Do you believe in the capacity of narratives to transform the way we think about the world?

Tomi Adeyemi does. The 24 year-old author of the YA fantasy novel “The Children of Blood and Bone” (which has been on the New York Times best seller list for 12 weeks and counting) has crafted an epic tale of enchantment and high adventure that features all characters of color, inspired in part by the Orisha, a collection of Nigerian deities.

“I had never seen black people depicted it in a magical way before,” Adeyemi says of discovering the West African myths (she is the child of Nigerian immigrants). “There was this intense desire to give kids the story I always wanted, to show them black people as the heroes, to show them riding a giant lion, to show them falling in love.”

The other part of what drove Adeyemi to write her story — in which young people must rise up to fight an oppressive regime — was what she read in the headlines every day about young minorities in this country facing discrimination and violence from authorities. (According to different studies, black men aged 15-34 are between 9 and 15 times more likely to be killed by police than other groups, while unarmed victims of police shootings are more likely to be minorities.)

“I wanted it to be a substantive introduction to what's going on, what's always been going on, and the really painful things we have to fight about right now to make this country and the world a better place,” Adeyemi says.

Giving Compass recently talked with the author about social justice themes, racial disparities and the power of youth activism.

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GC: How much did the current news cycle influence “Children of Blood and Bone”?

ADEYEMI: There were a lot of times even while writing this book, where I didn't know if I would live to finish it. I am so grateful for the success — but black people are still dying, they’re still arrested for sitting in a Starbucks. Black men are still being shot in their own backyard; women are still being assaulted by the police. All that can send you into a depression. Then I see kids who give me hope, like Emma Gonzales and Naomi Wadler. So I think … it’s gonna be OK.

GC: What do older people misread most about young people?

ADEYEMI: I think the perception from adults I get is just this intellectual inferiority. Like, "You guys were just eating Tide pods, you can't possibly understand gun violence." And [the young people] respond with, "We literally just got shot at." It's devaluing and infantilizing a human life to think that you can’t understand pain.

GC: What makes you most hopeful for the future, despite all the divisions we have?

ADEYEMI: There's this idea that black children don't understand they're at risk of being shot and killed by police officers. A lot of kids are forced to face the world in really dark and ugly ways, but they're not letting youth be a reason to be ignorant. When I was traveling around the world recently, I received so many positive responses and saw such empathy. It was a good reminder that the entire world isn't on fire. There's still an entire generation of people who have a chance to undo a lot of the bad things that have been done.

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As Adeyemi reminds us, knowledge is power — and books can expand the boundaries of your imagination, opening up yourself to new ideas and new ways of thinking, an essential part of any philanthropic journey.

If you want to learn more about how YA literature is raising the social justice literacy levels of young people, be sure to check out our interview with author Nic Stone. And if you want to expand your summer reading list, Bill Gates has revealed his picks for books that should inspire entrepreneurs and activists alike.