Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Pages: 349

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Supernatural

Notes for Parents: Contains mild language, violence, and mature scenes.

The Back Cover

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 part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But just as she’s finding her footing, Sunny and her friends are asked by the magical authorities to help track down a career criminal who knows magic, too. Will their training be enough to help them against a threat whose powers greatly outnumber theirs?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The author writes fantasy and science fiction for both children and adults. In the past she has won several prestigious awards, including The World Fantasy Award in 2011 for her novel Who Fears Death, and both The Nebula Award and The Hugo Award in 2016 for her novella Binti. The sequel to Akata Witch was published in 2017 and is called Akata Warrior.

What’s good?

As an American living in Nigeria, and an albino, Sunny feels out of place. That is until she discovers she is one of the Leopard People – possessors of magic abilities. She’s taken on a journey, along with three other students, to discover the depth of her abilities. The reader learns along with Sunny who the Leopard People are and what they’re capable of. Running parallel to Sunny’s story is the tale of the Black Hat Killer, a serial killer who is murdering children in the area. The plot and subplots are exciting, it’s easy to read, and the characters are very well drawn. World building is excellent and vividly described. There’s plenty of tension, and themes include family, friendship, bravery, and power. The end was thrilling.

Best Part: People’s names – Periwinkle, Jibaku, Calculus, Chichi, Sugar Cream…

What isn’t good?

Sometimes the story was a little slow.

Worst part: Why is everyone always sucking their teeth?

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺☺ (4.5/5)

It seems like a strange comparison, but this reminded me a lot of Harry Potter, only more sophisticated, darker, more mystical, and beautifully infused with African culture, tradition, and language. Visually it was stunning. It would make a beautiful movie. This is a unique and creative story. Definitely recommended.

Okorafor, Nnedi. Akata Witch. New York: Speak, 2011.