Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Abstract

Reviewed by: Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Benton-Walker, Terry J. Blood Debts. Tor Teen, 2023 [416p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250825926 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250825933 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 Still reeling from their father’s sudden death, twins Clement and Cristina Trudeau are actually relieved to discover their ailing mother has been hexed—at least after they remove the spell, they can nurse her back to health. More troubling, however, is the likelihood that their entire family is the target of some nefarious plan, and in a New Orleans scarred by battling magical families, struggles between magic users and nonmagical people, and continued racial oppression of Black families, such as Clement and Cristina’s, the suspect list of who might be responsible is long. The estranged siblings must come together to track down clues and figure out if their recent tragedies have anything to do with a decades-old event that led to the lynching of their grandparents and the displacement of the Trudeaus from New Orleans’ magical Generational Council. Soapy melodrama and overwrought exposition unfortunately eclipse what is an otherwise fascinating world ruled by complicated magic and even more complicated people. Narration shifts between Clem and Cris, both grieving a personal loss as they navigate the traumatic secrets of both their family and community history cloaked in secrets; while both siblings are sympathetic, they tend to get mired in self-pity, stalling the narrative and muddying their voices. More successful are the third-person chapters focused on the power struggle among the magical and nonmagical groups in the city and how the past informs the current toxic dynamics. A final showdown between an army of undead and the queenly villain brings some much-needed action, and readers can hope that the cliffhanger ending will lead to a sequel that more fully explores the world and its forces for good and ill. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois