Tomi Adeyemi on the film of her hit novel Children of Blood and Bone: ‘I don’t plan to watch it’

The Guardian UK Sunday 27 September 2026, 11:00 UTC By Emma Loffhagen 1 min read

Key Points

Her debut earned a record-breaking YA book deal – then came her fallout with Hollywood. The author talks about the pressures of success and why she is pictured on the cover of her new novelThere is a photograph of Tomi Adeyemi staring out from the cover of her new novel, The Siren. It is an arresting image: her face fills the frame, unsoftened by a smile, her piercing gaze fixed directly on the viewer.

Her debut earned a record-breaking YA book deal – then came her fallout with Hollywood. The author talks about the pressures of success and why she is pictured on the cover of her new novel

There is a photograph of Tomi Adeyemi staring out from the cover of her new novel, The Siren. It is an arresting image: her face fills the frame, unsoftened by a smile, her piercing gaze fixed directly on the viewer. “It’s terrifying – like the Mona Lisa, staring at you everywhere,” she says, laughing.

Using an author portrait on the cover of a novel is highly unusual, and a decision that Adeyemi says is a statement of ownership. After 12 years spent inside the world of Children of Blood and Bone – the first book in the YA trilogy that made her a literary star and its film adaptation which has become a source of profound distress – Adeyemi wanted this book to belong unmistakably to her.

Tomi Adeyemi (PERSON) YA (ORG) Hollywood (LOCATION) the Mona Lisa (PERSON) Adeyemi (PERSON)

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Tomi Adeyemi on the film of her hit novel Children of Blood and Bone: ‘I don’t plan to watch it’

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