349 pages
English language
Published Feb. 3, 2011
Akata Witch (retitled What Sunny Saw in the Flames in Nigeria and the UK) is a 2011 fantasy novel written by Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor. It was nominated for the Andre Norton Award. It is the first novel in the Nsibidi Scripts Series, where it is followed by the sequel Akata Warrior.
Nnedi Okorafor's creativity is off the charts ! Im not keen on Middle Grade but the whole "young girl discovers a magic world" set in Nigeria was great
This was pretty excellent. A lot like Harry Potter actually, with four young protagonists chosen to fight a vastly powerful evil while muddling through magic school. Not that Rowling invented that formula, and it is a good one!
In AKATA WITCH, though, the setting, creatures, and mythology are Nigerian. The magic system is such that while there are spells, each person born with a penchant for magic is also born with an innate ability. This ability ties in some way to whatever physical or mental disability they possess, and the more debilitating that disability the stronger their innate power. Too, Okorafor is more sensitive to social issues, and the characters deal with sexism, discrimination for their appearances/disabilities, racism of sorts, and xenophobia.
While I found the denoument a bit rushed, the book overall was a very worthwhile read. Dearly hoping that it's only the beginning, and that we'll see more …
This was pretty excellent. A lot like Harry Potter actually, with four young protagonists chosen to fight a vastly powerful evil while muddling through magic school. Not that Rowling invented that formula, and it is a good one!
In AKATA WITCH, though, the setting, creatures, and mythology are Nigerian. The magic system is such that while there are spells, each person born with a penchant for magic is also born with an innate ability. This ability ties in some way to whatever physical or mental disability they possess, and the more debilitating that disability the stronger their innate power. Too, Okorafor is more sensitive to social issues, and the characters deal with sexism, discrimination for their appearances/disabilities, racism of sorts, and xenophobia.
While I found the denoument a bit rushed, the book overall was a very worthwhile read. Dearly hoping that it's only the beginning, and that we'll see more of these characters soon!
