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Akata Witch [Hardcover]

Nnedi Okorafor
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Book Description

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?


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Akata Witch + Zahrah the Windseeker + Who Fears Death
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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 (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,963 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.

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
(25)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 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.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Sequel please???? June 6, 2011
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!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars To Thine Ownself Be True July 28, 2011
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.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This was a lot of fun. I felt the plot was a little meandering and the climax was kind of abrupt, but overall it was a solidly constructed and entertaining story. I keep hearing this referred to as a "Nigerian Harry Potter." I'm not so sure about that - it's much more inventive than Harry Potter, in my opinion - but I do think it would probably appeal to Harry Potter fans, since it shares a lot of basic themes in common. Highly recommended in general, and it'd probably be a great choice if you're trying to introduce a kid (or an adult) to good YA fantasy lit outside the usual whitewashed fantasy settings.

One thing that struck me as kind of odd was that the writing style and overall tone felt more like a children's book, while the occasionally mature/dark subject matter and smattering of profanity made it obvious that it was aimed at the YA market. This isn't a complaint - I didn't think it was a bad thing at all - it just struck me as unusual enough to note.

Kudos to Jillian Tamaki for the absolutely gorgeous cover art.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, is all I can say! May 26, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Okay, I lied because I can say much more than wow. Akata Witch is a great telling of the age old concept of magic. I love the world Okorafor built for the story and it is refreshing to see a story that shows the real world, one that feels more like something we would actually see and not a fairy tale. The story is truly magical and had me pulled in from the start; a story that keeps me up late because I just don't want to put it down. The characters are multi-dimensional and so real that I would not be surprised to meet them in real life. I really want to visit Leopard Knocks, but seems that I'm a lamb so alas, it will probably never happen. The story is imaginative and wonderfully crafted. I recommend this for anyone wanting to read a unique fantasy that manages to leave a smile on your face as you end it but not be so happy it does not feel real. I really enjoyed Akata Witch and I have a feeling you will too!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Truely Magical!
This book is really a great find! I heard about it from an interview with Rick Riordan and thought I'd give it a try since I love the Percy Jackson & Kane Chronicles books. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Hughes
4.0 out of 5 stars Like a Nigerian Harry Potter
Akata Witch is a marvelous book of magic and wonder, akin to a Nigerian Harry Potter, right up until the disappointing climax. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sage Collins
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Well written, entertaining, definitely as good as Harry Potter. There are endless elements of fear induction, but that is expected within practically all human cultures today. Read more
Published 1 month ago by `L
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly enjoyable if you like magic
Both kids and adults will enjoy this magical world - an African version of Harry Potter with its own quirky and loving approach. Looking forward to the sequel.
Published 5 months ago by Biz Person
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting look into another culture
Another Harry Potter inspired story but still an interesting look into another culture. Great book for early teens but still enjoyable for adults too.
Published 10 months ago by rubyv
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect combo of magic and real life
I won't talk too much about this book, because the every page is a lovely surprise, but I WILL say that the combination of a modern setting with computers and poverty (ok, poverty... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Elizabeth R. Wampler
4.0 out of 5 stars Hope there's a sequel!
I loved this book. It has its flaws: characters are automatically rewarded for learning by--literally--money falling from the sky, which I thought was overly tidy (who's keeping... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Jasper
5.0 out of 5 stars a plate of freshly fried and sugar-powdered Chin Chin
Sunny was born and raised for many years in the United States, but her parents are from Nigeria and now they have come back to live. Read more
Published 16 months ago by kblincoln
5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't want it to end
The Harry Potter craze passed me by, but the reviews comparing Akata Witch to Harry Potter prompted me to pick it up. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Amazonian
4.0 out of 5 stars Akata Witch
Compared to the other books Nnedi has written up until now, I think this one was probably her most "polished". Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kevin Fairchild
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