Akata Witch is a young adult fantasy novel by Nnedi Okorafor. It was first published in 2011 and is the beginning of a trilogy.
The main protagonist is a young girl named Sunny Nwazue, who was born in the United States, however she is living in Nigeria with her parents. She has some struggles in her new school until she meets a group of other misfits. Sunny sort of stands out since she is albino and has to be cautious of the sun. She finds out that she carries latent magical abilities. A serial killer who targets children also lurks in the community, and Sunny and her friends are enlisted to help find this evil fellow since he also has a few magical abilities of his own.
This turns out to be a fairly engaging novel. Okorafor is a competent writer, however there was not much that really resonated with me in this one. To be fair, this kind of fantasy novel is not one I would choose if left to my own devices, but I am part of a book club. I had some trouble really getting into this one. I do appreciate some exposure to a culture that is different from my usual encounters. It also is for young adults, and I am a long way from that.
Anyway, there is not a lot I have to say about this one. It’s not bad, but it just didn’t grab my attention as well as I hoped.
Next up, I will be returning to more familiar rugged territory in Wyoming with game warden Joe Pickett. CJ Box continues Pickett’s adventures with Winterkill.
Reviews, Musings, and Other Things... 