A review by mandygris
Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor
4.0
Binti was my first intro to Nnedi Okorafor: In reading Akata Witch I have come to appreciate that Okorafor has written two excellent female protagonists of similar age, but that Binti and Sunny are not carbon copies of each other. Sometimes I read across an author's work and they start to have a formula for what makes a woman a strong. It's encouraging to observe striking differences in character, yet admire the outcome!
I don't know about you, but I didn't have many women to look-up to when I was a kid. I had people who manipulated me, people I needed to please or perform for, and those who would ignore me or write me off. Books were an introduction to characters who showed me there were ways I could exist outside of those functions. Strong characters and the authors who wrote them helped to raise me to be curious and kind, and to seek information. To try to be braver. I think fondly of those characters when I come up to difficult decisions, and wonder what advice they might give. I reflect on this now to say that I think Sunny (and Binti) are both excellent characters for kids, or just people in those situations now. That is comforting.
I wanted to wait for Akata Witch #3 to come out to re-read this series, but I just wanted to be immersed in this world again. Okorafor has such a talent for description - this time 'round the food descriptions really made me so dang hungry.
Other reviewers: kindly please stop comparing Akata Witch to HP. It's harmful and reductionist. If you think about it for even TEN seconds you'll figure out that magic + mastery are huge Fantasy tropes and don't belong to one particular story or writer. Same with the monetization/trade of magic, thinking that there might be a teacher/student relationship, etc. Please, think. Then think some more. And if you still can't find anything better to say than that, please consider saying nothing at all and instead maybe doing some research on Fantasy tropes as I promise you it will improve your overall enjoyment of the genre.
I don't know about you, but I didn't have many women to look-up to when I was a kid. I had people who manipulated me, people I needed to please or perform for, and those who would ignore me or write me off. Books were an introduction to characters who showed me there were ways I could exist outside of those functions. Strong characters and the authors who wrote them helped to raise me to be curious and kind, and to seek information. To try to be braver. I think fondly of those characters when I come up to difficult decisions, and wonder what advice they might give. I reflect on this now to say that I think Sunny (and Binti) are both excellent characters for kids, or just people in those situations now. That is comforting.
I wanted to wait for Akata Witch #3 to come out to re-read this series, but I just wanted to be immersed in this world again. Okorafor has such a talent for description - this time 'round the food descriptions really made me so dang hungry.
Other reviewers: kindly please stop comparing Akata Witch to HP. It's harmful and reductionist. If you think about it for even TEN seconds you'll figure out that magic + mastery are huge Fantasy tropes and don't belong to one particular story or writer. Same with the monetization/trade of magic, thinking that there might be a teacher/student relationship, etc. Please, think. Then think some more. And if you still can't find anything better to say than that, please consider saying nothing at all and instead maybe doing some research on Fantasy tropes as I promise you it will improve your overall enjoyment of the genre.