African American Bree, 16, grief stricken since her mother's death in a car accident, is in the Early College program at UNC-Chapel Hill, her mom's alma mater. When she discovers the Order of the Roundtable, a secret society dedicated to fighting Shadowborn that threaten the world, a merlin attempts to mesmer Bree so she won't remember the demon attack she witnessed, or the Order. Not only does it fail, it sparks a memory of a mesmer attempt the night her mother died. Certain someone in the Order is behind her mom's death, Bree convinces her white peer mentor/boyfriend Nick, scion of King Arthur, to sponsor her as a Page in the Order. Smoldering Sel, the merlin sworn to protect Nick, is suspicious of Bree's ability to resist mesmer. Bree doesn't understand it either, until her Black female therapist explains that African American Rootcraft runs strong in Bree, and did in Bree's mother, too. This revelation amplifies Bree's sense of loss, and her determination to find answers. One of many remarkable elements of this brilliant reimagining of a tale traditionally mired in whiteness is its direct, unflinching reckoning with racism in both the present and past, including the trauma and traumatic legacy of slavery. Bree's place in this contemporary Arthurian legend is unassailable, the reason behind it immeasurably painful, mirroring truths that resonate in our country today. A rich cast of supporting characters, including nonbinary and queer characters, adds to the pleasure and depth of a story that also examines friendship, family, loyalty, loss, and love. (Age 13 and older)

An Instant New York Times Bestseller!
Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic.

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.