Leaf 🍂 reviewed Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Review of 'Akata Witch' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
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!
