Music Recommendations for Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi has been out for a while now, but for some of us we’re still thinking about it. Flooded with determination, adventure, courage, and empowerment, there’s nothing quite like this book.

So here you go! A list of music for when you want to recapture those feelings (and for when you just don’t have time to reread all 544 pages…):

1) I’m So Sorry by Imagine Dragons

Nothing says “I’m a fighter” quite like this song. Zélie, Amari, Tzain–this novel is overflowing with fighters, making this song a perfect start to any Children of Blood and Bone playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/4o74y4XY1ypNZkZtZkK8Wi

2) Mars, The Bringer of War by Gustav Holst

The title says it all. Relive all of Zélie’s fighting moments, filled with her overwhelming and righteous anger.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5XagtNKNl6E0VFn2d355oe

3) Bound by Indiana

Zélie when she starts having feelings for Inan. Recurring lyric: “This isn’t love, it’s dangerous.”

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/02kVb9CNV4fsrPqx1GE7YO

4) Ut Quid, Domine from St. Luke Passion, Part 1 by Kryzysztof Penderecki

The otherworldliness of the dreamscape where Zélie and Inan first meet is captured perfectly in this song.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/3dTm2IUHGBhXsZdqmUEhq8

5) I Know I’m a Wolf by Young Heretics

More Zélie and Inan, wrapped up in their dangerous attraction for one another. However, this one is closer to Tzain’s perspective of what’s going on…

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/3P4uckrPsGv95P61CrD2mT

6) Bird Set Free by Sia

“Oh, but there’s a scream inside that we all try to hide
We hold on so tight, we cannot deny
Eats us alive, oh it eats us alive, oh
Yes, there’s a scream inside that we all try to hide
We hold on so tight but I don’t wanna die, no
I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die, yeah”

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6MowG7MRVgPfGlCMsXKMJ2

7) The Great Gate of Kiev by Modest Mussorgsky (from Pictures at an Exhibition)

This piece perfectly captures Zélie’s triumph at the end of the book. Her ability to join together with her ancestors and in their strength connect to the gods is a moment unlike any other in the book. Words just fail.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0LA9d83t4o38aoXfFRIwJz

But music succeeds.

***

What other songs capture the power, magic, and moxie of Children of Blood and Bone? Let me know in the comments below!

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