After the success of Emily Knight I Am.., comes the second book in the Emily Knight series by British YA author A. Bello. Emily Knight is a young black girl with superpowers. Rich, pretty, talented and famous, she has only just begun to discover who she is and how to live her life as a warrior.
But now, Emily must also grapple with the fact that the evil Neci is back and determined to destroy everything by starting a war. With a target on her back, Emily must get stronger and faster and sharpen her powers in order to defeat Neci and her followers. She must also learn to trust those around her and face her deepest fears.
I really, really enjoyed reading this! So much more than I expected to, by the end, I was like “Where is book 3? Please don’t leave me hanging like this!” For anyone who loves superheroes such as the X-Men, and harboured fantasies of being a pupil at Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters as I did! Or even fans of the Harry Potter series, you will definitely enjoy the adventures of Emily Knight and her friends.
But more than that, A. Bello has created a diverse cast of characters, some of whom look like me and to whom are completely relatable. Intelligent, at times volatile, inspirational and at the same time vulnerable, Emily is the hero that every young girl or boy should have to look up to.
Emily Knight I Am…Awakened is the kind of novel that I really wanted growing up. As a younger book nerd, I generally looked to the US for characters (and authors) of colour. But now thankfully the times are changing and I’m really glad that finally there is something to fill the gap. Hopefully, it won’t be the last of it’s kind either from A. Bello or other budding YA/Fantasy writers of colour in the UK. Seriously when is book 3 out? I need my fix!
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Also available at Hashtag Press.
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