Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi

Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi (2025) is the second book in Angie Thomas’s middle-grade fantasy series. After the events of The Manifestor Prophecy, Nic lives in the magical city of Uhuru and begins to explore her gifts further at Manifestor school. However, her new life is put at risk when she is given an ultimatum by a masked figure. She must find the Book of Anansi or risk the revelation of her most closely guarded secret: She is the Manowari destined to destroy the Remarkable world. The novel explores The Tensions Between Fate and Agency, The Struggle for Power and Control, The Value of Preserving History and Cultural Heritage, and The Importance of Honesty and Responsibility.

This study guide uses the 2025 HarperCollins eBook edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of bullying, physical abuse, racism, enslavement, and death.

Plot Summary

When Nic Blake was an infant, a Prophet told her parents, Zoe and Calvin, that she is the Manowari who is destined to destroy the Remarkable world. Her father stole her away to the Unremarkable world in an effort to protect her. Shortly after Nic turned 12, her godfather, Tyran Porter, learned of the prophecy and tried to kill her because he believes that he is the Chosen One meant to save the world.

The sequel opens a few months after Nic defeated Tyran and recovered an ancient weapon called the Msaidizi. The 12-year-old lives in the Remarkable city of Uhuru with her brother, Alex. The twins divide their time between their mother’s home and the Blake family estate, where Calvin is under house arrest for kidnapping Nic 10 years ago. The Msaidizi, which assumes the form of a dragon, tells Nic that she possesses the Badili, the same power that an evil Manifestor named Roho used to destroy six Remarkable cities decades ago. The Msaidizi urges the girl to learn how to control this power before it controls her.

Nic takes the Manifest exam, which will place her in one of Uhuru’s five Manifestor schools. The test uses virtual reality to recreate a vital moment in Remarkable history, the day that a Seer named Toby helped Uhuru’s founder and Nic’s ancestor, Sarah Freeman, escape enslavement. Nic wants to free all of the enslaved people, not just the Manifestors. She attacks an overseer, drawing the attention of four armed men. Nic’s anger stirs up the Badili and causes her to glow; she hurriedly ends the test and hides in a closet. When the exam proctor forces the door open, Nic’s powers lash out and take away the Gift that enables the woman to use magic.

Nic’s grandmother is the leader of LORE, the Remarkable government. President Natalie DuForte uses her influence to conceal the incident at the exam and gives Nic an Adinkra necklace that once belonged to Sarah Freeman. The necklace is enchanted with a juju that weakens Nic’s Gift, making it easier to keep the Badili in check. Based on the decisions she made during the exam, Nic is placed in the Thorn school, which is known for producing activists and rebels.

A few weeks later, the twins’ best friend, an Unremarkable boy named JP, visits them in Uhuru. During a shopping trip, the three children are attacked by Manifestors wearing hooded cloaks and holographic masks. The leader of this mysterious organization calls themself Roho’s Apprentice and threatens to reveal to the world that Nic is the Manowari unless she retrieves the Book of Anansi.

The book is rumored to be in New Atlantis, and the twins’ school takes them on a field trip to the New Atlantis Museum of History and Art. At the museum, Nic and Alex meet Mami Wata, the ancient water spirit Anansi entrusted with his book. Mami Wata promised Anansi that she would give his book to a Manifestor child wearing an Adinkra necklace, and Nic’s arrival heralds the fulfillment of this prophecy. The water spirit explains that she divided the book into three story boxes when Roho tried to claim its reality-altering powers for himself decades ago.

Mami Wata entrusted one of the story boxes to a Mermaid named Amina. LORE claims that she was killed by hellhounds and that the box was lost, but Mami Wata suspects they’re lying. The children learn that Amina was killed by Roho’s followers near the Fairy city of Redwood. Nic, Alex, and JP disguise themselves and sneak into a wellness center run by a Fairy named Lady Thema. Lady Thema took the story box from the injured Amina and allowed her to die because the Fairy bears a grudge against Anansi. With help from Amina’s ghost and the Msaidizi, Nic, Alex, and JP recover the first story box.

Mami Wata thanks Nic by giving her the second story box and telling her that the third is under the protection of a Giant named Magnus Marigold. The water spirit reveals that the Book of Anansi contains dangerous prophecies, and Nic resolves not to search for the third story box even though Roho’s Apprentice threatened to reveal her secret if she doesn’t comply.

When Nic returns to school, her peers are afraid of her because Tyran released a message accusing her of taking the exam proctor’s Gift. Calvin and Zoe rush the twins to the Blake family estate, where they give Nic a truth potion. She tells them all about the Apprentice and the search for the Book of Anansi, as well as the anger and pain she feels because she believes they fear her. Suddenly, the Apprentice attacks the mansion and abducts the twins’ parents. The Apprentice takes the two story boxes Nic has retrieved and tells her that she has three days to find the third and save her parents.

LORE now knows that President DuForte lied about the exam proctor, and they try to apprehend Nic. The twins escape to Nic’s old home in Jackson, where they and JP plan a heist to steal the last story box from Magnus Marigold’s casino. Their plan goes awry when the Giant catches the children and demands the Msaidizi, but they manage to seize the story box. As Nic, Alex, and JP are about to escape the casino, the Apprentice transports them to Roho’s abandoned colony under Jackson, Mississippi.

The Apprentice reveals that they have pledged to serve the Manowari. They perform a ritual with the Book of Anansi to unlock the full strength of the Badili in the hope that she will use this power to restore Roho and destroy the Remarkable world. Nic has a vision in which Toby tells her that no one will ever control her again once she takes control of her power. Using the Badili, she frees herself and her friends and family, but she accidentally causes an earthquake. The Apprentice escapes with the Book of Anansi. Nic opens a portal and sends her loved ones to safety before pursuing Tyran, who was also held captive by the Apprentice. Tyran accuses Nic of being a threat to the world and attempts to kill her. She resolves not to harm him and accidentally sends him through a vortex into an unknown location.

The Msaidizi flies Nic back to Uhuru, where she reunites with her friends and family. Nic accuses her grandmother of trying to control her out of fear, but President DuForte insists that her actions are for the greater good. Nic’s grandfather, a powerful Manifestor who defeated Roho, offers to teach her how to control the Badili. A few days later, Nic and Alex receive a distressed message from JP and hurry to Jackson, where they discover that their friend is now a Prophet.