Akata Witch (The Nsibidi Scripts #1) (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
Pick this book up if you have even a passing interest in Nigeria, leopard-people, & magic. Nnedi Okorafor brilliantly depicts teenage self-discovery with a uniquely non-European lens & adds not a little, but a LOT of magic. Fitting in with physical differences is hard enough, but add a magical society surrounding African Jujuism & pursuit of a serial killer in the mix & you've got one heck of a complicated coming of age story. Seriously recommend.
(YA Fantasy, ages 12+) — Find more Staff Picks by Apollo
— ApolloAffectionately dubbed "the Nigerian Harry Potter," Akata Witch weaves together a heart-pounding tale of magic, mystery, and finding one's place in the world. Perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone!
Sunny Nwazue lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. Her features are West 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 in. And then she discovers something amazing—she is a "free agent" with latent magical power. And she has a lot of catching up to do.
Soon she's part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But as she’s finding her footing, Sunny and her friends are asked by the magical authorities to help track down a career criminal who knows magic, too. Will their training be enough to help them combat a threat whose powers greatly outnumber theirs?
World Fantasy Award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor blends magic and adventure to create a lush world. Her writing has been called “stunning” by The New York Times and her fans include Neil Gaiman, Rick Riordan, John Green, Ursula K. Le Guin, and many more!
Raves for Nnedi Okorafor's writing:
"There’s more imagination on a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics." —Ursula K. Le Guin, award-winning author of A Wizard of Earthsea
“The most imaginative, gripping, enchanting fantasy novels I have ever read!” —Laurie Halse Anderson, National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Speak
"I always loved science fiction, but I didn’t feel I was part of it—until I read first Octavia Butler, and now Nnedi Okorafor." —Whoopi Goldberg
"Highly original stuff, episode after amazing episode, full of color, life, and death. Nnedi Okorafor's work is wonderful!" —Diana Wynne Jones, award-winning author of The Chronicles of Chrestomanci
"Jam-packed with mythological wonders." —Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
"Okorafor's imagination is stunning." —The New York Times Book Review
A Nebula Award nominee
"The book puts a unique, inclusive spin on the timeless tale of the misfit chosen to save the world."
—Time Magazine
“Okorafor’s novels tend to reflect both her West-African heritage and American experiences, but in this series she creates a stunningly original world of African magic that draws on Nigerian folk beliefs and rituals instead of relying on the predictable tropes of Western fantasy novels.”
—Time Magazine
"There’s more imagination on a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics." —Ursula K. Le Guin, award-winning author of A Wizard of Earthsea
“The most imaginative, gripping, enchanting fantasy novels I have ever read!” —Laurie Halse Anderson, National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Speak
"I always loved science fiction, but I didn’t feel I was part of it—until I read first Octavia Butler, and now Nnedi Okorafor." —Whoopi Goldberg
"Highly original stuff, episode after amazing episode, full of color, life, and death. Nnedi Okorafor's work is wonderful!" —Diana Wynne Jones, award-winning author of The Chronicles of Chrestomanci
"Jam-packed with mythological wonders." —Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
"Okorafor's imagination is stunning." —The New York Times Book Review
"A marvelous and uplifting read, heartwarming in its portrayal of true friendship, heartbreaking in its portrayal of headstrong youth and the perils of pride." —Cory Doctorow, award-winning author of Little Brother
"Fresh, original, and smart. We need more writers like her." —Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind
"Nnedi Okorafor is opening doors into strange and beautiful new worlds. Her heroes are beguiling, her magic firmly rooted in real places and real things. Rich, mysterious, and convincing, Akata Witch takes fantasy in a haunting new direction." —Jonathan Stroud, New York Times bestselling author of The Bartimaeus Trilogy
"The voice of Nnedi Okorafor does not obey the rules of distance, time, or place. Hers is the voice that fuses matter and imagination. She shows us just how close we are to that alternate reality." —Tchidi Chikere, Nigerian award-winning film director and screenwriter
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