‘The Gilded Ones’ Proves To Be More Fantastical Folklore That The YA Genre Needs

Deka is a good girl. She’s been one all her life, despite the fact that she doesn’t look like the people in her Northern city. She’s ignored the teasing and jokes to look forward to the one day that she’ll be marked as Pure. Then her life will begin. Of course, nothing is that easy.  Namina Forna’s debut novel, The Gilded Ones, begins with a bang and does not let up. After Deka bleeds gold, she is designated as an alaki–a unclean demonspawn–and tortured until a mysterious woman comes to her village and takes her away. This woman, White Hands, is building an army to fight against terrifying monsters called deathshrieks. Deka makes friends with the other gilded ones, gains a male partner to fight with her, and learns more about her frightening abilities. What is her story? What is she becoming?

Girlhood, Defined The Gilded Ones is a pointed commentary on how women are treated on a daily basis. At first glance, the pure/impure distinction refers to the color of a woman’s blood. But it also determines status. Impure women, while ostracized, still have a value, whether it be their golden blood or their magical fighting ability. Even Deka, with all her strengths and power, is still only a soldier, belonging to the empire. Deka’s society is steeped in misogyny and secrets, and as the novel goes on, the patriarchal layers are peeled back to reveal the ugliness inside. Women are shown to have their own important place in the world, both in the past and in the present. Deka’s…