Akata Witch [Hardcover]

Nnedi Okorafor (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 14, 2011

Read Nnedi Okorafor's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community.

Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are 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. And then she discovers something amazing-she is a "free agent," with latent magical power. Soon she's part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There+s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor+s work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics." -Ursula K. Le Guin

About the Author

Nnedi Okorafor was born in the United States to two Nigerian immigrant parents. She holds a Ph.D. in English and is a professor at Chicago State University. She has been the winner of and finalist for many awards.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 349 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; First Edition edition (April 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670011967
• ISBN-13: 978-0670011964
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nnedi Okorafor is a novelist of Nigerian descent known for weaving African culture into creative evocative settings and memorable characters. In a profile of Nnedi's work titled "Weapons of Mass Creation", The New York Times called Nnedi's imagination "stunning". Her novels include Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature), The Shadow Speaker (winner of the CBS Parallax Award) and Long Juju Man (winner of the Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa). Her latest novel, Who Fears Death (DAW Books, 2010), is a dark, gritty magical realist narrative that evenly combines African literature and fantasy/science fiction into a powerful story of genocide and of the woman who reshapes her world. Nnedi holds a PhD in English and currently is a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University. Visit Nnedi at nnedi.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Lives Up to the Hype April 19, 2011

By Alex

Format:Hardcover

Over the past couple of months I kept seeing reviews for Akata Witch, everywhere from Ms. and Bust Magazine to Locus and Publishers Weekly. I finally read it, and I can't recommend it enough. Classic coming-of-age template, but a truly unique story and a carefully fleshed-out world. Fast-paced and well-written, I hope that Akata Witch is just the first book of a series--I want more of these characters. Can't wait to read Shadow Speaker et al.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sequel please???? June 6, 2011

By OutlawPoet VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Though she spent most of her life in America, 12-year-old Sunny is the daughter of Nigerian Immigrants. When the family moves back to Nigeria, Sunny is immediately singled out as different, both from her American upbringing and the fact that she is an albino. She faces mercilessly bullying until one day, with the help of new friends, Sunny realizes that she is different in a very special way. Sunny is one of the Leopard People, a secretive group of people with the powers of sorcery. As Sunny and her friends perfect their magical skills, they are asked to take on a job that can cost them their very lives...

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

When I sat down to read this book, I wasn't sure that I would like it. You see, I like my books for pure entertainment value. I want to be carried away to another world. Between the cover art, the title, and the Nigerian setting, I wasn't sure that this was that kind of book.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised. This is an extremely pleasurable read. It's entertaining, yet it gave me fantastic insight into Nigerian culture. Mix that with a very plucky and likeable heroine and some magic that puts Harry Potter to shame, this book is a winner.

I really hope that more people take the time to at least download the sample. Within a few pages, I'm sure you'll want to read more.

What do I want? A sequel to this book and a movie version!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars To Thine Ownself Be True July 28, 2011

By Beverly Jackson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

In Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, 12 year-old Sunny is trying to find her fit in the world based on who she is as a person, but is challenged by how others see her. After being born in America, and living her first years there, Sunny is currently living in Nigeria with her parents and brothers, as her parents decided to return to their homeland. She is constantly bullied at school because she is an "akata," a derogatory term for an American of African descent, and an albino. If that was not enough, Sunny is now also haunted by what she saw while staring at the flame of a candle - the end of the world. Not wanting to add to her troubles, she keeps this to herself until befriended by Orlu and Chichi, and is drawn into a magical world she never knew existed, the Leopold People. It turns out that Sunny is a "free agent," a person born with magical powers despite no magical parents. Now she is one of the Leopold people and revels in this community of like-kind people, and amazing things begin to happen to her. All is going well until Sunny and her friends have been assigned to stop a serial killer, Black Hat, who has been murdering children.

I was intrigued by the mystery, the magical ambience, and the vivid setting in Akata Witch. The fantasy setting takes place in Nigeria providing a fresh feel to a coming-of-age story in the overcrowded fantasy genre. The charm is the author makes the reader comfortable and familiar with both the real and magical worlds outlined in the story. One technique used to make us feel familiar is at the beginning of each chapter, there is an excerpt from the "Fast Facts for Free Agents" book Sunny is using for her training, allowing the reader to learn about the Leopold People and their basic philosophy. I was fascinated to read about the African spiritual approach and tales. For fans of Okorafor's prior work, she once again uses her trademark spiritual wilderness concept as evidenced by the luscious descriptions of the magical environments. The familiar aspect is that while learning the mythology, current events, and culture of Nigeria, Okforafor uses the timeless themes for adolescents; issues with parents and friends, group identification, wondering if the cute boy likes you, and the Nigeria we see is not one of violence and poverty, but one where parents work, kids go to school, use cell phones and the Internet.

Sunny is a strong heroine, and it was wonderful to watch her grow into herself. The secondary characters are equally as strong, and provide the impetus to move along the story. The quirks of each of the characters are subtly drawn yet realistic enough and understandable to young adults.

The pacing at the beginning was a little slow, but picked up quickly and flowed well until the end which was a little too abrupt for me. This book is a good foundation for a series, and I am hoping we will have more adventures with Sunny and her friends as they progress through their training levels.

I recommend Akata Witch to young adult readers of fantasy who are looking for new imaginative territory.

Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO Literary Book Review