THE GILDED ONES

413pp., paperback, London, 2021

The first volume in a feminist fantasy trilogy for young adults.

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in Otera, a patriarchal ancient kingdom, where a woman's worth is tied to her purity, and she must bleed to prove it. When Deka bleeds gold - the colour of impurity, of a demon - a mysterious woman tells her that she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts and can choose to fight for the Emperor with others like herself, or be destroyed.

"Haunting, brutal, and oh-so-relevant. This book will suck you into a world where girls bleed gold, magic fills the air, and the real monsters hide behind words instead of claws." Roseanne A. Brown, author of A Song of Wrath and Ruin

“Namina Forna Could Be The Toni Morrison Of YA Fantasy.” Refinery 29 

Namina Forna was born in Sierra Leone and moved to the USA with her family when she was nine years old. The Gilded Ones is her debut novel.