Where the Black Flowers Bloom

Description: When ghoulish creatures kill twelve-year-old Asha's guardian, her dying words launch Asha on a quest to stop an ancient evil, and along the way, she uncovers shocking secrets about the family she never knew and begins to find her place in the world as she discovers her own untapped powers.

Brief description:

Ronald L. Smith is the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning author of several novels for young readers, including Hoodoo, The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away, Gloom Town, Project Mercury, and the Black Panther: The Young Prince series. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. To learn more, visit strangeblackflowers.com.

Review Quotes:

(Where the Black Flowers Bloom) "A captivating quest for family, magic, and belonging." - Kirkus Reviews

(Where the Black Flowers Bloom) "Inspired by African mythology and folklore, this lushly wrought hero's journey touches deftly on themes of family, fate, forgiveness, and justice." - Publishers Weekly

(Where the Black Flowers Bloom) "Elaborate worldbuilding will draw readers in. . . . Hand this to young readers seeking adventurous new fantasy." - School Library Journal

(Where the Black Flowers Bloom) "A wild and beautiful coming-of-age story of a girl who has far more power than she knows." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books