Akata Witch (The Nsibidi Scripts) Hardcover – Illustrated, April 14, 2011

Very well & written hard to put down. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in this trilogy. The author has great imagination and really makes you feel like you are there in the story.

Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch is a captivating journey into a world where magic and African culture collide. Reminiscent of the beloved Harry Potter series, this novel follows the adventures of Sunny Nwazue as she discovers her own magical abilities and navigates the complexities of adolescence.Like Harry Potter, Sunny embarks on a thrilling quest alongside her friends to confront a great evil threatening their world. However, what sets Akata Witch apart is its rich infusion of African mythology and traditions, offering readers a fresh and immersive experience.Just as Hogwarts serves as a sanctuary for young witches and wizards, the Leopard Society becomes Sunny's haven, where she hones her magical skills and forms unbreakable bonds with her companions.Okorafor's masterful storytelling and vivid imagination make Akata Witch a must-read for fans of fantasy, offering a unique perspective on magic and adventure. Prepare to be enchanted by the rich tapestry of African culture woven throughout this spellbinding tale.

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 BeverlyAPOOO Literary Book Review

i went thru this book so fast! i love the author's writing style. on to the next 2 books of the series!

I put off reading this novel because I thought it'd be too young for me, riddled with tween or teen angst & romance, but this was not case. The protagonist is young, but that was fine. It's both fun and disturbing to read, the latter because of the magical serial killer plot, and that's one reason it seemed more adult than young. I'm going to start the second book asap.

This book is fascinating on at least 3 levels...set in W Africa, Nigeria specifically, where the described culture is both familiar and strange. I love books set in other countries and this is a good one. Second, there’s a magic world that she builds so well, yet you know there’s lots we don’t understand. The story is from the perspective of an albino girl there, where they’re shunned socially and bullied. There’s also a fourth aspect of 4 kids in early adolescence, I found it refreshingly honest. The characters are all described well, filling out their personalities and how despite annoying each other at times cooperate to bring something to an end, and learn to value each other coming thru a crisis. I’d recommend it! For kids, there’s some kissing, but nothing more of a sexual nature. A hit!

This book is really fantastic full of fantasy and also really good advise.

The author brilliantly captures the world through the eyes of a 12 year old Nigerian girl as she simultaneously navigates her youth, her strangeness, and her destiny. Drawing on traditions of various Nigerian peoples, she weaves a tale of fantastical proportions complete with a grand quest, elder teachings, and deep friendships at against a backdrop of backwards thinking and superstition still too common in many communities. Through all this comes the determination of young people to overcome the failings of the previous generation.

Excellent

This is an africanjujuism novel and it's brilliant! The main characters are strong-willed and resourceful kids on the path to discover who they are, what their (special) skills are and what they can do with them, especially if they manage to find strength in their weaknesses and to learn to work together . They also face huge challenges and eventually have the responsibility to save children's lives and to prevent a terrifying being from coming back to life. My favourite part about the magic in this world is that the highest rewards come from learning a lesson, not from winning a competition or succeeding in a task. The more valuable the lesson, the higher the actual tangible rewards! Perfect! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

Until this book I’d never really appreciated the push for ‘representation’ in fiction. As an albino I’m used to the world not looking like me, fr white to be the norm but ‘too white’ to be coded as evil/weird, even more so when the person is albino - such as the Da Vinci Code.But in this book I see myself and I dearly wish this had been around when I was growing up. I love Sunny, I recognise the bullying and the insults and how she feels about them. I love the way she enters this world and starts learning about it and the relationships with Sasha, Chichi and Orlu.I do wish her sun sensitivity hadn’t been removed but I did like the realistic references to the struggle with sun sensitivity for her eyes.I loved the way the plot developed, with the mundane concerns mixed with the life threatening and found the world fascinating. I’ve seen other readers reference Harry Potter but to me there are only the most superficial similarities which any book with a mundane character entering a magical world has to have. To me this felt very unique, rooted in place and I loved the way the author created a sense of history and culture within the story.