Purity. That’s all Deka, and all the girls her age in her village, pray for as the day of their Ritual of Purity draws nearer, in Namina Forna’s The Gilded Ones. On this day, after being sheltered all their lives to ensure that they never bleed once, those who bleed red blood will be accepted into the village with open arms. For those who bleed gold, however, they will be shunned as demons, facing death as their families are forever shamed. 

Already an outsider because of her mother being a Southerner, a lot is riding on this ceremony for Deka. But when things go horribly wrong and she finds herself alone and treated like a monster because of the golden blood in her veins, she’s completely lost. At the very worst of her desperation, betrayed by loved ones and brutally killed repeatedly, a saving grace comes in the form of a woman she nicknames White Hands. White Hands offers her a way out of her suffering. She offers Deka purity—but at a price. The emperor is building an army of alaki, girls with golden blood with strange magical abilities, to fight the deathshrieks that terrorize their world. Only when Deka serves the emperor for 20 years will purity be granted to her. 

Deka knows she’s different. Even for an alaki, she’s something more. It’s something she’s always felt, something she’s inherited from her late mother. The other alaki might be almost invincible and heal from being killed nearly every way, but Deka feels a connection to the deathshrieks. They listen to her, in a way that shouldn’t be natural. 

The book is full of rich worldbuilding and the history of the alaki is well written. On the other hand, for some readers, Deka’s uniqueness was a flaw of the story. Many characters are well formed with depth and personal struggles, but at times in the story, they can be reduced to as only relevant to support Deka—something that is explicitly stated in the book. Additionally, for a YA book that may appeal to younger readers, it contains a fair amount of gore and violence to be wary of. Mature themes of trauma, death, and abuse are also prevalent themes that are impossible to ignore. 

Despite its heavier content, The Gilded Ones is an engaging book full of mystery and an adventure that captivates readers. Through fantasy and Deka’s story, Forna tackles topics of sexism, problematic societies, and sisterhood.