was one my favorite parts of this book! I was always surprised and delighted to see where his imagination took the story.

Abeni is certainly someone to root for. I also loved Asha and the other secondary characters. I think this is a great book for younger readers and older ones alike. Highly recommended

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing / Starscape for providing an ARC in exchange for this review.

Aye if somebody told my family and I we have till x years before something come we'll be out of there like white on rice okay. It was a journey reading about Abeni just keep having dream about her village and family dying left and right and she wasn't able to do anything .
I like that the book was enough not to long but not to short

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this read. I liked this read and the undertone of reality in this read that was very touching to me.

While this book is aimed at middle schoolers there is enough subtext that adults will appreciate.

Young Abeni is a hero we root for as she finds as she seeks to find her family and friends .

I recommend this well crafted book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Strong first novel in a new fantasy series set in a fantasy world similar to continent of Africa. Abeni is a village girl with no greater priorities that spending time with her friends when her village is raided and destroyed by strange warriors who enslave the adults and steal the children. Abeni avoids this fate herself only due to the powers of a local witch, who helps Abeni escape and begins to train her in magic. However the witch is not all she seems and soon Abeni is crossing into strange new lands with the assistance of three spirits and magic pebbles provided by a talking pot. I’m looking forward to reading the second novel in this series

*Thank you NetGalley and P. Djèlí Clark for the ARC of this novel.

This fantasy captured me and wouldn't let go. I fell in love with the world and the magic within it from the start. It is the first in a series and is filled with relatable, complex and interesting characters. It is a solid story with plenty of room to expand and grow. World building and character development are intertwined in this first book and I absolutely love the imagery and the character development throughout the novel.