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Akata Witch

(Akata Witch #1)

Nnedi Okorafor (Goodreads Author)

4.06 · Rating details · 23,418 ratings · 4,046 reviews

Sunny Nwazue lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. Her features are West African, but she's albino. She's a terrific athlete, but can't go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing—she is a "free agent" with latent magical power. And she has a lot of catching up to do.

Soon she's pa ...more

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Paperback, 349 pages

Published July 11th 2017 by Speak (first published April 14th 2011)

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Nov 07, 2013 Rick Riordan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I spent the weekend with a great book: Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. As you can guess, I’m a sucker for all kinds of mythology, and this middle grade/YA fantasy is steeped in the myth and magic of Nigeria.

Our main character is Sunny, a twelve-year-old girl born in the U.S. but recently moved to her parents’ homeland of Nigeria. Sunny stands out in more ways than one – she’s albino, she’s a prodigy at soccer, and she’s teased at school for being an akata (literally a ‘wild animal’) because she i I spent the weekend with a great book: Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. As you can guess, I’m a sucker for all kinds of mythology, and this middle grade/YA fantasy is steeped in the myth and magic of Nigeria.

Our main character is Sunny, a twelve-year-old girl born in the U.S. but recently moved to her parents’ homeland of Nigeria. Sunny stands out in more ways than one – she’s albino, she’s a prodigy at soccer, and she’s teased at school for being an akata (literally a ‘wild animal’) because she is from America. Sunny also has to deal with her family’s complicated past. Her grandmother, whom Sunny never met, was a mysterious figure that Sunny’s mother refuses to talk about, and Sunny’s parents aren’t exactly clear about why they decided to move Sunny back to Nigeria.

Then one night during a blackout, Sunny stares into a candle’s flame and sees a horrifying vision of the end of the world. This is the first sign that Sunny is not like other kids. Her powers have begun to awaken.

Soon, Sunny makes three new friends who introduce her to the secret world of magic. There is Orlu, her classmate, a kind-hearted boy who has a natural talent for undoing juju spells. There is Chichi, a girl with a smart mouth and a quick wit, who doesn’t go to school and lives in a tiny hut with her strange mother and hundreds of books. Then there is Sasha, an African American boy from Chicago, who was sent to Nigeria for corrective education after terrorizing his classmates back home with an evil spirit – a masquerade.

Sunny learns that she is one of the Leopard People, a subset of humans who have strong links to the spirit world. The Leopards (as opposed to the Lambs, regular people) have their own society, with centers of juju learning throughout the world. In Nigeria, their town is called Leopard Knocks, and can only be reached by crossing an invisible bridge over a magical river.

As Sunny begins to master her own powers, she realizes the world is a much more incredible and dangerous place than she imagined. Even the simplest lesson – like visiting a teacher’s house in a forest – could be fatal – and Sunny quickly realizes that she and her three friends are being trained to work as a team for a vital mission. A serial killer is on the loose: Black Hat Otokoto, who is stealing and killing children, often removing their eyes in the process. If that’s not creepy enough, Black Hat is secretly a powerful magician working the most evil kind of juju with human sacrifices. If Sunny and her friends can’t stop him, Sunny’s apocalyptic vision will come true. Can four young Leopard People master enough magic and learn to work together to stop a killer? The answer is by no means certain.

The book’s premise may sound familiar – a secret society of magic practitioners in the modern world, a group of friends who must master their powers to stop a terrible evil sorcerer. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that Leopard People vs. Lambs is just a takeoff on Wizards vs. Muggles, or Demigods vs. Mortals, or any number of other fantasies in which the heroes find they are special and magical. Sure, Akata Witch has some structural similarities (I particularly loved the fact that ADHD and dyslexia may be signs that you are a Leopard Person – great minds think alike, etc.) but Okorafor’s book is firmly rooted in West African myth, which opens up a world as wondrous as Hogwarts but as different as pepper soup is from tea and crumpets.

There are too many wonders in this book to describe them all: an artist wasp that builds sculptures out of crumbs and will sting you unless you praise its skill; a juju-powered bus called the funky train, driven by a fast-cussing man named Jesus’s General; a sorceress who lives in a hut at the top of a palm tree; juju knives that can cut pockets out of the air, summon music or carve force fields; and horrible spirits called masquerades, who appear from termite mounds and wield powers so terrible they will kill you or drive you insane if not summoned properly.

In the world of Leopard People, money is called chittim, and can only be gained by learning. Whenever you cast a new spell or find out something important about your powers, magic money literally falls from the sky – copper the most valuable, gold the least valuable. Any video game fan will appreciate the idea of coins appearing when you defeat an enemy, and personally I felt like chittim fell at my feet whenever I learned about a new monster, spirit or god from Nigerian myth – which happened a lot.

I used to teach a unit on African folklore in my classroom, but it’s such a huge subject I never really got to do it justice. We would read the animal fables of the Ashanti from Ghana and learn the adinkra symbols. We would read Yoruba myths from Nigeria and learn about the ancient gold-rich kingdoms. We would eventually work our way down to the DR Congo and I would tell the heroic epic of Mwindo from the Nyanga people (Nkuba the lightning hedgehog – best character ever). Still, there are so many cultures in West Africa alone, one could spend a whole year learning stories of gods and heroes and only scratch the surface.

If you’re tiring of knights, dragons and Merlin-type wizards and are interested in exploring a fresh and different world of magic, try Akata Witch. It’s jam-packed with mythological wonders. Because it is so rich and so different from standard Euro-fantasy fare, some readers may take a little time getting oriented and keeping all the details straight, but it’s well worth the journey. Best of all, the book hints at future adventures for Sunny and her friends. I can’t wait to read more! ...more

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Jan 25, 2019 Miranda Reads rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

We embrace those things that make us unique or odd. For only in these things can we locate and then develop our most individual abilities.

Sunny was born in New York, but recently moved back to her homeland (Aba, Nigeria) and that transition has not been easy.

She's bullied for her "American-ness", her weirdness and above all, for her skin, she's an albino African American.

All Sunny wants is to do what other, normal, twelve-year-olds can do - play soccer in the sun, laugh with a bun ...more

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Apr 23, 2018 J.L. Sutton rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What is really compelling about Nnedi Okorafor's Akata Witch wasn't the plot (which is solid), but the sense that you were reading about a totally different magical world which exists alongside a reality which is equally unfamiliar (in Nigeria). Okorafor draws from Nigerian folk beliefs and rituals, and lets us into this world little by little as our protagonist discovers her own unique abilities. Some reviewers have compared the novel to J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book and (in terms of t ...more

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Jul 30, 2020 Samantha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

TW: brief mentions of child abuse; some fatphobic language

I listened to this on audio and it was so immersive. This was a unique magic system based in Nigerian folklore. Our MC was raised in America but has lived in Nigeria for years. This story explores themes of ethnicity and race, belonging, ancestry, and sexism. This book did struggle with some pacing issues and the characters not always feeling as young as they were supposed to be. But overall, I enjoyed this story and world, and I plan to ...more

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Sep 09, 2020 megs_bookrack rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Nnedi Okorafor's, Akata Witch, is an absolute treat for any YA, or Middle Grade Reader, who loves magical training, or competitions.

I was blown away by how invested I became in this story. The lore, the action and the relationships were all beautifully done.

Sunny, a 12-year old albino girl, who recently moved from New York City to Aba, Nigeria, has a difficult time fitting in.

When people look at her, they seem to immediately pass judgement because she looks different.

At ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 Bradley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-shelf, fantasy, ya

What can I say? It felt very much like book one of Harry Potter in terms of plot and situation, only milder and set in Nigeria.

It shouldn't have felt milder. Objectively, there were child mutilations and a serial murderer on the loose. And there wasn't some gigantic castle with enchantments up to protect the students. So theoretically, if I were one of these four kids, I'd be creaming my pants.

Brushing that aside, the setting is deeply fascinating to me, with magics very tied to the place and cu ...more

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Jul 11, 2017 Taryn rated it really liked it

Shelves: received-from-publisher, prh-first-to-read, young-adult, children

Twelve-year-old Sunny's family moved from the United States to their native Nigeria when she was nine years old. Even though her family is originally from Nigeria, Sunny is always an outsider amongst her schoolmates. She's American by birth and albino, both traits that make her a target for bullies. When she has a terrifying vision of the end of the world, she discovers yet another quality that sets her apart from the rest of the community. She's a Leopard, a person with magical abilities. With ...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Kim Miner Litton rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

So torn on this one about giving it a 3 or 4 star rating.

Pros: Love that the story is set in Africa, with African and African American main characters, as well as an albino. Also, it goes the Percy Jackson route of explaining that what we call "learning disabilities" like ADD and dyslexia, are just bi-products of their uniqueness as magicians. The world building is fantastic. We often see magic from a European point of view and it was really cool to see this fresh take.

Cons: When I was told that ...more

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Nov 20, 2013 D rated it did not like it · review of another edition

If you're looking for an interesting example of non-Eurocentric worldbuilding, then pick up this book. If you're looking for a good plot and sound characterisation, you can probably find better.

In terms of setting, this book is fantastic: it's interesting, different and a nice change from the super-Euro default setting of most urban fantasy novels. The world-building, although we're not shown much outside of the character's immediate area, is fantastic and gives a good impression of what the glo If you're looking for an interesting example of non-Eurocentric worldbuilding, then pick up this book. If you're looking for a good plot and sound characterisation, you can probably find better.

In terms of setting, this book is fantastic: it's interesting, different and a nice change from the super-Euro default setting of most urban fantasy novels. The world-building, although we're not shown much outside of the character's immediate area, is fantastic and gives a good impression of what the global situation is in this universe, not just the local one.

The novel also focuses on female characters, and their families play an important (if background) role to the story. The characters themselves are fairly diverse, with Igbo as well as other tribes represented, and physical traits like albinism appearing alongside mental ones like dyslexia. So that was nice! As someone with dyslexia, I found the depiction of it to be a little baffling, but the fact it is even shown was nice.

However, while the world-building is great, I found the plot weak and the characters unbelievable. The adult characters are all alternatively useless and terrible, and the children are placed with an absurd amount of responsibility for no discernible reason - although the older characters consistently say they'll explain later, you'll never get an explanation worth the suspension of belief. Even a pokey explanation would have been better, because the alternative is that all the adult characters come across as mildly psychopathic, and/or possibly trying to kill and/or tramuatise these kids in the weirdest, most off-handed way.

The child protagonists aren't much better. Their personalities are not very well defined - apart from his casual sexism, it's hard for me to think of ways that Sunny, the protagonist, is different from her young schoolmate Orlu. Part of this is because the characters don't really grow throughout the novel. They undergo a number of different tramuatising events, but they never actually experience consequences - for example, although a man is killed directly in front of them and the children are all horrified, they get over it in a handful of pages and it is never mentioned again. This is a consistent theme throughout the book, and is exemplified in the final scenes. Things may happen to the characters, but if they're not affected by them, then what's the point?

Finally, as the most minor issue, I found the book's handling of American blacks to be slightly strange. The primary protagonist is from America, but identifies primarily as Nigerian throughout the book, which is not the issue. The problem is that the only American who identifies as such is Sasha, who is a juvenile delinquent who refers to himself "as a descendent of slaves and such", cracks jokes about soul food, "cornbread, fried chicken and collared greens" and whom other characters constantly talk about his weird, girly name. Any of those traits by themselves would be fine, but when he is also the only character that continuously brings up racism and those are all his defining characteristics, it gets weird.

ETA, 10/17/2018: I wrote this review when I was a great deal more mealy-mouthed than I am today, so for clarification: I find this book's handling of American blacks to be explicitly racist, in case the descriptions above don't make that entirely clear, and more a caricature of what people think the culture is / the people within it are than an actual portrayal of a genuine character. ...more

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Feb 10, 2017 Laurie Anderson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: best-of-the-best

BRILLIANT fantasy set in Nigeria and a fantasy world unlike any I've ever read before! Great world-building, character development and imagery! Hoping that this is a series with many, many installments because I want to journey back! ...more

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Jul 24, 2020 Magrat Ajostiernos rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, fantasía

De nuevo, Okorafor me ha hecho disfrutar de lo lindo con otro de sus libros.
Le tengo un cariño especial a esta autora porque me enseñó que había otra manera de escribir fantasía y ciencia ficción (se que no fue la primera ni mucho menos, pero sí fue la primera para mi).
En este libro nos plantea una historia "clásica" de middle grade o infantil/juvenil, de una niña de 12 años destinada a salvar el mundo. Muchos la comparan con Harry Potter, cosa que de lo que la autora se ha quejado en repetidas De nuevo, Okorafor me ha hecho disfrutar de lo lindo con otro de sus libros.
Le tengo un cariño especial a esta autora porque me enseñó que había otra manera de escribir fantasía y ciencia ficción (se que no fue la primera ni mucho menos, pero sí fue la primera para mi).
En este libro nos plantea una historia "clásica" de middle grade o infantil/juvenil, de una niña de 12 años destinada a salvar el mundo. Muchos la comparan con Harry Potter, cosa que de lo que la autora se ha quejado en repetidas ocasiones. Ciertamente recuerda a Harry tanto como recuerda a cualquier libro de fantasía/ aventuras de middle grade porque todos tienen argumentos y situaciones coincidentes, no es algo que inventase J K ni mucho menos.
Lo que tiene Bruja Akata es su maravillosa ambientación nigeriana. No solo hablo del contexto, absolutamente todo termina siendo especial, diferente, enormemente imaginativo y cargado de las costumbres y mitología africanas. Desde las terroríficas mascaradas a los nsibidi.
Yo no puedo explicaros con palabras lo que he disfrutado con este libro, para mi ha sido como volver a casa con este tipo de historias que tanto disfruto pero con un aire fresco totalmente distinto.
Es cierto que casi todo el libro tiene aire de "descubrimiento", de ir conociendo ese mundo de los leopardos, de esos brujos a los que pertenece nuestra protagonista, Sunny. Y eso es lo que más me gusta a mi, no tanto las batallas o los conflictos como ir conociendo personajes secundarios y lugares extraños.
En el lado negativo, algo que siempre me ocurre con los libros de Okorafor: no acabo de conectar con sus personajes. Es cierto que Sunny, la protagonista, me ha encantado, así como los secundarios me han llamado mucho la atención. Pero al grupo de amigos es muy plano y creo que le falta algo, pasa lo mismo con la familia de Sunny. Espero que en los próximos libros desarrolle más estos personajes, pero ya se que con esta autora los personajes son lo de menos (al menos para mi).
Y deseando estoy de leer 'Akata Warrior', su continuación, porque el mundo que ha imaginado la autora me ha entusiasmado.
Si os gustan las novelas fantásticas infantiles/juveniles tenéis que leerlo :) ...more

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May 25, 2020 Charlotte rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: poc-author, women-and-nb-of-speculative-fiction

"The ones with attitude have the best light.”

So What’s It About? (from Goodreads)

"Akata Witch transports the reader to a magical place where nothing is quite as it seems. Born in New York, but living in Aba, Nigeria, twelve-year old Sunny is understandably a little lost. She is albino and thus, incredibly sensitive to the sun. All Sunny wants to do is be able to play football and get through another day of school without being bullied. But once she befriends Orlu and Chichi, Sunny is plunged in ...more

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Jan 31, 2018 Melanti rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, e-book, group-reads, library, young-adult

Sorry, I wish I liked this but I don't. I normally love Okorafor's writing, but this particular one is terribly written and poorly edited.

I really enjoyed the setting (Nigeria) and use of African culture and magic, but it really suffers from being too formulaic and derivative - it takes a huge number of its plot points from Harry Potter. Don't get me wrong, I loved Harry Potter, but I don't think this one did its own thing nearly enough.

For instance, the Leopard (wizard) kids took a magic train Sorry, I wish I liked this but I don't. I normally love Okorafor's writing, but this particular one is terribly written and poorly edited.

I really enjoyed the setting (Nigeria) and use of African culture and magic, but it really suffers from being too formulaic and derivative - it takes a huge number of its plot points from Harry Potter. Don't get me wrong, I loved Harry Potter, but I don't think this one did its own thing nearly enough.

For instance, the Leopard (wizard) kids took a magic train (Knight Bus) to a market (Diagon Alley) that Lambs (muggles) couldn't see. They then went to get the Free Agent (muggle born) main character her own juju knife (wand) which she gets from a quirky and strange man (Olivander) who muses about how curious her knife is - but never explains the significance of this particular blade - and further, this is the only possible knife she can get cause the wand chooses the wizard.

And that's only a couple of chapters... There's dozens more parallels in the book.

Frankly, really meaningful, emotional things seem to have no consequences... The kids witness someone dying and are upset - but within a page, they've seemingly forgotten all about it and have started enthusiastically playing an elaborate soccer match. More time is spent on this ultimately pointless soccer match than is spent in the climax of the book!

In the climax, the adults of the book push the kids towards a confrontation, without any real effort to give them training to help them win, nor any real consideration for the kids' survival or safety. The main character is 12 for crying out loud. They had no business to do that.

Finally, there's some pretty horrible editing errors. Sunny is from New York - but in the prologue she says she's from Chicago, and in another section she implies she's gone to school in Nigeria since she was 5. Her aunt simultaneously lives in Atlanta and works in NYC. Sunny caught malaria when she was 2 - yet she couldn't have caught it when she was 2 because she was living in the United States at the time. So, unless she took an unmentioned vacation, malaria would have been impossible.

So, in general, this is just a huge, huge disappointment for me.
It'd probably read better for the target audience (lower end of the YA scale) but just doesn't hold up to my adult skepticism. ...more

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Jul 21, 2016 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read2016, sci-fi-fantasy, ya, location-nigeria, location-africa, africa2016

After seeing the author read from what will be Akata Witch #2, I realized I had overlooked a book I should seek out. Akata Witch soon pulled itself ahead of the other books in my tbr pile.

If you like books about magic, particularly teens finding out they have special abilities, learning to use them, and building a community with others like them, this is the book for you. Added to those well-loved tropes is a new landscape with new traditions and rules. Setting it in Nigeria, with Igbo people b ...more

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Aug 03, 2020 Mari rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, book-clubs, childrens-middle-grade, diverse-recs, fantasy

This was House Salt's July book club read. Check out our live show here.

3.5 stars

Things that worked: I went on a whole journey with the fact that this is usually compared to Harry Potter. On the one hand, I hate that we overuse HP as a comp title, especially for fantasy written by non-white authors. On the other hand, there were a lot of times that while reading this reminded me of Harry Potter. And because I'm writing this is 2020, when lots of people are looking to replace those books in some ...more

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Oct 13, 2016 Arlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: african lit lovers, ya lovers, witchcraft and wizard lovers

Shelves: readsoullit, favorites, audio, fantastical

5 Damn Stars!

THIS WAS SOOO GOOD!!!

Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up, but it didn't take me long to realize what a gem I had stumbled upon.

Okay so Sunny is an albino girl, of 12-ish, and she gets a glimpse of what is to happen in her world, but she isn't all the way sure of what she saw in the flames that night (not a spoiler, it's in the prologue). Normally she is reduced to name calling, being left out, picked on all because, kids are cruel, and albinism is not looked ...more

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Jul 16, 2018 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, inclusive-book-bingo

I sincerely adored this novel. It's definitely geared towards a younger crowd, but I think it was the perfect palate cleanser after finishing Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem series.

It's set in Nigeria, and bounces back and forth between what seems like a smallish country village and a larger village set in the jungle. It's both lush and gritty. You get a sense of the dust in the air, the heat, the plant and insect life. The characters are unique, their voices believable. Sunny especially, I was i I sincerely adored this novel. It's definitely geared towards a younger crowd, but I think it was the perfect palate cleanser after finishing Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem series.

It's set in Nigeria, and bounces back and forth between what seems like a smallish country village and a larger village set in the jungle. It's both lush and gritty. You get a sense of the dust in the air, the heat, the plant and insect life. The characters are unique, their voices believable. Sunny especially, I was incredibly fond of. She is albino, so she stands out from the other kids and experiences quite a bit of bullying. Yet she never stopped to feel sorry for herself, never wished she was something else, never let it stop her or get her down. Her relationship with her mother was also beautiful, and I am thrilled Okorafor focused on that relationship more than any possible romantic ones.

The magical and cultural elements were so much fun. I loved the idea of the chittim falling from the sky as the kids learned, rewarding team work and wisdom rather than greed and a lust for power. A lot of mythical creatures were included in the story, some fun and some scary.

I'm torn on whether the content is necessarily appropriate for middle grade. There is a serial killer on the loose and he is abducting, mutilating and killing children. I'm sort of sensitive to these things but I didn't feel that it was all that graphic here. To me, graphic is when a character witnesses it up close and personal, describing it in detail, here, it was mentioned in passing as newspaper articles. So I think it depends a lot on the person reading it as to whether it would be too scary or not.

There were a couple things holding it back from being a five star read for me. The first was the believability factor. I can't really expand on this more without some serious spoilers, but it only really struck me in a couple places. Being a fantasy, I was able to ignore it pretty easily. The second was that the climax all happened in one very quick chapter and it didn't seem like it was given much thought. This is definitely a book about the journey and not the destination, so again, I can look past it in favor of all the other things there were to love.

I will definitely be checking out Akata Warrior and Okorafor's other works in the future. I would recommend this to anyone looking for something different from the standard fantasy. ...more

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Jun 26, 2017 Sarah Marie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, first-to-read, fantasy, favorites, great-heroine, i-would-buy-a-copy-because-i-need-t, magic, mind-blown-from-the-awesomeness, pretty-covers, romance

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

First in the Akata Witch series

4.5 stars

"Lies are a thing of the physical world. They can't exist in the spirit world."

Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born in America. She is both Nigerian and American. An outsider who belongs. Sunny is different from her family in more ways than one. She’s albino, but she has also seen the end of the world in the flame of a candle. She’s a free agent— a Leopard Person who is not from a family of Leopard People. She has no knowl

...more

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Oct 11, 2020 Nenia ✨️ Socially Awkward Trash Panda ✨️ Campbell marked it as wishlist

Shelves: ya-ya-land, fantasy, poc-interracial

*COMES INTO YOUR MENTIONS LIKE A RECCING BALL*

Hi everyone this book is on sale for $2.99 right now, so if you like me were waiting for a price drop, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE

Edit: This is going to be my next read after I finish WOLF OF OREN-YARO. I actually cheated and read about 25% of it already and I really like it. Don't be worried by the comparisons to Harry Potter, that's really not the best. It's more like THE MAGICIANS, but set in Nigeria, and the characters are actually likable.

Also, people ha ...more

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May 29, 2011 Uche Ogbuji rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nigeria, friends-and-family, culture

I'll just quote fromt he conclusion of my TNB review:

What I personally love best about the novel is how well it plays on the confusion of identities that affect so many Nigerians, especially those who've split time between Nigeria and the U.S. or Europe as children. I certainly remember returning from America to Nigeria at the age of ten, after seven years abroad, and encountering hostility and ridicule as an outsider, feeling as if I didn't really belong on any of the three continents I'd calle

...more

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Feb 22, 2018 Justine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-read

I really enjoyed this. One of the things I love about Okorafor's writing is the unique voice she brings to her stories. Her characters come alive easily for the reader, and they are all so individual and unique.

Aside from anything else, this book does a great job delving into questions of identity. Although this is a typical theme for YA stories, it is also one that seems particularly important here. Sunny is confronted with understanding herself from many sides: her place as an American born N ...more

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Feb 10, 2019 Kiera rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, fantasy, ya, battle-of-the-books

This Young Adult novel set in Nigeria follows Sunny who was born in New York and looks African but is albino. Sunny feels like she doesn't fit in. Untill her friends Orlu and Chichi reveal that they have magical abilities, and so does Sunny. But Sunny and her friends have been asked to track down a serial killer who's abilities are much stronger than theirs.

I am in love with this story.

It felt kind of Harry Potter-ish, if Harry was a girl and the story was set in Nigeria. The whole thing with b ...more

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Jul 30, 2017 Diana rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: dnfed

EDIT: I tried again but DNF'ed at page 83. I feel as disconcerted as Sunny because I feel like there's all this info dump, and all that craziness about thr Leopard people and the society (buildings, schools, etc) hiding behind a bridge, and I don't know, I just couldn't take the leap of faith required to follow the story because I felt no conexion to the characters or to the story itself. Instead it all seemed kinda rushed to me, like instead of taking its time to ease the reader into the story ...more

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Sep 22, 2016 Book Riot Community added it · review of another edition

Shelves: swords-and-spaceships-recs

Born in New York City, but living in Nigeria, twelve-year-old Sunny feels like she’s straddling two worlds. This becomes even more true when she discovers her magical abilities and enters the world of Leopard people. This book is one of the most original and woke fantasy stories I’ve ever read. It openly discusses bullying, racism, beauty standards, police brutality in the United States, and greed. All month I’ve been recommending this book to everyone I meet, kids and adults alike.

— Alison Dohe ...more

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Jun 19, 2017 Latanya (Crafty Scribbles) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: school libraries, libraries, movie companies

Shelves: black-diaspora, food-for-the-melaninated-soul, fantasy, ya

(Full Review at http://www.craftyscribbles.com)

Okay. Let's discuss the elephant in the room. Akata Witch has been nicknamed the African (Nigerian) Harry Potter. While there are some influences, overall this story respects the cultural magic realism hailing from Nigeria and other African countries. Hate to break this truth to some readers, but J.K. Rowling doesn't hold the copyright to magical realism in books, particularly when you see cultural aspects she nicked for her stories. But, we'll save (Full Review at http://www.craftyscribbles.com)

Okay. Let's discuss the elephant in the room. Akata Witch has been nicknamed the African (Nigerian) Harry Potter. While there are some influences, overall this story respects the cultural magic realism hailing from Nigeria and other African countries. Hate to break this truth to some readers, but J.K. Rowling doesn't hold the copyright to magical realism in books, particularly when you see cultural aspects she nicked for her stories. But, we'll save that pot of tea for another discussion.

As the blurb states, 12-year Sunny is a Nigerian-American, living in Nigeria with her parents after living in the U.S. for nine years. She's an outcast - an Akata or "wild animal" - not only because of her ethnicity and birth country, but because of her albinism. Deep down, she's a normal kid, enjoying soccer (football), getting good grades and suffering from school bullies. But, as she reaches deeper into her soul, there's a calling within her soul she cannot tag.

She meets to fellow kids, Orlu and Chichi (another kid, Sasha, an African-American, joins the group) and they discover their souls are intertwined for greater roles some of they knew, but still couldn't imagine. They form a leopard coven (lambs equate to muggles, if you insist on following the HP world) and with training, find themselves battling an evil rogue using children and ritual killing to bring on a vicious spirit.

Will she accept her gifted fate? Or, will she cower and decide being ordinary's not so bad?

Nnedi Okorafor clearly writes with love as she showcases rich and varied Nigerian traditions within magical realism. I'm not Nigerian. In fact, I do not know where my African heritage descends (Another story for another day). Okorafor schools me on foods, language, and aspects of her culture better than any documentary.

Furthermore, she paints the landscape strong. I see the dust, mud, and urbane landscapes with Leopard Knocks (Okay, her version of Diagon Alley. Give it a rest!). Yet, while the latter's fictional, those markets described in Akata Witch are real with a magical spin.

Additional, each kid she created holds their own personality. None of them blur. They stand distinct (although Sasha worked a nerve or two for me). They are spirited and melancholic, joyous and angry. They realize the hardcore job ahead and all encompassing it.

While rough in some areas (mainly, reading about the ritual killing and maiming), this story presents fantasy, a genre which I tend to shy from, in a palatable manner and I cannot wait to read the next book in her series, Akata Warrior.

However, while I highly recommend this story, AW has one glitch: the ending. The battle's way too short for the amount of build-up presented. But, given Okorafor's series, my inpatient self will have to move on the next book. While fantasy's lack of diversity speaks volumes - I mean, you can create blue fairies but not people based on real folks - this is a story worthy of reading. Adapt this book into a movie...stat.

Verdict: 4.5/5 Chittems (Read the book to get the reference)

*Thanks to Penguin's First Reads Program for an honest and unbiased review* ...more

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Jul 07, 2018 Mili rated it really liked it

Shelves: own-the-book

I wasnt sure what to expect of Akata Witch. The title and cover tugged at me so bad, they are awesome! This is a middle grade series that works for all ages in my opinion. Im so glad I picked it up :D All thanks to Bookstagram~

Nnedi Okorafor creates a magical world where you follow a group of kids that form a strong friendship. And slowly you get to learn the magical culture of Nigeria. The country has beautiful names. And I loved that she used, I think, Nigerian words to describe things. It ha ...more

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Jan 26, 2020 Marta Álvarez rated it liked it · review of another edition

Una ambientación fascinante, llena de detalles y de imaginación. Creo que yo la he disfrutado menos que otras personas porque se centra más en su propia mitología que en la trama (justo al contrario que mi preferencia personal) pero aun así tiene un valor indudable y supone un soplo de aire fresco muy a tener en cuenta.

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Dec 16, 2018 Amerie added it

Shelves: 2018-faves

Phenomenal. Rich and cozy with that “it” quality that makes a book stay with you for a very long time. Highly recommend.

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Apr 19, 2018 Auntie Terror rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-urban

The final standoff was surprisingly short - but somehow I feel that that wasn't the main point of the book anyway. ;-) [prtf] ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Jun 21, 2020 ALet added it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2020, dnf

dnf
it's definitely not a bad book, but i just lost interest ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

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About Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor

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Nnedi Okorafor is a Nigerian-American author of African-based science fiction and fantasy (Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism). Okorafor has won a Hugo, a Nebula, a World Fantasy Award, and a Locus Award, and her many fans include Neil Gaiman, Rick Riordan, John Green, and Ursula Le Guin. She is writing a series for Marvel about Shuri, Black Panther’s sister, and has a number of book-based project ...more

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