NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the sequel to the “unforgettable” ( People ), New York Times bestselling fantasy debut Blood at the Root, a Black teenager with magical powers returns to Caiman University only to find new dangers and new secrets. It's Homecoming season at Caiman University, and all 17-year-old Malik Baron wants to do is be a regular college student…or as regular as he can get at a magical HBCU for young, Black Conjurers. He’s ready to go to parties, hang out with his new friends, choose a major, and talk to girls. Instead, he's reeling from a summer of revelations, heartbreak and betrayal, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy. The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair, and a new relative who shows up on his doorstep brings even more questions. Then there’s the mother he risked everything to find, who might be the biggest threat to the life he's trying to build. To protect his new community, Malik joins an elite secret society with roots in ancient magic. His journey takes him even deeper into his own heritage and the history of the magical world, while bringing him closer to a classmate whose friendship might mean something more, if Malik is ready to let her in. But how can he use powers he can’t even control to defend a world he’s not sure will ever fully accept him? And as the pressure and danger builds, will he be able to confront the deepening cracks within the magical society, and those building within himself? “This thrilling sequel lives up to its promise....The novel's smooth integration of action and introspection keep the pages turning, and threads of romance, family, history, and personal integrity come together, well, rather magically. A great pick for fans of magic school stories .” — Common Sense Media "A story as magically cool as it is emotionally heated." — Kirkus Reviews "Williams emphasizes heartfelt messages about the importance of Black men’s mental health and fostering a queer-inclusive community....A cliff-hanger ending ensures that readers will return to Caiman University in a heartbeat ." — Booklist LaDarrion Williams is a Los Angeles based-playwright, filmmaker, author, and screenwriter whose goal is to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy, providing space and agency for Black characters and stories in a new, fresh and fantastical way. He is currently a resident playwright/co-creator of The Black Creators Collective, where his play UMOJA made its West Coast premiere in January 2022 and produced North Hollywood’s first Black playwrights festival at the Waco Theater Center. Blood at the Root is his first novel. His viral and award-winning short film based on the same concept, is currently on YouTube and Amazon Prime. Chapter One Legends never die. You really only hear that statement when celebrities die. Not regular folks. Death be having folks do funny things. It definitely have folks make their little social me-dia posts offering up their hundred-and-forty-character prayers and then they keep it pushing. What about those who were taken away from us so early or so fast that we haven’t even gotten to know yet? Does death care? Naw. Death doesn’t give a fuck that you’re sad, that you cry, that you stop living, because no matter what, the world is gonna keep moving. Grief got me feeling a myriad of things. Guilty, sad, fired up, and angry. Truth be told, the shit is exhausting. In the late nights after my nightmares, I look up the stages of grief. There are seven of them, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not too sure what stage I’m on. But the way life is life’ing right now, I ain’t got time to think about it. On top of all that, I have to do what Baron Samedi says. Be a kid. Have fun. It’s like, when I made that promise, it was a magical bond, and every part of me has to uphold it. So, I’ve been doing just that. Going to class, hanging out with the crew, trying to forget about what happened this past summer. I can’t forget, though. Honestly, I will say Baron Samedi got me thinking on the “be a kid” thing. Being a kid just reminds me of innocence and pure joy. No worries, no pain, nothing. But come to find out, Black boy joy doesn’t mean it comes without trials and tribula-tions. Nah. That’s just life. And being stuck between joy and pain since I came into this fucked-up world is gonna have me confront some things head-on and not sweep them under the rug. You can’t escape your problems anymore because the tables will always turn. All in all, when I think of legends never dying, everybody in the magical community talk about Mama Aya too. She may not be a celebrity, but she was well known around here in the magical community, and she will forever be the GOAT in my book. Even though she’s dead and gone. Well, not dead. Transitioned. Saying death demeans it and erases her existence here, so I say transition to help me feel a bit better. Appearing in my hands are my new pair of Auditori nois