Akata Witch

 Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (5 Points)

Although there were a lot of similar concepts shared alongside other magic-based fictional books, this novel absolutely blew me away. I want to talk about the story itself, the main character, and the structure of magic.

I was pleasantly surprised that this book was within the young adult genre because I had never seen or heard of it before and would love for this book to be shared among younger generations especially within the African American youth. Because it was a young adult, this book also did very well at getting to the point quickly and not lingering on less important elements, which made the story feel much easier to digest and understand. Even though I am entirely ignorant of the culture of Nigeria, it wasn't too difficult to keep up with specific references or terms because the main character was very accommodating in her explanations that both provided information without completely overloading the story. Okorafor also did very well at keeping her audience just as in the dark as the main protagonist Sunny when it came to magic and the mystery kept up a lot of suspense that was very fun.

When it comes to Sunny, she is constantly depicted as a contradiction in many ways. Her appearance is distinctive African but not black due to her albinism. Her nationality is even more complex as she comes from a Nigerian family who lived in America when she was born, and then returned to Nigeria before she turned ten years old. When people ask her who she is, Sunny has very conflicting and long-winded answers, and I found this very relatable at least in the sense of having a hard time expressing self-identity to others when it came to appearances and where I was from. Sunny is also not a typical young woman either and is highly aware of the sexism throughout her day to day life, whether it be at school, with her family, or even in the Leopard society that she later becomes a part of, and while this may feel very hard to overused in the book to a western reader, it didn't make the reality of it any less real both the reader and Sunny. I'm so glad that Okorafor held off Sunny's connection to a prominent figure within the Leopard Society for as long as possible so that she never felt entitled or expectant of any significant abilities, as well as not needing to measure up to said-relation throughout the book.

Now that I've mentioned the Leopard Society, let's get to the core of what I loved about the integration of magic into the world and it's a heavy connection to the culture of African cultures. One of the more intriguing concepts in the novel that I wasn't able to discuss in class was the concepts of disabilities or physical deformities leading to even greater magical power for Leopard people. Character's like Orlu, who had dyslexia when he first began school, is later revealed to have a powerful instinctual ability to undo bad magic later in the book. Sugar Cream, an elder among the Leopard peoples and has severe scoliosis of the spine, is able to transform into a snake at will. Even Sunny, due to her albinism, has a natural ability to travel through spaces unseen. The magical community within the Leopard people do not view these disabilities as harmful or impeding, but rather an indicator of a deeper power within and I found that very refreshing that magic was not needed to cure or treat people, but allowed for further growth and natural talent with juju magic. 

The concept of furthering knowledge to gain wealth (e.g. Chittim) was also incredibly fulfilling in contrast to the more capitalistic qualities of the west and made the learning of new concepts of magical skills very satisfying as a reader. I touched on the subject a bit in class, but I want to reiterate how there is such a strong cultural difference and significance around death within the structure of Leopard People society and the plot of this book. Where western readers and writers view death as a huge extreme that is very grim and dramatic, this book reveals through conversations with Sunny's teachers and mentors that death is not unusual among their people. People of all ages can fall victim to death, be it by an accident or through the stupidity of the victim's actions. No one can be spared of death, and you have an even higher chance of dying despite gaining magical abilities. I was always very frustrated by the lack of consequence in some magical novels where the protagonists were able to escape what would be a difficult or harmful situation with a flick of the wrist and avoid punishments that could alter the quality of their lives more adeptly than regular people because of their abilities. This book does not offer magic as an escape from a hard or dangerous life, and the universe of the novel still seems to hold your life in the same value as any other Leopard person or human. The main characters can and will still die from mistakes, misuse, and misfortune just like anyone else, and that made each battle more terrifying and satisfying when won.

Overall, the book held tons of appeal and fantastical wander into a world of magic that I've never seen and would love to learn more about. Definitely have to go find the second novel and give it a read!