Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Akata Witch

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

9 reviews

turrean's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The audiobook narration was stellar: distinct voices for all characters, seamless transition among American and several African accents.

Watching Sunny—accustomed to being a misfit—uncover a magical world to which she truly belongs is a delight. And exactly in parallel to her confidence, her awareness of the truly horrifying evil approaching grows, too.

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maresuju's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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greymalkin's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read this book first as an audiobook for the first half and then as an ebook for the second. The audiobook is excellent. The book itself is very enjoyable.

My only real quibble is that after all that buildup, the end was a bit of an anticlimax. I wish that there had been more teamwork involved and that Sunny didn't just learn important info like a mcguffin at the very end. It wasn't a bad ending, just that everything else was so detailed and hard-earned and the end was sort of a hand-wavey "and then it just works".

I still plan to read the next in the series though!

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abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I enjoyed this book a lot, it was an easy listen and the audio narration was on point. Very straightforward YA writing that still has lots of beautiful description and whimsy. It fits the standard “unique child finds magical community” story arc but fulfills it in a fresh and interesting way. The ending did feel rushed with little explanation, but I would still give the rest of this series a try.

Where this book lost me was some of the overdone, tired stereotypes and tropes: the main villain and other unseemly or mean people being described as fat, and the disability is magically healed trope

when Sunny no longer feels negative impacts or lack of access from her albinism and can go out in the sun without being burned

which I think will prevent young people with albinism from really identifying or feeling seen by this story.

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nannahnannah's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.0

This is another case of “I should have read some reviews first,” because then I would’ve seen people say this is a lot like Harry Potter. In hindsight, this is probably a big reason why I didn’t enjoy Akata Witch … I’ve never been a fan of Harry Potter. I came here after reading and liking Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti Trilogy and wanting to experience something similar.

Representation:
- the characters are West African, with the MC and another character being Nigerian-American
- the MC has albinism (sort of)
- another main character has dyslexia

When Sunny was small, she witnessed the end of the world in a candle flame. Now she’s twelve years old, and has just learned that what she saw might become a reality. Being an American-born Nigerian is hard enough, and having albinism makes it worse, but with her new friends’ meddling, Sunny has also learned she’s also one of the Leopard People, sorcerers whose powers stem from a person’s “greatest defect”. She and her friends form West Africa’s youngest Oha Coven, and are told by their mentors to find and stop the serial killer, Black Hat Otokoto--or what Sunny saw in the candle will come true.

Despite some graphic content regarding death and murder, I'm very surprised this is categorized as YA. The writing is definitely more appropriate for an MG audience (don't get me wrong; that isn’t to say it’s bad … just very simplistic, straightforward, and better suited for younger kids). But the editing … the editing is awful. I know editors are horribly underpaid and overworked nowadays, but this book is especially terribly edited. Continuity errors, typos, pov switches, and the worst: failing to catch critical things like if Sunny actually moved to Nigeria when she was nine, or if she actually had been going to the same school as her Nigerian-born friend, Orlu, since she was five, or if she caught Malaria as a young child (how, if she lived in the US?), etc.

What I love is the creativity with world building, the culture and mythology woven into the magic system, and especially what seems to be a critique against Western individualism. The young MCs are always told the world is bigger than they are, that they can benefit their people as a whole, even if it harms them, etc. There are also extremely charming and touching scenes with fantastic creatures, like the bee that lives for its art--but can become overly dramatic if it doesn’t receive praise.

What I don't love as much is the ever-present fatphobia (being overweight is constantly stated as being a person’s own fault, and every overweight character is either a villain or an awful person), the lack of character development, and the way Sunny’s albinism is represented. The book’s theme, “your worst defect becomes your greatest asset”, falls a bit flat when a person’s worst defect is often their disability (which often is a “symptom” of magic) that magically gets cured. I’m saying this, of course, as an adult with both physical and mental disabilities; as a child I think I would probably have wanted that for myself.

But as an adult, seeing Sunny’s only medical symptom be magically cured leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Of course it’ll be easier for her to “embrace” her albinism, now that she doesn’t have to worry about bad sunburns and can play soccer in the sun. I do think kids with albinism reading this book might find it hard to see themselves in her, in this respect. Especially since Sunny really lacks any other symptom of albinism (like bad eyesight--which is the most common symptom, since to see your eyes themselves need pigment).

But all in all, I think I would have liked this as a kid. Now, I think I’m just too old. Which is fine! I’ll read the author’s adult books instead.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Akata Witch is the tale of a world within a world and a girl who doesn’t know her heritage or the mysterious power it brings. This sort of story may sound familiar, but at every opportunity Okorafor departs from the expected to build a magical coming-of-age story that is entirely its own. Sunny and her friends are given an impossible task, are immersed in an impossible world and it is beguiling, beautiful, and mesmerizing. I think it might be one of my favorite magical YA settings ever.

Let’s start with Sunny. First of all, Sunny proves that it’s possible to have an extraordinary destiny without being an orphan. She is exceptional in some ways – as most protagonists are. The most obvious is these is her albinism. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of another book featuring a protagonist with albinism, and a Black person at that. I applaud Okorafor for her choice! But Sunny’s albinism is about more that representation. There’s an empowering reason for it in the story and that matters most of all. Sunny is never defined by any of her individual traits, even though they weigh on her at times. Okorafor does an excellent job guiding her protagonist through a journey of self-discovery.

Sunny, Orlu, Chichi, and Sasha are a dynamic group and it’s fun to follow their journey. I appreciated the use of mentors and I appreciated the separate shining personalities. I didn’t feel we had too many tropes among them, and those that tried to surface were pushed aside. These characters are defined by themselves, not the role they play in the book, and that’s fantastic. It’s refreshing to see a group with a purpose, rather than an individual with a destiny.

I adore Okorafor’s writing. In Akata Witch, I especially appreciated her use of weather. Rain, sun, storm – all of them bring so much to the story’s atmosphere in a way I appreciate with most books, but am astounded with here. The climatic scene near the end of the book was astounding and immersive and I was enthralled. There are some writers who are so talented at atmospheric writing that from the first few sentences, you are transported. Okorafor is one of those authors.

Akata Witch is a fantastic dive into magic from a non-Western European perspective. The action scenes have amazing pacing, the characters jump off the page, and the writing is vibrant. I enjoyed this book so much – it’s definitely destined for my personal library. I’d recommend folks look past the ages of the main quartet – this book never felt catered to younger readers – and dive in. It’s wonderful.

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