YESENI AND THE DAUGHTER OF PEACE

An 18th-century West African teenager’s powers place her at an impasse when she faces a choice that affects countless lives.

Sixteen-year-old Elewa is a girl from the Oleba tribe, which has been at war with the Okena for years. One of Elewa’s greatest desires is for her people to experience peace. When her father becomes Oleba High Chief, her arranged marriage to the son of the Okena chief becomes part of a tentative peace treaty. At the same time, Elewa’s Yeseni, or magical gifts of vision, show her a different African nation at a time when the Europeans are brutally enslaving people on a scale far beyond the slavery that’s present in her own world. An elder tells Elewa that she may be able to time travel to prevent this tragedy—but at the risk of not being able to return to her own time and help forge the long-awaited truce. Elewa faces the agonizing difficulty of deciding whether to try to save millions from the unthinkable or focus on her duties to her immediate family and nation (even if she is uncertain about marrying someone she doesn’t love). Debut author Burrell presents an interesting dilemma, and Elewa’s first-person narration allows readers to feel connected with her as she deals with uncertainty, frustration, and other challenges both internal and external. The novel highlights themes of identity, self-discovery, family, and conflict through its imaginative premise.

An intriguing look at history and moral dilemmas through a fantasy lens.