Tomi Adeyemi’s first standalone novel is coming later this year.
Henry Holt will publish the author’s The Siren in the fall, the press announced in a news release. In the book, Holt says, Adeyemi “blends shocking contemporary storytelling with a sinister dark academic flair to create a blockbuster about rage, longing, and a woman’s darkness that will leave readers breathless.”
Adeyemi made her literary debut in 2018 with the young adult fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone, about 17-year-old Zélie, who seeks to bring magic back to the land of Orïsha. The book was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the beginning of a trilogy that continued with Children of Virtue and Vengeance and Children of Anguish and Anarchy.
All three novels in the series were No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. Children of Blood and Bone is being adapted as a film, to be directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Thuso Mbedu, Tosin Cole, Amandla Stenberg, Idris Elba, Viola Davis, and Regina King. It’s set to premiere next January.
The Siren, Holt says, will follow Emery, a Dartmouth College student who longs to join a secretive group on campus led by a charming young woman named Roux.
“The Siren is the book of my soul,” Adeyemi said in a statement. “It is the rawest, most heartbreaking and most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced writing.”
The Siren is scheduled for publication on Sept. 29.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
