Stephen Gilberg (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
deckardcanine) wrote2026-05-05 08:25 pm
deckardcanine) wrote2026-05-05 08:25 pm
Book Review: Akata Witch
I've read novels set in Africa. I've read fantasies by Black women about Black heroines. But Nnedi Okorafor's Andre Norton Award winner may be the first example of both categories that I've known.
In what I take to be 2011, the year of publication, Sunny sticks out more than any 12-year-old wants. She spent most of her life in New York City, until her family moved back to Nigeria, where she had to learn Igbo. She's an albino, so she can't play her beloved soccer by day, and local bigots are mean to her. To top it off, her sexist, sometimes abusive father resents her for not being a third son.
Things start to change when Sunny makes the acquaintance of two fellow outcasts. Impulsive home-schooled girl Chichi confides that she's a Leopard Person, which describes any mage. Cautious male classmate Orlu casts a spell to prevent Sunny from ever telling a Lamb (non-Leopard) about magic. Sunny doesn't take long to believe in it, because she's already had an apocalyptic vision, confirming Chichi's suspicion about her. Soon she is inducted into the secret Leopard community, where she will take lessons with Chichi, Orlu, and unruly Chicago boy Sasha.
Since neither of her parents is a Leopard, Sunny is deemed a "free agent," which doesn't garner much respect. Indeed, the Leopards in general frequently strike me as a rude, harsh bunch, starting with their tendency to leave questions unanswered. They seem too quick to send one another into mortal peril. Yet we're not supposed to see them as more wicked overall than Lambs.
Despite a number of factors that might be dealbreakers for me, Sunny is happier than before. She takes to a low-sleep double life surprisingly well, delighting in her every advancement. Creatures invisible to Lambs, while initially creepy, come to endear her. Her new world is not as tempting as Hogwarts, but neither is it a nightmare like the Scholomance. I appreciate the balance.
Lest you think this almost a slice-of-life story, Sunny has reason to worry that the apocalypse will happen soon. The infamous Black Hat Otokoto has been abducting children for ritual sacrifices to summon Ekwensu, whom my outside sources say was a war goddess and trickster before being recast as the closest thing to the devil. Adult Leopards have a feeling that the central four students, tho far from Otokoto's training level, will be instrumental in thwarting this effort.
I saw fit to look up a lot of words and names, sadly not given a glossary. Sure enough, they're pretty much all associated with West Africa if not Nigeria in particular. Okorafor did her homework. I just wish I could remember what "obi" meant in context, because it's not a definition Google provides.
Language isn't the only immersive element. The third-person-limited narration (unexplained first-person prologue notwithstanding) goes into a lot of details, many unimportant to the plot but certainly painting a vivid picture. It feels like Sunny is seldom the center of attention; this could just as easily have been presented as the story of Orlu, Chichi, or Sasha.
AW may just have earned its honor. I can see reading Akata Warrior someday. There's certainly a lot of room for further developments. I'm also keeping another Okorafor work, Remote Control, on my wish list.
Now I've picked up a Terry Pratchett novel, specifically The Wee Free Men. That ought to ensure that I don't read anything depressing when my birthday arrives.
In what I take to be 2011, the year of publication, Sunny sticks out more than any 12-year-old wants. She spent most of her life in New York City, until her family moved back to Nigeria, where she had to learn Igbo. She's an albino, so she can't play her beloved soccer by day, and local bigots are mean to her. To top it off, her sexist, sometimes abusive father resents her for not being a third son.
Things start to change when Sunny makes the acquaintance of two fellow outcasts. Impulsive home-schooled girl Chichi confides that she's a Leopard Person, which describes any mage. Cautious male classmate Orlu casts a spell to prevent Sunny from ever telling a Lamb (non-Leopard) about magic. Sunny doesn't take long to believe in it, because she's already had an apocalyptic vision, confirming Chichi's suspicion about her. Soon she is inducted into the secret Leopard community, where she will take lessons with Chichi, Orlu, and unruly Chicago boy Sasha.
Since neither of her parents is a Leopard, Sunny is deemed a "free agent," which doesn't garner much respect. Indeed, the Leopards in general frequently strike me as a rude, harsh bunch, starting with their tendency to leave questions unanswered. They seem too quick to send one another into mortal peril. Yet we're not supposed to see them as more wicked overall than Lambs.
Despite a number of factors that might be dealbreakers for me, Sunny is happier than before. She takes to a low-sleep double life surprisingly well, delighting in her every advancement. Creatures invisible to Lambs, while initially creepy, come to endear her. Her new world is not as tempting as Hogwarts, but neither is it a nightmare like the Scholomance. I appreciate the balance.
Lest you think this almost a slice-of-life story, Sunny has reason to worry that the apocalypse will happen soon. The infamous Black Hat Otokoto has been abducting children for ritual sacrifices to summon Ekwensu, whom my outside sources say was a war goddess and trickster before being recast as the closest thing to the devil. Adult Leopards have a feeling that the central four students, tho far from Otokoto's training level, will be instrumental in thwarting this effort.
I saw fit to look up a lot of words and names, sadly not given a glossary. Sure enough, they're pretty much all associated with West Africa if not Nigeria in particular. Okorafor did her homework. I just wish I could remember what "obi" meant in context, because it's not a definition Google provides.
Language isn't the only immersive element. The third-person-limited narration (unexplained first-person prologue notwithstanding) goes into a lot of details, many unimportant to the plot but certainly painting a vivid picture. It feels like Sunny is seldom the center of attention; this could just as easily have been presented as the story of Orlu, Chichi, or Sasha.
AW may just have earned its honor. I can see reading Akata Warrior someday. There's certainly a lot of room for further developments. I'm also keeping another Okorafor work, Remote Control, on my wish list.
Now I've picked up a Terry Pratchett novel, specifically The Wee Free Men. That ought to ensure that I don't read anything depressing when my birthday arrives.