Liselle Sambury is the Trinidadian Canadian author of the Governor General's Literary Awards Finalist Blood Like Magic. Her work spans multiple genres, from fantasy to sci-fi, horror, and more. In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the sometimes complicated business of being an author.
"Liselle Sambury builds a world not far from our own, where blood
is both weapon and salvation. Blood Like Magic is an
intoxicating, skillful blend of science fiction and fantasy that
reads like an enthralling dream. Poignant, smart, and wholly
unique. An ode to the spirits of Black girls, this novel demands
that the future never forget the enduring power of family or the
long, sharp blade of history. A bold, magical debut full of heart,
and an author to watch! -- Tracy Deonn, New York Times bestselling
author of LEGENDBORN
"With high stakes, big heart, and lots of Black Girl Magic,
Blood Like Magic is everything you love about paranormal
fantasy. The fast pace, painfully relatable characters, and
incredible generational magic system makes Blood Like Magic
unputdownable. Liselle Sambury left me with a massive book hangover
that won't be cured until I get the sequel!"
-- Aiden Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery
Boys
A Black teenager faces a difficult choice to bring about her
magical awakening.
Voya Thomas is a 16-year-old Black Canadian girl with Trinidadian
roots-and a fledgling witch. Her ascension to becoming a proper
witch is dependent on her performance at her Calling. Every
witch-to-be is assigned a test by one of their ancestors, and if
they are successful, they receive their magic and the specially
chosen gift of an ability. Refusing to accept the task means no
future members of Voya's bloodline will be Called by the ancestors
and therefore can never become witches; accepting but failing the
challenge set for her will cause every witch in her family to lose
the magic upon which their livelihood depends. During the ritual,
Voya finds out that the stakes for her Calling are even steeper
than she could have imagined: Before the Caribana carnival in a
month's time, she must kill her first love. But Voya has never been
in love, so she must now find someone, fall in love, and then
sacrifice him. Sambury's prose is fluid and eloquent and will
enthrall readers. The protagonist's voice feels refreshingly
authentic, and the supporting characters are diverse and
multidimensional, with well-developed relationships. Sensitive
topics and themes, like slavery and racism, emerge in the novel's
original and compelling storylines.
A breath of fresh air for the genre; readers will be spellbound.
(Fantasy. 14-18) -- Kirkus Reviews, STARRED * April 15, 2021
*
Afro-futurism meets urban fantasy in this strong YA debut.
Descended from a long line of powerful Black witches and having
just started her Bleeding, 16-year-old Voya Thomas anxiously plans
for the Calling that will follow, an ancestor-given trial that she
must pass in order to inherit magic. A Thomas hasn't failed in 100
years, but Voya worries nonetheless. To pass a Calling, one must
make the correct choice between two decisions-something Voya has
notorious difficulty with. Her concerns threaten to become reality
when she receives the most impossible task ever known to witches,
one with equally unheard of consequences: if Voya does not destroy
her first love in one month, all current and future Thomases will
lose their magic. Voya's one desire is to help her family, but
she's never been in love, and she doesn't want to take a life. As
her family tries to find loopholes around committing murder, Voya
stumbles across an ancestor she's never heard of, whom the adults
insist on pretending doesn't exist. Sambury blends technology and
fantasy to create a detailed world that's both futuristic and
magical. Featuring a cast of BIPOC and queer characters of all
ages, this novel focuses on familial love, individual desires, and
making choices that will lead to the greatest good. Ages 14-up.
Agent: Kristy Hunter, the Knight Agency. (June) --
Publishers Weekly *STARRED REVIEW* * April 26, 2021 *
In Sambury's downright dazzling debut, Voya has finally started
menstruating, which means she's ready to come into her family's
magic and receive her gift from her family's ancestors. To receive
this gift, each witch needs to complete a task given to them by an
ancestor, and failing is not an option. To Voya's misfortune, Mama
Jova, who suffered at the hands of slavery, imparts her task: to
echo the family's mantra of "suffer and survive," Voya is
instructed to destroy her first love or risk losing her family
forever. This engrossing novel features a world both familiar and
unfamiliar, in a near-future Toronto. Sambury vividly captures the
vibrancy of Toronto as well as the diversity within the witch
community, and her dedication to world building lends authenticity
to her characters. Family and heritage are two important themes,
demonstrated powerfully in the novel's descriptions of history
keeping, food, and daily family life. While this urban fantasy
takes place in the near future, Sambury does not turn a blind eye
to the persistent history of systemic racism against Black people,
the evils of slavery, or police brutality targeting Black people,
nor how those impact the Black community on a daily basis, all
while keeping magic compellingly at the forefront. This impressive
debut will wow readers and leave them eager for more from this
writer to watch. -- Booklist STARRED Review * June 1, 2021 *
It's 2049 in Toronto, and sixteen-year-old Voya is about to go
through her Calling, the trial that will determine whether she will
have magic like the rest of her witch family. She might fail,
though, since she's directed to destroy her unknown first love, but
if she doesn't do it, her entire family will lose magic and future
generations will be magicless. Billion-dollar tech company NuGene
offers a solution with a beta matching program, and she's matched
with handsome trans NuGene intern and sponsor son Luc, who
seemingly wants nothing to do with her; Voya's task will only get
harder as the two become closer. Sambury's near-future Toronto is
an interesting mix of cultural progressivity and capitalist
nightmare, with NuGene's high-tech modding and genetic sequencing
services only available to the rich and a "sponsor" system where
CEOs groom kids from "so-called 'disadvantaged' countries" to
become heirs, but Voya's Black family faces less discrimination
than they would in the present day. The technology is additionally
thought-provoking, with a rating system for everyone's profiles to
determine approachability, and the two prominent trans characters
have new tech for transitioning per their preferences but also new
battles to fight. It's impossible not to root for Voya, who loves
cooking Trinidadian recipes and always looks out for her big, often
dysfunctional family, as she uncovers conspiracies in the witch
community. Readers will certainly be holding out until the last
page to see if Voya and her complex, nuanced family get their
much-deserved happiness.
-- BCCB * June 2021 *
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