Tomi Adeyemi

Tomi Adeyemi (born August 1, 1993) is a Nigerian-American novelist and creative writing coach. She is known for her book Children of Blood and Bone, the first in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. 2Early life Tomi Adeyemi was born on August 1, 1993 in the United States to parents who emigrated from Nigeria, and struggled financially when Adeyemi was a child. Her father was a physician in Nigeria but found employment as a taxi driver while he waited to transfer his qualifications. Adeyemi's mother worked as a cleaning woman. Adeyemi grew up in Chicago, not being exposed to her Nigerian heritage, which her parents tried to hide from her. She would later embrace her heritage as an adult, explaining, "I didn't think too much of it and I think that is the kind of an experience of the first generation. You're just trying to fit in. You don't realize how cool your culture is until you get out of that phase of trying to fit in." She would later describe one of her novels as a love letter to her culture.Adeyemi wrote her first story when she was five years old, relating, "I loved myself so much I gave myself a twin named Tomi. Everything started out fin