Long before Sọmadịna and her twin, Jayaike, were born, the creation of the Split ended the Starvation War. A yawning chasm, the Split severs the rest of the world from Sọmadịna’s island, where most people receive one magical ability from the goddess, Ala, when they come of age. When the twins manifest multiple gifts—and one of Sọmadịna’s causes her to murder a violent peer against her will—they are deemed “abominations” by their mother and harshly shunned by the community. And then Jayaike is snatched in the night, abducted by the sinister “hunter,” who has appeared in Sọmadịna’s dreams. Sọmadịna and her best friend, Ụwafụlamiro, join Sọmadịna’s grandfather, Zerenjọ; and her sister, Nkadi; in the Sacred Forest. Zerenjọ and Nkadi are dịbịas, “masters of medicine and spirit” who possess multiple powerful gifts; they help Sọmadịna prepare for the dangerous search for her brother. Together Sọmadịna, Ụwafụlamiro, and Nkadi set out on their journey. Along the way, Sọmadịna struggles to accept and control her gifts, especially an emptiness that can be harnessed to kill anything in her path. Sọmadịna and Jayaike have been claimed by Ala. But the “small gods” will not understand the full extent of their power until they are reunited and facing death at the hands of the hunter. Set in a West African-inspired fantasy setting, this richly imagined coming-of-age novel brings to life a world in which magic is both coveted and feared, and at its heart is a girl longing for acceptance as she discovers her place in her family and the world. (Age 14 and older)

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award finalist and author of Pet comes a novel set in a magical West African world, about a teen girl who must save her missing twin while learning to navigate her own terrifying new powers.

Somadina and her twin brother, Jayaike, are practically the same person: they finish each other's sentences and make each other whole. When the twins come of age, their magical gifts begin to develop, but while Jayaike's powers enchant, Somadina's cause fear to ripple through her town.

Always an outsider, Somadina now faces blatant--and dangerous--hostility. And things go from bad to worse when her brother—the one person she trusted—vanishes. Somadina knows that no matter the dangers, she must track him down. Even if it means entering the Sacred Forest. Even if it means grueling, otherworldly travel she may not survive. Even if it means finding the hidden places where those closest to the spirit world don't dare to go. Does Somadina have the strength --within both her body and her soul -- for the trying journey ahead?

National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi masterfully weaves a tale of family, identity, and the power of the past, in a world where the extraordinary is ordinary.