Friday, November 23, 2018

Akata Witch (Nnedi Okorafor)

Akata Witch
The Akata Witch series, Book 1
Nnedi Okorafor
Penguin
Fiction, MG Fantasy
**** (Good)


DESCRIPTION: As an albino born to Nigerian parents, twelve-year-old Sunny has always been an oddity: too white to be black, and too black to be white. She can't even go out in the sun without her sensitive skin burning. But after the family moves from America, where she was born, to Nigeria, she discovers she's even more different than she thought, when a new group of friends inform her that she's a "Leopard person," of magical spirit. She's initiated into a hidden community of mages, where her status as a free agent - born to nonmagical "Lamb" parents - and ignorance about the Leopard world make her even more of an outsider than her albinism ever did. Struggling to catch up with her peers and complete assignments from her new teacher, all while keeping her emerging powers hidden from her family, is hard enough. Then she learns that she and her new friends are supposed to challenge a ritual serial killer who has been mutilating local children - a killer seeking to summon a great evil and bring about the end of the world, and who may have a very personal tie to Sunny.

REVIEW: Some descriptions hail Akata Witch as the "Nigerian Harry Potter." There are definite similarities, particularly in the hidden magical world, but anyone expecting the whimsical overtones of Rowling's magic and (more or less) structured safety of Hogwarts is in for some some surprises here. Drawing on African magical traditions, comparisons to Rowling's European-flavored tale can't help feeling inadequate. The Leopard people deal with dangerous materials and entities on a daily basis; one healing powder causes cancer if held too long, and even minor spells risk serious consequences if they fail. Nor are students protected from those consequences the way they often are in middle-grade settings; Sunny and her friends are often sent on tasks that have the potential to maim or kill if they don't think on their feet. The Leopard rationale is that the world is dangerous, magic even moreso, with no quarter offered on account of ignorance and no one person - not even a "chosen" hero - being too important to fail or die; better to learn as early as possible, and lessons learned through hard knocks are more likely to stick. Accordingly, the magical community is less a charming, sheltered world where Sunny finds acceptance (as Harry did) than a constant series of tests that may build her into something great or leave her irreparably broken. There are occasional hints of humor and lightness, but always with the shadows lurking in the corners.
As for the characters, they all have darker sides, and their friendship can be rocky. Sunny is no perfect heroine, struggling and occasionally failing to balance her complicated world and growth from ignorant initiate to true Leopard student. Studious boy Orlu is perhaps the closest she has to a true friend among her covenmates - including troublemaker Sasha and mischievous Chichi - but even he can be impatient with her as her ignorance of Leopard culture constantly shows through. Peripheral characters tend to be stern, but not without reason and not entirely lacking heart; they just know they can't protect the children from life or magic. Punishments aren't just verbal, either; breaking Leopard laws can lead to caning or worse, necessarily strict rules that will very likely shock anyone expecting Hogwarts-style leniency. (This, of course, is nothing compared to the mutilations of the child killer Sunny and her friends are destined to confront. The squeamish are advised to find another book.) The kids also curse a fair bit - again, understandable given their circumstances - and deal with prejudice, sexism, racism, and other unpleasant topics that many children's books like to pretend don't exist, or if they do are easily dealt with.
The story itself moves fairly quickly, though I admit that it took me a while to find my footing as a reader, especially being used to more Eurocentric hidden magical worlds. During Sunny's initiation period, it can get a bit frustrating as characters tend to withhold information. The climax feels a trifle rushed; Sunny still hasn't really gotten the hang of the Leopard world and many of her powers before she and her friends are expected to fulfill their destiny. On the whole, though, it's an enjoyable tale, definitely something a little different from the norm, and if I felt uncertain about a few of the characters even by the end, I didn't dislike them enough to stop reading.

You Might Also Enjoy:
The Leopard's Daughter (Lee Killough) - My Review
Binti (Nnedi Okorafor) - My Review
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J. K. Rowling) - My Review

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