Jordan Ifueko

Jordan Ifueko (born August 20, 1993) is a Nigerian-American author who primarily writes Young Adult Literature. She is the author of New York Times best-seller, Raybearer, which was published in August 2020, just before her 27th birthday. It has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Nebula and Audie Awards. Raybearer is the first novel in the Raybearer series. The second book, Redemptor, has yet to be published and is to be released for sale on August 17, 2021. 
Aside from the Raybearer series, Ifueko also writes short stories, including a short fiction in the Hugo Award nominated speculative fiction magazine, Strange Horizons. These short fictions include: "Oshun, Inc." and "Stalemate." 
== Life and Career ==
Jordan Ifueko was born in Southern California to immigrant parents from Nigeria. Her mother and father are of the Yoruba people and Edo people, respectively. Ifueko often talks about how having immigrant parents makes her feel as if she constantly has a limb in different worlds, and somehow belongs to all, yet none of them.
Ifueko was homeschooled until high school. She attended a private high school in Oregon in which her graduating class only consisted of 17 students. It is during her homeschooled years that she developed a passion for reading and writing, and during her high school years that the idea for her first novel, Raybearer, began to grow its roots. The idea of a close-knit group of children being trained to help rule an empire in Raybearer sprouted from her experience with such a small graduating class. 
Ifueko attended college at George Fox University in Oregon at the age of 16. This is where she continued to work on her novel, grew as a researcher, and ultimately as a writer. 
Ifueko now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, David and their dog, Reginald Ovahcomah.
== Influences and Culture ==
=== African textiles ===
Textiles represent a manner in which social status is declared and leadership is exercised. In Africa, more than any other art form, textiles are how history is read, told, and recorded. Even today, dress and regalia are a visible way of defining one's roles (political, religious, military, etc.). Cloth is a symbol of wealth and is synonymous with power. However, it is not only worn to display a symbol of power, but it is also given as reward to those who accomplish certain tasks and services. Textiles also offer a way to communicate. The ways in which a person uses textiles in Africa communicate details about their religious beliefs, deliver political messages, share knowledge, and provide information about the family group of a bride being courted. Ifueko emphasizes the importance of cloth in West African culture by using various textiles throughout Raybearer. 
=== Yoruba and Edo Culture ===
Ifueko's mother's side of the family is of the Yoruba people|Yoruba Tribe, while Ifueko's father's side is of the Edo people|Edo Tribe. Both are very similar and are closely related. While she was raised in a Christian household, Ifueko was raised hearing Yoruba folktales, and she incorporated the West African style of storytelling in Raybearer. Griot|Griots are orators of traditions and were exceptional historians and storytellers. They memorized masses of West African history and carried on those stories through the generations orally. As orators, these ethnic groups had to learn their history in the most beautiful way possible, so often, singing and sound effects were incorporated in their storytelling.
=== West African Mythology ===
In West African mythology, one can find the personification of the natural elements-- King Water, Empress Sky, Queen Earth. Ifueko includes King Water and Queen Earth in her fictional "god system" in Raybearer. She includes King Water and Queen Earth to emphasize that the world was born from romance. In her novel, King Water and Queen earth have children: the hills, animals, and plants. She also includes a pelican that shakes stories from its wings. Ifueko takes influences from her Nigerian heritage, as well as her own Christian views to create the unique world in which Raybearer exists. Raybearer's mythologies and deities are unique to Raybearer, but are heavily influenced by real-world cultures.
== Raybearer series ==
The Raybearer series, published by Amulet Books, consists of two novels: Raybearer (2020) and Redemptor (2021). 
Raybearer, published August 18, 2020 was influenced by Ifueko's knowledge of West African culture, and experiences as an American child of immigrants in California. In this novel, Ifueko creates a fantasy set in a world that draws from her Nigerian heritage and incorporates a twenty-first-century twist for her young adult audience. 
Raybearer follows a young girl, Tarisai, who is bound by a magical wish made by her mother, who is absent and distant in Tarisai's early life. Tarisai has the ability to see the stories of other people's lives with a single touch, while her story unfolds and is yet to be seen. A part of her life is revealed to her when she discovers that her mother, known as The Lady, is human, while her father is an "albagato," a magical being, and she was only conceived to fulfill her mother's evil wish to kill the Crown Prince. This all becomes convoluted when The Lady sends her to the city of Oluwan, the capital of the Aritsar Empire, and is welcomed into a group of other children who will train and compete to become one of the Crown Prince's closest confidants. In this newfound community, Tarisai learns and uncovers the secret histories of their world. This group of children will be trained to compete for a spot in the Crown Prince's Council of 11. If Tarisai is picked, she will be joined with the other members of a council through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. Tarisai does not want to be her mother's pawn, but she is compelled to obey her mother's wish. This novel is a test of Tarisai's strength to make her own path, or to succumb to that of her mother.
The book has received the following accolades:
* Andre Norton Award Nominee (2020)
* Kitschies Golden Tentacle (Debut) Shortlist (2020)
* NPR Best Books in December 2020
* Goodreads Choice Awards|Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2020) 
* Goodreads Choice Awards|Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Novel (2020)
* BookNest Award Nominee for Best Debut Novel (2020)
* Association for Library Service to Children's Notable Children's Books (2021)
* American Library Association's (ALA) Top Ten Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (2021)
* ALA Top Ten ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults|Best Fiction (2021)
* Ignyte Award for Best Novel for Young Adult Fiction finalist (2021)
* Audie Award for Fantasy finalist (2021)
* Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Older Readers Longlist (2021)
* Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book|Lodestar Award Nominee (2021)
The sequel was published August 17, 2021.
Category:Nigerian-American novels
Category:Nebula Award-winning works
Category:American writers
Category:1993 births